The
practice of using massage as a curative method is very common in the
state. From small villages to the big cities, oil massages and muscular
exercises are done in places called Akhara.
Massage is a term
which is used to signify a group of systematic and scientific
manipulations of bodily tissues which are best performed with the hands,
for the purpose of affecting the nerves and muscular systems and the
general circulation. Massage is used as a method in treatment of numerous
abnormal conditions.
Though seldom sufficient in itself,
combined with electrical or light therapy, it is often a useful adjunct to
the more important treatment by exercise. Consequently, massage is also
termed a passive form of exercise.
It softens and relaxes parts
which have been hardened and congested. It forces out of the tissues the
stagnant and impure blood and brings in new arterial blood laden with
oxygen and food materials thus ensuring rapid combustion.
Massage
is an art, if rightly used, can be one of the most important therapeutic
agencies wrongly used, it may produce infinite harm, ever to the extent of
preventing recovery.
Massage is not an ordinary contact of the
ham with the body, but is a skilled or professional touch. It is a touch
applied with intelligence, with control and with physiological effects.
All centres of nature cure have the facilities concerned.
Ayurveda
suggests that massage should b done in the morning during kapha time for
kapha disorder, in the evening for vata disorder and the afternoon for
pitta disorder. A gentle massage is good for vata and pitta individuals.