I’ve had people call me leaving lengthy messages describing their desperation for a head massage.  I’ve had people stop by my chair at Annapurna Chai house intrigued about “opening to bliss.”  I’ve had people get head massages at my SpaNomad Events who just plain love getting their heads rubbed.  No matter the path, head massage takes you somewhere.  To me, it’s a transcendent journey to a greater state of Well-Being.  Head massage feels outrageously decadent, sublimely delicious. 

I’ve been quoted as saying that if the field of massage were like languages, in the specialty of head massage, I’ve found my mother tongue.  Having been a professional full-time massage therapist since 1997, it wasn’t until my obsession with head massage that my gift for touch condensed into the clear fiery knowing of a “calling.”

I call them my “Soul Sisters” and my “Brothers From Another Mother” (big thanks to the Oscar character in Shark Tales movie for that phrase). My husband just laughs at me when I describe the barber-friends that I made in India during my 2009 trip to the spiritual town of Pushkar.  These are people who e-mail me weekly.  No, these aren’t just “people”.  These are my friends.  People who care deeply about me and who I love in return.  Being invited to their homes, meeting their wives and children, parents and sibling.  Spending hours and days in their happy company -- sharing gifts and communicating beyond the language barrier our appreciation at having shared time together.  Indian Head Massage has brought me to a purity of heart-felt connection. 

My clients here in the States, I’ll gush… they’re incredible.  My students are simply amazing.  I was trying to explain on a radio interview last night the sheer bliss I feel in giving a treatment. The announcer suggested my feelings were related to working with the Master Chakra, the crown chakra at the top of the head. 

I honestly don’t know why it’s as good as it is.  I’ve worked on people’s heads giving table massages for over a decade and don’t get the thrills and shivers that routinely run down my spine when I do head massage.  Whatever the cause, I just know I love it; I’m addicted, in fact, to giving head massages.  Can’t think of a better way to spend my day than to facilitate the …..whatever it is!?

Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz said, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”

The Spirit of head massage for me is the Spirit of deep remembering of how wonderful and magical Life really is.  It’s given by someone who cares and received by someone who’s open to finding the perfection of the moment.

I laugh when people see my  Manish-the-Barber YouTube video and its accompanying uptempo Arabic music.  They want relaxing; they want zen; they want pure Indian music for God’s sakes!  The nice thing about India that I came to love is it doesn’t give a “rip” what you want.  You’ll get your head massage in the most chaotic environment possible (horns honking, top 40 radio music blaring, people hawking spit in the street, cell phones going off, people chattering, cows mooing…….) and it’s up to you to find that perfect space inside yourself DESPITE the externals.  It’s not India’s job to “make it nice and perfect.” 

That’s why I relish giving my head massages at Annapurna Restaurant amid the din and bustle of the lunch hour.  Because if you’re open and focused, you can find your Samadhi (mindful concentration) here.  And, if you can find it here, you can find it anywhere. 

I invite you to try head massage as the perfect conduit to bliss: whenever, wherever, however.

Please contact Laurie English licensed massage therapist  at 505-490-0591 to register for classes