By Kavida Rei
I have combined a life-long passion for music with my experience as a trained counsellor and massage therapist. My fascination with people and their inner and outer journeys has been equalled by a fascination with all aspects of sound.
Being massaged and listening to music are two of the great pleasures in life, but there is a radical difference between a massage conducted to a randomly chosen New Age CD full of Musak and one given to the selections of a music loving therapist who wants the recipient to leave the session and rush home to log on at Amazon. A custom-made musical journey is one of the things I specialise in, whilst at the same time giving a healing and therapeutic bodywork session.
I trained as a musician and at sixteen, left home for a place in music college where I found myself purchasing an ever-increasing pile of new albums from the local record shop in Totnes high street (I wonder if that Aladdin’s cave is still there?).
My musical taste has always been eclectic. It’s easy to recall the first time John Martyn’s “One World” or Joni Mitchell’s “Hejira” took over my body and soul from the moment the stylus hit the groove, inducing an altered state of consciousness.
In the world according to Kavida Rei the great listening public would get as excited by a Jon Hassell/Brian Eno collaboration as they do about football transfers and Hollywood gossip. In my world people would be dancing in the street to John Scofield, and every Blue Nile release would be celebrated with a national holiday.
A little more on the content of a massage session; part of the therapy focuses on chakras. A chakra is an energy vortex that lies in and above certain areas of the body. They are affected by any kind of stimulus, all forms of ‘energy’, even thought. Certainly music has a profound and direct impact on the chakras, and one can heal many wounds and traumas through conscious balancing of these areas. For example, rhythmic drumming or the steady beat of a rich bass line can stimulate the base chakra in a particular way. This can cause the energy to rise up through the body and out of the crown of the head, resulting in an orgasmic sensation. Try a few minutes of Jaco Pastorious whilst in a euphoric state and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
The creation of the perfect music/massage session hinges on choosing the right music for client A and the perfect selection for client B. The lover of Jazz and the connoisseur of Progressive Rock are often one and the same, but once on a massage table Lyle Mays stroking the Steinway might just be more preferable to Robert Fripp abusing his Mellotron (although I know someone who would relish the thought). A chilled jazz trio or almost anything from the ECM catalogue would probably be more conducive to muscle relaxation than “The Light” by Spocks Beard.
When I receive a massage I love to take a musical journey around the world – different tracks from different genres. This might not suit everyone as the mind finds it easier to take a vacation under the influence of less complex music, than if it has to wrap itself around something that requires more conscious listening. When first treating a new ‘client’ the secret is to tread carefully with maybe a touch of the exquisitely plaintive sounds of David Sylvian. If all goes well, the mystical meanderings of David Torn can be added to the warm oil of ecstasy. If they are not familiar with Dead Can Dance or perhaps Nils Peter Molvaer, then this could be the perfect time for an introduction.
Compiling music has always been an enjoyable task and with over 700 albums to choose from you can imagine how many colourful and eclectic mixes lie around waiting to be enjoyed by visiting musos. So, be it Mark Isham or Steve Roach, Jan Garbarek or Rob Palmer, the massage table will always be the ‘best seat in the house.
