Ayurvedic massage made in India
In India: Ayurveda is one of the oldest holistic medicines in the world. The principle ? Determine which of the three doshas (the different types of biological humors) is predominant to compensate for its excesses and find the perfect balance between body and mind. After a personal assessment, the "patient" receives advice based on dietetics, phytotherapy, meditation ... And especially the massage! In India, the whole society practices Ayurvedic massage: from the age of 6, children are encouraged to massage their family members. Tradition also means that a woman and her newborn child receive a daily massage during the 40 days following the birth. Each massage is personalized and its benefits are multiple: muscle toning, improvement of blood circulation and sleep, elimination of toxins ... The most spectacular? Shirodara: for 30 min, a fine filet of warm sesame oil is received on the forehead, resulting in an almost second state ...
At home: One does not improvise ayurvedic massager! But one can take inspiration from this ritual to offer a parenthesis of intense relaxation. The idea is to get a taste of warm sesame oil (available on www.aroma-zone.com and in organic shops), having the heavy hand because it is the sensation of oil "flooding "The body is pleasant. Do not hesitate to put on your hair too, it feeds them! You are advised to natter them then and wash them the next day. Then wrap yourself in a towel and lie down. Take ten deep breaths, swelling the belly with each breath. Then get up and go to the automation, rubbing vigorously, with the flat of the hand, the key areas: heels, ankles, hips, ears. Finally, gently peel off the scalp with both hands to make it move. Beware of slipping: wipe well before returning to your occupations!
Duration: 20 minutes.
A shower of brasil
In Brazil: Torrid climate obliges, the Brazilians take 2 or 3 showers per day. And, unlike us, they give meaning to this moment and take advantage of it to exfoliate and nourish their skin, and even perfume ... No wonder: the relationship to the body is very strong in Brazil, and the banho ritual is almost sacred . It goes back to the origins of the country, a mix of Indian and African cultures, where daily ablution was seen as a way of washing oneself and chasing "bad waves". Today, this bathing cult has been modernized, and Brazilian women have a product for every occasion: scrub soap, nourishing shower oil, perfumed water to rub all over the body ... They also know how to choose their fragrance according to l The mood of the day: priprioca, a plant of the forest with aromatic fragrance, brings confidence and power of seduction. The maracuja, or fruit of the Passion, calms and comforts. Andiroba nuts are known for their invigorating properties.
At home: Recreating an atmosphere Copacabana is easy! If possible, we shower outdoors, at the end of the day, when the sun is still warm a little, and we content ourselves with lukewarm water, even fresh. Its shower gel is exchanged for an oil with a moisturizing and satin effect. It is allowed to act a little and, during this time, the rough areas are rubbed with an exfoliating soap. Last gesture, one floods the whole body of agua de banho, a fragrant water typically Brazilian. It will permeate the skin with intense freshness and leave a subtle and exotic wake!
8 minutes
A Balinese scrub
In Bali: Millennium Tradition in Indonesia, lulur is a ritual of purification for the brides. Practiced every day during the 40 evenings preceding the ceremony, this delicious scrub cleans, softens and illuminates the skin. His secret? A perfect blend of ingredients typical of the islands of Bali and Java: turmeric, cinnamon, vetiver, sandalwood, rice powder ... Only one ounce of frangipani flower is needed to give this "magic" paste a highly sensual potential!
At home: The lulur is a product easy to make oneself by dragging in its kitchen cupboards.
- Mix in a yogurt a tablespoonful of grated coconut and a rice powder.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon, ginger and turmeric. l Add a few drops of fragrant oil of your choice (ylang-ylang, jasmine, frangipani flower).
- Spread the paste on dry skin and gently rub the entire body.
- Let dry a little, then rinse in the shower or, better, dive directly in a bath. Let the product dilute in water ... and exhale its languorous perfume.
12 minutes
A nap with hot stones like in Arizona
In Arizona: Well before the conquest of the Far West, American Indians relied on the magnetism of volcanic rocks, able to conserve heat, to drive away bad energies and to relieve muscular pains. Inherited from these native traditions, stone therapy was created in the late 1980s in the most barren area of the United States, Arizona, where this type of stones abounds. After placing polished, hot or cold rollers on strategic points, the practitioner makes sliding movements all over the body, using only the rollers. The vessels dilate, the heart rate accelerates, the blood circulation is boosted ... and it is the whole body that gets rid of its toxins!
Home ; The idea is not to obtain such an intense therapeutic effect, which, in solo, remains in any case impossible. On the other hand, by buying a dozen pebbles, you can afford a quarter of an hour of relaxation really nice! They can be found in the form of kits (with or without heating appliances) in specialist shops such as Nature & Découvertes, and also on the e-shop of the website www.sens-original.com
The user manual ?
- Heat the pebbles in a strainer over a pot of boiling water, or using the supplied appliance if you bought the complete kit. If they are too hot, allow them to cool for a few minutes. • Coat the body with oil (arnica type), then place a small roller between each toe.
- Lie down and line up four bigger ones, from the navel to the solar plexus.
- Finally, take two medium-sized, one in each hand, arms placed on the floor and palms facing up.
- Close your eyes and rest until the stones are completely cooled.
15 minutes
A languorous modeling of Tahitian
In Tahiti: The Polynesian pharmacopoeia is rich with more than 2,000 plants, used for thousands of years by local healers. Monoi is known, but less noni, a fruit whose all parts (roots, bark, pulp) are used in balms and macerates for their antioxidant and toning virtues. It is used in the favorite beauty ritual of the Tahitian women, lomi lomi. It is a very slow massage during which the practitioner scattered the oiled body with a few drops of water, then uses his forearms to massage the body, by back and forth movements, creating a very soothing rocking sensation .
At home: To put yourself in Tahitian time, equip yourself with a monoi oil and sit quietly. Sitting on the edge of the bed, slowly and generously apply the oil to the body, then add a few drops of warm water (have a towel underneath!).
- Gently penetrate, using the flat of the hands but also the forearms, at the level of the legs and the waist. Always great movements flat, without too much pressure, and especially without hurry!
- At the finish, you are ultra-relaxed, and your skin, satiny at will, exhale a delicious scent of holidays!
25 minutes
Want to go further ?
Why not take a Polynesian ritual in an institute? For us, the most credible is that of the Five Worlds, because it remains faithful to the stages of the Tahitian lomi lomi. The release is immediate: we hover from the beginning to the end! (Sublime Ritual of Polynesia, 2 hours, addresses of the Spas on www.cinqmondes.com, 165 €). Less expensive option in 66 Douglas institutes, which offer up to 27 August a Polynesian treatment (1 hour: 65 €), a soft scrub on the sand of Bora Bora and a voluptuous massage with a flower balm of frangipani.
Thanks to Letizia Lorenzi, Ayurvedic practitioner at the Thalassotherapy Alliance Pornic, to Jean-Louis Poiroux, founder of the Cinq Mondes brand and Spas, and Marie-Bénédicte? Gauthier, coauthor of "Secrets and beauty rituals from around the world" (edited by Flammarion).
A big thank you to the team of Constance Halaveli Resort in Maldives for its exceptional hospitality. Such. (960) 666 7000. [email protected]. And www.halaveli.com
