I have never been good at being still. My days are packed with a relentless stream of meetings, messages and manic deadlines that I struggle to navigate. Naturally, my body mirrors that chaos, with my shoulders always feeling tight and muscles knotted like ropes I can’t untangle. Every attempt at rest feels laboured and even if I am successful, it’s almost always short-lived. It’s the same with luxurious massages that offer temporary reprieve; hours later, the tension returns with a stubborn and unrelenting insistence.
Desperate for something more lasting, I followed a friend’s insistence and found myself at Sohum Wellness during a recent trip to Dubai. Unlike typical spa visits, where you are handed a form to tick boxes about ailments, this began with a conversation. I was led to an Ayurvedic doctor whose calm presence seemed to slow the world by a fraction. She listened intently to my words, paid attention to my movement and pointed out how my posture carried weight; things I hadn’t noticed. When she spoke of my dosha, Vata, it was as though she had read the script of my body: the restless energy, the mental agitation and the persistent knots of tension.
As she explained the nature of my imbalance, she also suggested a remedy in Njavara Kizhi, an Ayurvedic rice massage with roots in the temples and wellness centres of Kerala. Rare outside Kerala, and even more so in commercial spas abroad, the therapy promised something I hadn’t experienced in years: a chance for my body and mind to truly release.
“Traditionally referred to as Shashtika Shali Pinda Sweda, Njavara Kizhi (Ayurvedic rice massage) is a thermo-nourishing therapy where the body is massaged using warm boluses made from a unique variety of red rice native to Kerala, cultivated over 60 days and renowned for its medicinal properties,” explains Dr Jouhar Kanjhirhla, an Ayurvedic doctor at CGH Earth Kalari Kovilakom, Palakkad, Kerala.
Njavara Kizhi: A ritual of rice and warmth
My treatment at Sohum Wellness began with gentle breathwork before flowing into the soft, resonant tones of Tibetan bells. A few minutes later, warm herbal oil was smeared across my body, easing taut muscles and preparing my skin for the procedure ahead.
Then arrived a tray with small muslin potlis or kizhi, filled with Njavara rice that was simmered in cow’s milk and a herbal decoction infused with Bala root, prized for its strengthening properties. Two therapists worked in tandem, pressing, rolling and kneading them along every tense fibre. When the warm, herb-infused rice boluses were placed along my back, shoulders and legs, a slow, insistent release began. The weight of daily life, be it the deadlines, the constant notifications or the invisible tension, seeped from my muscles with each rhythmic press. For the first time in months, I could feel stillness that wasn’t empty but felt like a slow surrender.
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