Thursday, July 12, 2012

Our Kansa Vataki Story

Back in the late 1990's I was invited to teach in the south of France at a beautiful retreat center run by a Dutch couple.  My hosts were a couple from Belgium and the young woman had studied Ayurvedic techniques both in Paris and in Brittany.  Her teacher was Dr Kiran Vyas.  Unfortunately, his book is only published in French (Les Massage Indien).  She was the one that first introduced me to Kansa Vataki for foot massage.  From the very beginning I was impressed that it seems particularly those either unaccustomed or just plain cynical about the benefit of massage that loved this technique and seemed to melt at each the simplest touch with the magic little metal bowl. 

That was the start of our Pedikarma(TM) treatment.  In 2005 we produced the video, now a DVD, along with the support products: Ayurvedic Bath Salts and two massage products - Anise Lotion (based on the Tibetan tradition) and Aromatice Golden Ghee (based on the Indian Ayurvedic tradition).  At that point we used either a simple kansa saucer shaped little bowl or one with a decorative brass handle that looked like a little metal basket. 

As time went by an Indian manufacturer found us sent as the large kansa foot wand we use today.  Beautifully made with the purest kansa is is a joy to use and the results are marvellous.  It is wonderful for normalizing high skin tone, easing headaches and nausea, gentle detoxing and very grounding.  We are happy to say that those that prefer no handle at all now have that option.

Then as so often happens in American more innovation was a foot.  We started to hear that people were using the kansa on the face and getting a better face lift than by using low current galvanic stimulation machine ($5000 worth!).  We were impressed by the before and after pictures and so we had a small kansa wand made.  It was amazing to see the jojoba oil we used as a massage medium go really grey as acids left the skin and the face came back alive.  We now have an even smaller face massage kansa designed for home use that is small enough to travel in a cosmetic bag.



Then, just this spring we were attending the NAMA (National Ayurvedic Medical Association) annual conference and showing the tools to our dear teacher Dr. Vasant Lad when he came up with an idea.  Being the artist that he is he immediately sketched it out for us and we in turn sent it off to India.  just a few weeks later the tool, a mini kansa on a T shaped handle was with us.  Dr.Lad used it in his Marma (vital energy point) class this summer and we will wait to hear the stories.



But, I have just one from personal experience I would like to share.  Since January of this year I have had a problem with my left shoulder.  It started after I was doing very heavy garden work and a new form of yoga.  Not only was it painful but I suddenly had limited range of motion.  It has slowly been improving to the point to where it now feels like a tight muscle down the front of my arm.  I was happy to let it heal slowly when Bob, my husband, suggested I use the new mini kansa tool.  I rubbed up and down the bone and all round the head of the bone at the shoulder joint.  To my amazement after less than five minutes I had 30 degrees more movement.  That gain has continued.

Today we made a new page on the website for all the kansa products so please visit then let us here your stories. 

Check here for Kansa page on DiamondWayAyurveda.com
Email ayurveda8@earthlink.net or call 805-543-9291