Bust stress with an Ayurveda massage

Do you spend long hours in odd postures, poring over computer screens? Do chronic complaints like spondylitis and arthritis threaten you? If you do, this may be the perfect time of year to try ayurvedic treatments offered by some of Kerala's leading medical houses in your city.

For this is Karkitaka -- or the special month of healing -- according to the Keralite calendar. It comes around July or August, when Ayurveda believes the body is at its weakest and also most responsive to treatment. Authentic Ayurveda centres in all major Indian cities are specially geared for the month of Karkitaka, which sees a flux of patients and health enthusiasts from India and abroad.

Let's find out what these centres offer.

Stress busters

An hour-long medicated oil massage, custom-designed by a physician for your body type and condition, costs approximately Rs 350, inclusive of an oil bath. Add Rs 150 for a steam bath and enjoy being massaged and bathed, perhaps for the first time since your diaper days.

Flab busters

Burn that excess fat in your gym by all means, but ayurveda can help you there too. It offers udwarthanam or a massage with herbal powders. According to Ashtang Hridaya, the bible of ayurveda, special herbal medicine taken internally, in combination with massage, raises fat metabolism and leads to a considerable loss of weight. An individual session costs Rs 475 per day, and it is generally administered over 7, 14 or 21 days, depending on the patient's condition.

Skin nirvana

The controversy over chemicals in some of the most-reputed face packs in the market may have you worried. Ayurveda offers safer herbal packs for acne, skin tone and skin glow. An assortment of face packs costs Rs 350; body packs, Rs 500.

A new you

Ayurvedic rejuvenation, or Sukha Chikitsa, is an elaborate spa session that reactivates every cell and restores your stamina. It's a stress-busting, body-purifying procedure that is said to leave you looking younger, stronger and vibrant. It attempts to leave you calmer, your voice better modulated, and neutralises the ill-effects of junk food. There is a catch though -- the session goes on for seven days.

Dr Rekha Nair, a qualified ayurvedic practitioner at the Estuary Island resorts of Poovar, Kerala, makes a strong pitch for ayurvedic procedures. "A regular date with Ayurveda puts the body in prevention mode and protects it from severe damage," she says. "It is often successful where other methods fail. It has treatment for ailments, advice on routine life and support for a healthy lifestyle. It is merely waiting to be discovered by the world in a bigger way."

Ayurveda centres

Make sure you visit an authentic centre like the ones listed below, where qualified physicians oversee the treatment and a trained masseuse executes the sessions. Most of these centres have set up shop in major Indian metros.