Yogi need not massage, as one of my Indian gurus told. Really, correct and regular Yoga practice allows ‘massaging’ your whole body from inside, and you are not dependent on outer help of massager anymore. So, I never ask for massage through all my life, and never recommend people to become ‘patients’. However, I communicate and collaborate with many healers and know the matter well enough. If you are not a Yogi yet, you can try massage as a sort of ‘outer yoga’ for understanding of body-work at all. Here I introduce two remarkable options for massage within/near Ubud area selected from many others.
Writer Atma Ananda with Wayan Sabar
You know, traditional Balinese massage is very painful, but there is the most extreme and ascetic possibility to get ‘massage for pain’ in the very center of Ubud village. Wayan Sabar is balian (healer) who specializes on traumas, accidents etc. His manner is so strong that even so called ‘healthy’ people feel their imperfection crying and shouting from his deep and direct pressure on painful areas. But they always feel better after massage, so the healer is broadly recommended by Balinese patients. He works at his own home on open veranda, as the most of traditional healers are doing (without special clinic).
I was introduced to Wayan Sabar by my Balinese friend-healer, and some of my Russian readers discovered his place after my report in my blog. They told me that they really cried during massage, but it was fantastically impressive result. So, if you have no pity to yourselves, you can try real Balinese massage at his house on Jero Gadung Street or call for conformation (081337178299). I am not responsible for your pleaser, being sure that it will be extreme suffering. But ‘without pain no gain’, and you can accept it as a form of tapas (austerity) which is appreciated within traditional Hindu culture.
There are some Ayurvedic clinics in Ubud, but I would recommend to visit the clinic of Dr. Acharya about 40 min from Ubud to north Kuta. While you see simply name ‘acupuncture’ on the door, really they use Ayurvedic system of marmas, or special points (not Chinese acupuncture). The owner spent 9 years in India studying the subject very seriously and came back to Bali with huge experience. He also guide some stuff in Ubud’s Ayurvedic clinics, but the best trained twelve stuffs works with him. Except of massage they give whole healing program according to the ancient science of Ayurveda.
Dr. Acharya
Remarkably, all stuffs in the clinic are young Balinese balians who were reoriented to Ayurvedic methods. They become vegetarian, practice Yoga in the morning and even stop trance which is the mark of misbalanced rajasic nature and week psychosomatics. Of course, they use their previous knowledge which they got from the very childhood from their parents-healers. Moreover, after finishing their training by Dr. Acharya they become independent Ayurvedic healers and come back to their villages to continue their healing practice by themselves. You can contact the owner to get the address (0817359471).
To be strict, I emphasize my accent upon spiritual practice without any support from healers. This is just sharing of information but not the way which I recommend to follow for my own students. Everybody is free to decide to work for self-development or to look for outer support at beginning.
This article was published in 2011 in Ubud Community print edition
_____________�About the Writer : Atma Ananda teaches ‘Self-Being Strategy’ based on main principles of development using traditional techniques: Yoga, Vedanta, Taoism, Buddhism, Reiki etc. Her own 20 years spiritual experience can be described in two parts. First 10 years, she got background in Western culture getting master degree in philosophy, working in universities and publishing houses, practicing Christian and Occult methods. Next 10 years she spent in 10 Asian countries studying and working with above 50 original masters, getting many initiations and certificates, and writing 30 books printed in total run of 115 000 copies (available in 6 languages worldwide). Her unique path was described in her ‘Out of Biography’. Her teaching is based on her holistic spiritual experience (check the author’s web-site for details).�Contacts:�http://maria-yoga.narod.ru; maria-yoga@yandex.ru