There has been documentation of massage and the use of herbs, spices and aromatic oils in Ayurvedic medical texts dating back 4000 years. The aim is to treat the whole body in order to maintain harmony between the physical, mental and spir...itual being.
Massage remains an important part of the rich tradition of inter-generational massage in Indian family life. Families use massage daily for both relaxation and healing, maintaining contact and enjoying the stress reducing benefits of touch. From an early age children are introduced to head massage and learn how to perform, enabling each family member to give and receive.
Women use head massage as part of their hair grooming routine, incorporating different oils according to the season and specific conditions they may have. Oils like coconut, almond, olive, sesame or herbal infused oils like butter milk, keeping the hair strong and in a beautiful condition.
Barbers practice similar skills. It is quite common to receive a scalp massage from a barber when they visit your home offering a ‘champi’ (head massage) as part of the service.
Echoes of this Indian tradition reached the West long before the practise itself, in the form of the word ‘shampoo’, coming from the Hindi word ‘Champi’. Being ‘champied’ literally means having your head massaged.
Indian Head Massage was introduced to England by Narendra Metha, a blind man who grew up in an Indian community where Champi was an important part of life. He was the first person to develop and formalise Indian head massage into an actual therapy. Having come to England in 1978 & trained as a physiotherapist, in 1978 he returned to India where he studied the benefits and practice of Champi. Metha soon included the neck, shoulders and face in the massage and employed modern knowledge of shiatsu and acupressure to relax tense areas, rebalance the energy and clear any areas of concentrated negativity. In 1981 he started running introductory courses which developed into diploma level, leading to a professional qualification to practice Indian Head Massage.
Massage remains an important part of the rich tradition of inter-generational massage in Indian family life. Families use massage daily for both relaxation and healing, maintaining contact and enjoying the stress reducing benefits of touch. From an early age children are introduced to head massage and learn how to perform, enabling each family member to give and receive.
Women use head massage as part of their hair grooming routine, incorporating different oils according to the season and specific conditions they may have. Oils like coconut, almond, olive, sesame or herbal infused oils like butter milk, keeping the hair strong and in a beautiful condition.
Barbers practice similar skills. It is quite common to receive a scalp massage from a barber when they visit your home offering a ‘champi’ (head massage) as part of the service.
Echoes of this Indian tradition reached the West long before the practise itself, in the form of the word ‘shampoo’, coming from the Hindi word ‘Champi’. Being ‘champied’ literally means having your head massaged.
Indian Head Massage was introduced to England by Narendra Metha, a blind man who grew up in an Indian community where Champi was an important part of life. He was the first person to develop and formalise Indian head massage into an actual therapy. Having come to England in 1978 & trained as a physiotherapist, in 1978 he returned to India where he studied the benefits and practice of Champi. Metha soon included the neck, shoulders and face in the massage and employed modern knowledge of shiatsu and acupressure to relax tense areas, rebalance the energy and clear any areas of concentrated negativity. In 1981 he started running introductory courses which developed into diploma level, leading to a professional qualification to practice Indian Head Massage.
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