Massage has always played an important part in Indian life. It features in the earliest Ayurvedic texts, which date back nearly 4000 years. These ancient texts describe that, when used in conjuction with herbs, spices and aromatic oils, massage had an important medical function and could only not only " strenghten muscles and firm skin", but also encourage the body's natural healing abilities( innate healing energy)
Indian Champissage( TM) springs from the rich tradition of family grooming in India. Head massage has been practised for over a thousand years.The concept was originally developed by women who used different oils according to the season to keep their long hair strong, lustrous and in beautiful
condition.
Barbers practised many of the same skills with their male clients. They visited individual homes,
cutting hair and often offering champi ( head massage) as part of their tratment.
Like most of his compatriots, Narendra Mehta had grown up with head massage as integral part of his daily life. However, when he came to England in the 1973 to train as a Physical Therapist, Narendra dismayed to find that head massage was not generally available. He was also disappointed to discover that the head seemed to be completely neglected even in a full body massage.
Narendra began to miss the therapeutic value of regular head massage. In 1978, he decided to return to India to research the ancient art of head massage.He studied it wherever it was practised:
in barber shops, on street corners, at the beach and in family homes. He enjoyed being worked on
but couldn't help feeling that there was something missing in the massage. Although he experienced a slight improvement in well-being the effects were too short lived to be of any therapeutic benefit.
Soon he arrived at two conclusion:
1. The therapy could benefit by being extended to include the face, neck, upper arms and shoulders- areas that accumulate high levels of stress and tension
2. By introducing an Ayurvedic element into the massage to include work on the three higher Chakras ( energy vortices)- the body's entire energy system could be rebalanced
When these two elements were added to traditional head massage, Narendra found he had a holistic
therapy, which could be used effectively to treat the whole person. Indian Champissage ( TM ) has been developed from an ancient practice to become an ideal therapy for the twenty-first century.