Study Ayurvedic massage in India
In the winter of 2009 I headed to Asia to study Ayurvedic massage in India for a month in the southern state of Kerala.
With only 600€ on my pocket and a forever travel wanderlust , I headed to India with a 6 month cheap return ticket, searching for an alternative medicine school.
India, more specifically Kerala, is becoming a mecca for people who want to learn Ayurvedic massage and medicine. Kerala is a beautiful southern tropical state, filled with beautiful back waters, coconut trees and extremely friendly and kind people. Kerala is beautiful and learning is such an environment is a plus!
The view 5 minutes from my apartment
I chose one of the most respected schools I could find in Kannur The school of Ayurveda and Panchakarma. My teachers, Sapna and Rajesh were 2 young ayurvedic doctors who decided to dedicate their lives teaching foreign students. Their curriculum seemed interesting and the prices were appealing.
We had 8 full hours of classes, daily, 4 hours of theory classes in the morning and 4 hours practice classes during the afternoon. When you study Ayurvedic massage in India, you’ll learn much more than when you’re taking a course back home. You’ll immerse in the culture, traditions and will have a much deeper understanding of the Ayurvedic massage and medicine context.
My class
The class had about 16 students, on high season which is a good number. We became good friends and practised a lot on each other during our free time. All students decided to be placed within shared apartments provided by the by the school for a monthly rent. The apartments were very comfy, simple and modern.
During my stay the rent was quite affordable, I paid 50€ a month, sharing with another person with all the amenities included. Unfortunately, on the next month, they doubled the prices.
A knee treatment
I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of both the theoretical and the practical classes. The teachers were used to explain very complex theories in a very simple way, easy for everyone to understand.
I had 4 years of Traditional Chinese medicine from an alternative medicine school in Spain under my belt, so I had no problems understanding some of the complexities of Ayurveda. I have to admit, I loved the theory classes, the diagnostic methods, the pulse, tongue examination, the different syndrome differentiation.
Shirodhara
The afternoon classes were sometimes very tiring for me. I had been very sick during the previous 21 days, when I couldn’t barely eat anything so the physical effort was sometimes overwhelming. I had lost so much weight I was just skin and bone and felt very weak. On a normal circumstance, the practical classes would have been a joy.
The 3 latinas
A typical Kerala meal on a banana leaf
Our teacher Sapna explaining us all about this traditional meal
For a small fee, the school provided delicious Sattvic meals for lunch, an opportunity to learn more about ayurvedic nutrition. It’s worth to have lunch at school, not only the food is absolutely delicious, but you can repeat and eat with your teachers and colleagues.
Those were the most delicious Indian dishes I’ve ever ate in my life!
A delicious vegetarian Sattvic meal
For the ones who want to study Ayurvedic massage in India as a hobby, you will be fine with a 2 week course. You’ll learn all the basics of ayurvedic massage and able to perform a full body massage to friends and family.
If you want to get more advanced, I suggest the 1 month intensive course. After the second week, the class will be smaller, allowing you to have more one-o-one time with the teachers.
You can also take several treatments with a discount at school, but don’t forget you’ll be paying tourist prices. You’ll be ble to find better quality panchakarma and ayurvedic massage therapists in Kannur which are not directly linked to the school.
You can also buy all sorts of Ayurvedic products, such as book,s oils, powders, medicines, etc…
After one month it’s graduation time. You’ll receive your certificate and you’re finally free to practice.
Remember that if you want to practice professionally you’ll have to check out the laws about body work therapy in your own country. This course might not be recognized there. If you want to work with massage, you should also have a knowledge of Anatomy, physiology and pathology, which is not taught in this course.
I believe this s a wonderful complimentary course, but not enough to be a professional in the health care area. Honestly speaking, I would not allow anyone to practice on my body, with basically no understanding for the human body.
The beach right next to our Apartment
If the study of Ayurveda massage in India is on your dream list, I have to say – go for it! It’s an excellent opportunity to learn this incredible art, while experiencing a new culture and gastronomy.
Apart from the study of Ayurvedic massage, you can have classes on yoga, baby massage and beauty therapy. You can combine those short part-time courses to your curriculum, but remember, you might feel very tired and doing things slowly is wiser than trying to fit everything in a short period of time.
Kannur is a beach town, with a majority of Muslim population, so covering your body and dressing conservatively is very important. It might get overwhelmingly hot, so during the school time I would wear shorts and t-shits, since a van would pick me up from my apartment and drop me at school (no contact with the general population), but when I went out, I always made sure I was dressed appropriately. Yes, you can get sexually harassed in Kannur, and actually some of my colleagues had that experience.
Best time to go and study Ayurvedic massage in India?
The best time to go down to Kerala for a course, is definitely during the Winter time – November – December- January – February.
Why is that? Well, Kannur is a tropical area, it can get extremely hot and humid which is very unpleasant when trying to study such a physical subject. I took my 1 month course during December and it was very, very hot!
THINGS YOU MUST BRING WITH YOU:
- Mosquito repellent
- If you’re a female, modest clothes that cover your body
- Some basic medicine, like anti- diarrhea pills (but don’t worry too much, You’ll have good Ayrvedic doctors around you!)
- Lonely Planet India (an absolute MUST) you can buy it HERE (and you’ll be helping this website run, at NO extra cost to you!)
MORE INFO ABOUT KERALA? VISIT THE OFFICIAL TOURISM WEBSITE FOR KERALA
Featured image credits: lifecarehealthcenter.com
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That was really interesting to read. I got certified for Thai Yoga massage in the mountains and have been in Goa almost 1.5 years now wanting to practice but have lost a lot of my skills. Most people want an oil massage. So I’ve thought about learning oil as well, since Indians prefer it and tourists are curious about it- but I love thai!
I always read your blog, (yes, I’m a bit jealous, because I liked Goa!) but if you want to take a course with a minimum of quality you shouldn’t do it in Goa, but in Kerala. The school I went to is obviously a school that teaches foregners, but with the same quality as any western school. They had extremely competent teachers, nice staff, modern facilities, etc. When I went to India, I actually wanted to study alongside Indian people but I couldn’t find any school with short term courses and most treatments are not really appropriate for foreigners (we don’t have lots of illnesses they have in India), so this school seemed to be a great option. I’m also a certified Thai Yoga masseuse and I love the Thai massages, but the Ayurvedic background helps a lot, since Ayurveda is a lifestyle medicine. If you go to Kerala, you’ll get to know ALL about putting oils all over your body, even in certain places you might not be very fond of
Hi
I am from SA and I want to go to India don’t know where to study ayurvedic massages, I don’t know where to go what to do and costs involved, do u know of anyone that can help me, thanks
What a great experience. Believe me or not, but I’ve never had a proper massage! That’s something I wish I could try one day :). Have you experienced Thai massages?
Thanks for the tips. I am headed to Kerala in January from a yoga course, and thought about studying Ayurveda as well! This seems like an interesting program, and the food does look delicious.
Katie
Hi! I’m in Australia now and I’m going to study yoga in Rishikesh in February. Since I’m going to be in India, I was thinking to study ayurvedic massage in kerala. The only problem that I have is that I want to study the massage carrier in my country (Chile) AFTER the course of ayurveda (cause it’s really far away and I can’t afford to go to Chile, study massage and then go back to India). So, do you think I can learn ayurvedic massage first and then the carrier or I need the carrier first to understand the ayurvedic massage class?
Thank you so much!!!
Beatriz.
It would better, if you can contact vaidhyasayurvedic.com, they do provide excellent courses with competitive rates
Hello Yara! I am thinking of studying ayurvedic massages ir India too. How much did you pay for your studies? How long have you been studying? Maybe you remember how much does it cost to study to get DIPLOMA in AYURVEDA & PANCHAKARMA. I see that studies last for 3 months…
This is my first visit to your blog, your post made productive reading, thank you.
I’m glad it was helpful
Thank you for sharing this information about ayurvedic massage in India
Vaidhyasayurvedic does provides different ayurveda courses which suits the current market and has good number of students from abroad mainly from Europe and North America.
Great post its really interested in reading when you post your next blog
Such a great post thank you! I’m looking for a school in Kerala next week this helps a lot!!
How much is the one month course ?
Hi Yara. I am interested in going to India next year to study Ayurvedic . I am torn between the Ayurvedic Natural Health Centre in Goa – which is a 6 week course or the 1 month course in Kerala that you have mentioned. Does anyone have any ideas?
Thank you