The Hill, January 2002, London
"Massage to the max"

Having tried Ayurvedic massage with Sidhamo at the Ladbroke Rooms, I can certainly say it reaches the parts that other massages don’t! Lying blissfully on the floor at the end of almost two hours of deep tissue massage and intense yoga based stretches, my body felt more alive and open than in years, while my mind was ethereally calm. But I have to say I’d earned it. First, deep tissue work with oils warms up the muscles followed by intense yoga-based stretches as Sidhamo offsets his weight against yours, taking you to your limits.

The trick is to breathe deeply and rhythmically into the stretch. And the results are worth it. The body is passively realigned and balanced, circulation is increased, toxins are expelled and the body’s energy centres are opened. Highly recommended for dancers and athletes looking to increase their performance, anyone seeking remedial work after injury or illness, and those looking for stress relief and deep emotional release.

Contact Sidhamo at:
07815 976480 or sidhamomassage@hotmail.com

The Ladbroke Rooms
8 Telford Road W10
(020 8960 0846)

Zest, London
"Instant stress relief"

When your shoulders are permanently up round your ears, try one of these instant stress-busters that promise to melt away tension in just one session.

"Ayurvedic yoga massage"

What it promises To relieve stress and tension. It is said to promote mental clarity and increase flexibility. It opens the upper and lower back, shoulders, chest, neck, legs and arms and is the equivalent of three standard yoga sessions.

You’ll get results in One-and-a-half-hours

How does it work? The treatment starts with a deep-tissue massage with ayurvedic oils to warm up your muscles. This is followed by intense yoga-based stretches – the therapist offsets his weight against yours, taking you to your limits where you breathe deeply and rhythmically into the stretch. The idea is that you can stretch further and hold poses for longer than you would working by yourself in a yoga class.

Tester’s verdict I felt the same muscle tiredness and exhilaration that I do after yoga workout and it encouraged me to work harder in my regular classes.

Costs £60 for a 90-minute session.

Where to go Our tester was treated by Sidhamo – to book a session, call 07815 976480. For details of therapists and training courses in your area, visit www.yogabodywork.com

Evening Standard, London
Friday, 16 November 2001
"Get your hands on me"

Forget boring old Swedish Massage, try the latest in pamper pummelling, says Alice Hart-Davis

A plain old massage is no longer enough for today’s health-conscious thrill-seekers. All sorts of new massage techniques are popping up everywhere, and some of them will stretch your mind as well as your body. One of the latest is the Ayurvedic technique, which I tried out last week.

At some point during an elaborate stretch, while I was sitting cross legged and reaching my left hand over my head, as the masseur anchored my left knee an encouraged me to take another breathand reach further, I wondered if this was a massage at all. Technically, it’s termed a “strong bodywork”, which means that your body will be worked to its limits. Sidhamo, a New Yorker who put in stints as a freelance concert promoter and professional chef before discovering massage, came across the technique in India. “I was blown away,” he says, and stayed in India to learn how to do it.

An Ayurvedic massage is a lengthy affair. It starts off with a warm-up phase, which involves lots of oil and loosening of the muscles using a technique aptly described as “twanging”. It’s not as painful as it sounds, but it’s not exactly soothing, either. Then comes the main part of the treatment: the assisted yoga stretching, which is fabulous. “It’s passive body realignment,” says Sidhamo. “All the postures do the same thing – they open up the charkas.” One word of warning: it’s one of those treatments that expands the mind as well as the muscles, so all you can do for the next couple of hours is mutter “Great… yeah, great…” until you come down again.

Health & Fitness, London
August 2003
“I want… to de-stress”
The healing touch

A warm and darkened room, soothing oils and a massage therapist devoted to your wellbeing…what could be more de-stressing and healing? Cathy Struthers helps you find the best type of massage for your every need.

"Ayurvedic Yoga Massage"

What is it: This yoga-based massage, which aims to open and realign the body and its charkas, is certainly not a passive lie-down-and-switch-off experience. With roots in traditional Ayurvedic massage, it involves deep tissue massage and yoga-based, gradual stretches in conjunction with coached rhythmic breathing, but the practitioner only ever stretches you to your own limits. Your modesty is covered at all times and some bone popping might be heard!

Good for: No matter what kind of stress bundle you were before the massage, you’ll emerge floating on air, feeling calm, euphoric, free in mind and body and flexible. Perfect for those feeling tense and restricted, emotionally and physically. Removes energy blocks, increases circulation and stimulates lymphatic drainage. Said to be beneficial for people suffering from Parkinson’s, as it helps reverse muscle shortening.

Bad for: Not suitable for pregnant women, those with recent broken bones, people suffering from cancer or those with major spinal disc problems.

The science bit: The massage works on the charkas and is a physical way of realigning the body and removing energy blockages to restore the body’s natural energy flow and wellbeing.

Heaven or hell: The deep tissue massage, which warms up the body before stretching, was incredibly releasing, even if a little painful at times. At first, I felt anxious at the limits practitioner Sidhamo was stretching my body to; I could never make my own body do that in yoga! But I soon relaxed and was amazed at how much further he could make my body stretch, in conjunction with my own breathing, without causing pain. As soon as I felt a twinge of discomfort, a small squeak from me, and Sidhamo eased off the stretch. Afterwards, I felt euphoric. Floating on air down the street, every limb felt free and elastic and I walked tall, with a grin on my face. It was as if I’d never known stress in my life”.

The ideal candidate: Perfect for office workers sitting at cramped desks all day. Also great for gym users, dancers, athletes and performers looking for improved flexibility and tension release.

Pummel me: Ayurvedic Yoga massage with Sidhamo costs £60 for 90 minutes. Call 07815 976480 or visit www.yogabodywork.com, www.ayurvedicyogamassage.com.

Metro, New York edition
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Body & Soul
Push and pull your stress away

Ayurvedic massage is a new and effective way to ease the tension of the city.

We’ve all heard of “Sex and the City.” But be honest, most of us are more familiar with stress and the city. No wonder New Yorkers also have thousands of alternatives when it comes to stress reduction – the latest of which, Ayurvedic massage, comes all the way from Pune, India.

“Simply put, this provides more stress release than I can express in English, and English is my first language,” says Sidhamo, a Brooklyn native who just returned home from London, where he established a following for his bodywork. Like Shiatsu and Thai massage, Ayurvedic is performed on a mattress on the floor. Unlike Thai massage it uses oils during the massage. It’s also a charka-based system, meaning the work is focused on unblocking energy and refocusing its flow throughout the body.

When I visited Sidhamo at Longevity Health Spa, 166 5th Ave, the session started out with what felt like a traditional massage. But then Sidhamo added yoga stretches that pushed my limbs much farther than I would – or could – myself. This, he says, helps him work past the body’s fear threshold, giving him access to most of the stress. Truthfully, I was a little scared at this point, especially as he forced the wind from my lungs – or when he twisted my legs in opposing directions. But the massage wasn’t invasive and, at the end of the hour-and-a-half session, I was calmer than usual, a little out of my head and, yes, less stressed.

“This is a very powerful work,” says Sidhamo, who also teaches courses in the technique. “It unifies the entire body and gives you tremendous, deeply emotional relief.” As good as I felt after my Ayurvedic massage, I can vouch for that.

~Jon Barrett

Time Out, London
"There’s the rub"
The revitalising benefits of Ayurvedic massage.

It was on a recent trip to Thailand that I chanced upon the little-known Ayurvedic massage, the unique, yoga-based bodywork originating in Pune, India. The people I met who’d experienced it praised its overwhelmingly positive effects on mind and body. Suitably intrigued, I made enquiries on my return and uncovered Sidhamo, a former chef and DJ who was born and bred in Brooklyn but now lives in London and has an established practice in Ayurvedic treatments and teaching. A typical session lasts around 90 minutes and, as with Thai massage, it’s performed with the client lying on a mattress. After stripping down to shorts with a sarong to cover my body, Sidhamo enquired about injuries and my general state of health then kicked off by applying soothing oils and loosening up my spine and back muscles.

What followed was a real eye-opener. Alongside the familiar deep-tissue work, he used both hands and feet to help me into a series of invigorating and occasionally challenging stretches, which are executed in tandem with coached rhythmic breathing. Your body is being pushed and pulled to its limits so that even for someone familiar (like me) with ashtanga yoga, it felt deeply revitalising. Sidhamo calls this `passive body realignment`, opening up the body and gradually restoring co-ordination and balance. Ayurvedic massage is charka-based, which means the postures are designed to unblock energy centres and regulate the body’s energy flows and circulation through expansion of muscles, tendons and blood vessels. This was in fact, the most astonishing aspect of the treatment. The degree to which each massaged limb was energised could be gauged by those areas not yet worked on – staggeringly, they felt limp and lifeless in comparison. By the end of an initial session I was spaced out at first but then deeply relaxed, alert and centred.

Ayurvedic massage is different from other types of massage I’ve sampled in several key respects. For a start, it’s much more comprehensive – every area of the body is thoroughly worked on. There’s also a much higher level of intimacy and trust developed with the therapist – Sidhamo was very adept at establishing a comfortable rapport and intuiting exactly where my body’s limits and boundaries lay. And being a yoga-based system, breathing is a big component – helping you work deeper into the stretches. Over three sessions I discovered it’s also a progressive system, each treatment penetrating further and increasing flexibility and suppleness. That’s why Ayurvedic massage is claimed to improve performance in dance and sport, and aid those recovering from injury and illness.

So much for physical benefits – what about the effects on mental and emotional well-being? Adherents insist it can achieve that elusive holy grail for weary metropolitan dwellers, a massive reduction in stress and tension. I’d unequivocally agree with that view – my work with Sidhamo helped to improve my concentration levels and developed a long-lasting calm enabling me to handle difficult situations more readily. To say I’m looking forward to my next treatment would be a considerable understatement.