I’m a massage therapist’s nightmare. On the table, my inner critic is often muffled, but rarely silenced. Swedish or Shiatsu? I’m mentally assigning my therapist a letter grade for skill. Aromatherapy? I silently struggle to identify fragrance components. And when it comes to body treatments, I’m usually too focused on the process to actually relax. So it was a rare pleasure that during the Ku Nye Experience at the Spa at the Four Seasons Los Angeles, I fell asleep.
The last thing I remember was David, my therapist, stimulating marma points energy centers in Ayurvedic medicine along my body to free the flow of energy. Sensitive and skilled, he applied just the perfect amount of pressure. When I awoke, warmed muslin poultices filled with Himalayan salt crystals, marigold, and lavender had been tucked into the arches of my feet. As David slowly traced another warmed poultice along the energy points of my body, I delighted in the rough texture of the cloth sack and the pleasingly earthy fragrance of its contents.
I managed to stay awake for the rest of the treatment, during which David performed lymphatic drainage techniques to clear the body of toxins. He then massaged my back and neck with smooth stones and finished by stimulating energy points on the face and scalp. By treatment’s end, my body felt lighter and yet more deeply relaxed than at any time in recent memory.
Ku Nye, a form of bodywork indigenous to the Tibetan medical tradition, originated in the ancient kingdoms of Tibet. Early Tibetans treated illnesses and body “imbalances” with oil infusions and substances extracted from butter. The word “Ku” means “to apply,” or to anoint the body with therapeutic oils, and “Nye” refers to the actual massage. At the Four Seasons Los Angeles, a Ku Nye therapy includes the application of a blend of five essential oils combined with Tibetan techniques of cupping, kneading, and acupressure with warmed Himalayan herbal poultices.
Since the earliest days of Ku Nye, sticks, stones, and tree branches were also used to exert pressure on points of the body. But today, Nye techniques primarily involve kneading, rubbing, and pressing of muscles and tendons and the application of pressure to various energy points and channels. The final part of this therapy, called “Chi,” traditionally involves cleaning the oils from the body using barley or chickpea powder though I was relieved that the wonderfully fragrant oil employed during the treatment a mixture of argan oil, juniper berry, rose geranium, and organic rose hip seed oil was allowed to soak into my skin.
Ku Nye is one of the four main pillars of the traditional Tibetan medical system, which also includes dietary recommendations, lifestyle modification, and use of herbal medicines. Ku Nye is mentioned in many of the earliest Tibetan texts, such as the Bum Shi, Gyud Si, and Ton Huang medical texts, dating from 1900 BC.
According to Tibetan medical philosophies, health is achieved through the balance of subtle energies. Because meditation is an important component of Tibetan Buddhism, the healing intentions of the practitioner are an important part of this process, and Ku Nye may also incorporate meditative rituals such as mantras and smoke purification.
“Because the therapy is intended to address the guest’s energy field, rather than ‘problem areas, the treatment encompasses the entire body from the feet to the crown of the head,” says Spa Director Derek Hofmann. “At first some guests are reluctant to sign up for this type of energetic healing work, but once they experience how deeply relaxing and transformative it can be, as well as the purity of the products, they are persuaded of its benefits.”
In the last few years, Ku Nye has become popular in Australia, and recently made its way to American shores the Spa at the Four Seasons Los Angeles is one of the only spas in the U.S. to offer this unique treatment. The treatment is performed with skincare products by Ila a UK company known for its holistic philosophy, ethical sourcing, and the purity of its ingredients. ” The whole concept, products and treatments were presented to a Rinpoche in the Tibetan Temple in the Himalayas,” says Denise Leicester, Ila’s founder. “It was blessed by him; he said that everybody who received this treatment would experience the essence of Tibet’s spirituality it will keep the spirit of Tibet alive.”
Prior to the treatment, I had cautioned David that I was having a flare-up of a stress-induced eczema condition on the skin around my eyes something that recurs every winter. “Okay I’ll make sure to avoid getting product there,” he said lightly. “But I have one client who says the Ila Body Balm for Feeding Skin and Senses healed her daughter’s eczema. Why don’t I give you a sample? That way, you can try it at home and let me know what you think?” www.ila-spa.com I’m happy to report that within three days, my eczema had totally cleared. During that time, I used the thick, Ila balm, with argan oil, shea butter, and essential oils of rose otto and geranium, faithfully morning and night. Whether it was that or the stress-banishing properties of the Ku Nye itself, I’ll never know for sure. But I’m already planning another visit to the Spa for another Ku Nye and to stock up on the Body Balm just to cover all my bases.
PR CONTACTS
Spa at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles
Spa Director Derek Hofman: dhofmann@fourseasons.com
Ila: Denise Leicester: denise@ila-spa.com.
By Katherine Stewart
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