The careful dance of getting massaged by four hands at a Santa Monica spa

At the Proper Hotel successful Santa Monica, an worker successful a achromatic polo and khaki slacks guides maine from the edifice concierge done the vaulted-ceiling lobby, circumvents the restaurant’s chicly-dressed midday diners, past the outdoor eating terrace, and stops astatine a curved entryway. There helium opens the doorway to Surya Wellness Spa and a affable look greets me. I’m close connected time.

The aroma instantly strikes me. It smells similar a room — earthen, dry, airy with a hint of spice and pepper. I’m guided down a wood-flanked hallway, an array of astir 80 spices and herbs displayed successful ample jars astatine its end. Some are filled astir to the brim, others astir empty, conveying usage implicit decor. In the meditation/waiting room, I’m delivered a cupful of cumin-coriander-fennel beverage portion I look implicit the OMG (Oh My Goddess) clarity oracle cards, their gimmicky aura retired of spot successful the grounding environment. They indispensable beryllium working, though — I’m describing cards arsenic having an aura.

I’ve been wanting to travel to Surya since it opened successful the bleary-eyed re-emergence of 2021 arsenic a beacon of bid and calm. Martha Soffer, the owner, is considered the occidental person successful modern Ayurveda — taking 10,000-year-old Indian practices for physical, affectional and spiritual harmony and wrapping them successful a California sensibility. Touted by luxe wellness royalty similar Gwyneth Paltrow and the Kardashians, Surya has garnered a desirous following. Its Instagram-ready plan (by nary different than Kelly Wearstler) is arsenic envy-inducing arsenic its offerings, particularly the Panchakarma bid consisting of astir 4 hours of regular services (massages, cleanses, enemas, yoga, meditations and cuisine) for 3 to 28 days straight. I’m present for their signature Abhyanga service: a four-handed, light-touch massage with tons of lukewarm herbalized oils that person been steeped overnight (the last destination for those ample jars).

I’ve precocious begun my ain grooming arsenic a massage therapist, wanting to larn a accomplishment that has thing to bash with a machine but everything to bash with people. I’m funny astir this benignant of massage, the benignant that combines pampering with past cognition — escapism meets medicine. At $350, the 60-minute Abhyanga is besides the cheapest gateway into Surya’s satellite (and my accidental to bargain arsenic galore techniques arsenic I can). I’m anxious to observe the massage that volition yet let maine to afloat yield, due to the fact that whenever I’m the 1 connected the massage table, I person this unusual consciousness that I’m not “doing it right.” I find it incredibly hard to relax. Since opening to larn the practice, I admit however noticeable this is. The much I instrumentality successful the subject of strokes, the systems of the assemblage and ways of listening to musculus tissue, the clearer it is that I springiness resistance. There are times you person to coax a assemblage into trusting you truthful that you tin dainty it.

After a fewer minutes with the oracle cards (Divine Timing and Divine Feminine Energy), 1 of my massage therapists comes to get me. We marque tiny speech arsenic I’m escorted with my tea. Yes, this is my archetypal clip here. No, I’ve ne'er had an Ayurvedic massage before. Mmmhmm, I americium excited to acquisition relaxation successful this way. My 2nd massage therapist is waiting to greet america astatine the extremity of a tiny hallway. I get butterflies of invited anticipation. Four hands massaging maine is imminent.

The 2 practitioners locomotion maine done what to expect, taking attraction to item that they volition accommodate my comfortableness level but urge I’m nude with a tiny towel covering my nether regions to debar lipid damaging covering and let amended lymphatic techniques astir the chest. They permission maine to hole myself successful the attached afloat bathroom, with walls and heated level tiles successful a dusty cobalt reminiscent of the entity conscionable earlier dawn successful spring.

My assemblage sinks into the cushioned level much similar it’s a bully sofa than a massage table. One practitioner wraps hot, damp towels astir my feet portion the different is astatine my head, fumbling a spot with my loc’d hairsbreadth earlier getting it successful the close presumption for the work. I inhale indispensable oils done a sheet, a subtle but impactful mode to awesome the opening of the acquisition to my tense system. A brushed manus takes the spot of the towels astatine my feet and calves portion lukewarm oils are simultaneously dripped onto my hairsbreadth and massaged into my scalp. I rapidly forgive the follicular fumble. As my extremities are warmed and touched successful synchronicity, I surrender. The scent of my chosen lipid swirls astir me: a pitta-kapha blend, relating to 2 of the 3 Ayurvedic “doshas” oregon governing beingness energies. I chose pitta for its transformative, cooling properties, and kapha for its stabilizing, anti-inflammatory ones.

I’m acrophobic that, adjacent successful this sanctuary of submission, I’ll bash it “wrong” again. I absorption connected my breathing and inhale the pitta-kapha elements. I question retired that in-between limbo conscience that a massage tin truthful deliciously lull you into. I vow to store the way of their hands determination successful the backmost of my caput portion it besides constructs abstract imagination images, signaling immoderate grade of letting go. Soft chants playing from a talker determination successful the country cheer maine connected into merchandise and I americium hopeful to execute it.

Warm lipid is being poured each implicit my assemblage and 4 hands tally implicit my full magnitude successful unison, 1 brace connected each side, earlier returning to the halfway of my backmost to statesman the crux of the Abhyanga choreography. It’s a cautious creation of mirroring 1 another, not lone successful question but successful pressure, velocity and intention. When the hands are focused connected my back, I’m awash successful a full-body buzz of calm, arsenic if my full tense strategy were a purring cat. The tips of 1 manus are mildly pressing astatine the nape of my neck, the different astatine the precise apical of my sacrum — adjacent to the 2 ends of my spine — portion 2 different hands criss-cross successful between. It is ne'er overstimulating, lone multiple, soothing interaction points. I consciousness my defender driblet arsenic 4 hands rhythmically circulate supra my lungs, bosom and digestive organs. This is it. My full assemblage is elongating. A pulse emanates from wrong maine that is heavy and dilatory arsenic if my bosom is an eighth count, my lungs a fourth, and this caller tempo is the existent conductor that I’m typically excessively distracted to notice.

Massage tin beryllium a disarmingly profound practice. It honors the information that we tin heal each other, instrumentality attraction of 1 different with small much than focused attention. I deliberation the beingness of 4 hands, alternatively than the accustomed two, doubles down connected this volition — the mode bodies tin successfully awesome to 1 different to loosen up, unclench, let flow. This peculiar massage, with its copious usage of oil, is little astir targeting musculus groups than gliding done the interior workings of the body, without friction. It reminds the assemblage of itself.

Warm towels connected my feet again awesome the extremity of my 60 minutes that felt similar lone 20. I’m softly fixed instructions to usage arsenic galore of the towels arsenic I privation successful the bath to pat myself dry. But I’m besides encouraged to permission immoderate lipid connected — If possible, they say. When I perceive the doorway adjacent from their exit, I peel myself up from the lukewarm array and marvel astatine the oily outline my assemblage has near connected the sheet.

My assemblage retains the warmth from the 2 others adjacent erstwhile I americium unsocial and disconnected the heated table. I tin consciousness the aboveground of my tegument tingling, arsenic if searching for the institution of those 4 hands again. My joints consciousness lighter. I consciousness similar I’ve mislaid 5 pounds from my framework arsenic I remark connected my much graceful, flowing motions. Less similar I’m maneuvering my assemblage done beingness and much similar it is carrying maine done it. I consciousness similar a vas for a psyche alternatively than a corpus burdened by physics and gravity. I did it, I recognize — with the assistance of 4 hands.

Nereya Otieno is simply a writer focused connected intercultural spaces and the ways successful which music, nutrient and the arts are forms of storytelling. She co-founded the Rising Artist Foundation nonprofit and presently lives successful Koreatown.