moves. Because of my blindness, my other senses have become very finely tuned and I was able to concentrate with complete absorption on the effect the massage was having. By this means, I was able to devise a therapy that would bring the greatest relief to the multitude of problems concentrated in the head. I soon concluded that the therapy would benefit by being extended to include not only the head, but also the neck, shoulders and upper arms.
Having formalized the techniques of Indian head massage, I wanted to pass the knowledge on to others. In 1981, while I was thinking about how to introduce this idea to the public, a friend suggested that I take a stand at the Mind, Body, Spirit exhibition at Olympia in London. By the end of the exhibition, over 170 people suffering from exhibition exhaustion, headaches and work-related stress had tried it out. They felt relaxed and recharged. Some people even attended more than once.
My experience at the exhibition built up my confidence. I gained a great deal of experience in different types of hair and hair styles and I explored ways of revising my techniques to include massage that was suitable for every type of hair.
The exhibition led to a wave of publicity and numerous magazine articles. As a result, many more people became interested in learning and practising Indian head massage. This gave me the idea of arranging courses, and the more successful of these were the weekend courses. These enabled me to teach my pupils slowly and allowed time for revision. These weekend courses continued with great success up until 1995. From 1995 I introduced a course which led to a qualification to practise head massage. This included weekend instruction plus home study, case studies and an exam so that I could recommend the qualified therapists to anyone with confidence. These courses are still continuing and remain extremely popular.
Over the years at my clinic and at various exhibitions countless clients have allowed me to study the effect of my techniques in depth and to develop and expand them. One of the most important developments in my techniques was the introduction of an Ayurvedic element of chakra energy balancing and the extension of the massage element to include massage of the face and ears to enhance the overall effect.
Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medical system, which some believe to be the oldest medical system in the world. It goes beyond the limits of ‘healing’, placing an emphasis on balance and the uniqueness of each individual. Within Ayurveda, as in other belief systems from around the world, the body is said to contain seven energy centres. The energy points are known by different names in different parts of the world: I shall call them chakras. The flow of energy around the body and through these centres is believed to have a great effect on a person’s well-being.
Once I had incorporated an Ayurvedic element, I found I had a powerful therapy to increase the physical, mental and subtle energy benefits of Indian head massage. I call this therapy Indian Champissage. Champissage goes beyond simple Indian head massage. It combines physical massage with a more subtle form of massage which affects a person’s energy centres. The chakras I concentrate on in my work are the three higher chakras: Sahasrara located on the crown of the head, Ajna – vision (the third eye) – located in the middle of the forehead and Vishuddha, located in the throat. In total there are seven chakras, but they do not work independently of each other. A dysfunction in any one of them will result in a knock-on effect, which will ultimately build up and spiral to the head, culminating in a feeling of stress and tension. Working on the higher chakras has a powerful effect, and can bring the energy of the whole body back into balance. This cannot be realized through simple massage and is unique to Champissage.
The Seven Chakras
Amongst higher animals, touch and grooming form an important part of daily life. Many hours are spent in these activities, which provide comfort and create close social bonds. As highly evolved primates, touch remains a fundamental part of our biological heritage and plays a vital role in our development from infants to adults.
As babies, our most powerful experiences come through the medium of touch. We reach out to touch and explore the world around us, and we are also held and cradled by our parents. Many studies have shown that the quality and amount of handling that a young baby receives is crucial for healthy physical, emotional and mental development. For example, groups of baby rats that were handled and stroked with gentleness and care grew up to have greater body weight and brain size, less fear of the external world, and an increased resistance to stress and disease compared to groups of rats that were infrequently and roughly handled.
A famous study conducted by Harlow on Rhesus monkeys in America goes even further in demonstrating the primary importance of touch. In the experiment, infant monkeys raised in the laboratory were given a choice of two surrogate mothers. One was made of soft terry cloth and lit from behind with a light bulb for warmth. The other mother was made of wire mesh, but possessed an artificial nipple which supplied milk. Time and again the monkeys clung to the terry-cloth ‘mother’ for comfort rather than the milk-providing ‘mother’. Only when the infants were extremely hungry would they be forced to make a brief dash for milk, scampering back to the comfort mother afterwards.
This experiment also demonstrated how important touch is to healthy personality development and social skills. These laboratory-raised monkeys were introduced to other monkeys of similar age but were totally unable to co-exist peacefully with them. Furthermore, when it came to raising baby monkeys themselves, the laboratory monkeys demonstrated no maternal attachment.
Touch is essential for stimulating our nervous system and promoting healthy physical development. However, it is also critical for our mental and social development. A large part of our self-definition and the way we feel about ourselves comes from the way we are held and touched by our parents. Through it we develop a sense of being valued and of being valuable which is the cornerstone of our self-esteem. We learn about pleasure, warmth and comfort from touch. We learn about expressing our feelings, we learn about reassurance and security, and we learn about connectedness and social bonding.
Children who come from families where there is insufficient physical contact and tenderness may find it difficult to accept and value themselves. They may have difficulty expressing themselves emotionally, and find it hard to form long-term, intimate relationships as adults.
Touch connects us to the outside world, brings people closer and weaves intimacy
INTERNATIONAL TOUCH
In the same way that some families are more touch-friendly than others, some national cultures are more touch or physically orientated than others. In one study of the number of physical interactions that occurred during one hour in cafes, the highest number of recorded incidents occurred in Puerto Rico with a staggering 180 in one hour. This contrasted with a despondent zero in London! It is difficult to isolate the separate influence of family and cultural background, but they must combine to have an impact on how we relate physically to other people.
Touch is an instinctive, natural language that we all speak and understand. It is from this instinctive language of rubbing, holding and comforting that more structured forms of touch have evolved to eventually develop into the different
