4-Week Kerala Ayurvedic Massage Training in Goa, India
Four weeks of Kerala-tradition Ayurveda — theory, diet, lifestyle and fourteen hands-on therapies you practise on each other every afternoon.
- Runs for
- 4 weeks
- Each day
- 7:30 am – 5:30 pm
- Taught by
- Gagori Mitra
- Where
- Agonda Beach, Goa, India
- Taught inEnglish, every course
- Teaching since2005, on Agonda Beach
- Group sizeSmall enough to correct every table
What tends to change
Most people arrive wanting to learn a technique. That does happen — fourteen of them. It is rarely what they talk about on the last day.
Somewhere in the second week, usually while you are lying on the table rather than standing beside it, you notice something you have been carrying. Not dramatically. You just feel where it sits.
Nobody asks you to fix it. You notice it, the four weeks carry on, and by the end you are meeting it a little differently. That is the part people take home.
When it runs
- Upcoming
Courses run October to April. Places are limited because every afternoon is hands-on practice in pairs.
What the Kerala Ayurvedic massage training covers
Week 1 — Foundations
- Ayurveda: an introduction
- Unique features of Ayurveda
- The aim of Ayurveda
- The objectives of Ayurveda
- A glimpse at its history
- Ashtanga: the eight divisions of Ayurveda
Week 2 — The body’s constitution
- The five classical elements (Pancha Maha Bhuta)
- The vital energies (Tridosha)
- Zones of the doshas in the body
- Natural aggravations
- The six tastes
- Prakruti — your constitution at birth
Week 3 — Reading imbalance
- Vikruti — your constitution now
- Signs of aggravation
- Causes of aggravation
- The seven body tissues (Saptha Dhatus)
- Waste products (Mala)
- Digestive fire (Agni)
Week 4 — Panchakarma and practice
- Preparing for Panchakarma (Poorva karma)
- Herbal oils used in Ayurvedic therapy
- The five detoxifying therapies (Panchakarma)
- Client practice
- Written and practical examinations
- Fire ceremony and closing
Abhyanga massage, shirodhara, and the rest of what you will give
Every one of these is demonstrated, then practised — on each other, every afternoon, until it is in your hands rather than your notes.
- Ayurvedic massage for the head
- Ayurvedic massage for the face
- Abhyanga massage
- Kalari massage
- Shirodhara using oil
- Shirodhara using medicated milk
- Massage with bags of herbal powders
- Massage with bags of herbal leaves
- Massage with bags of herbal rice
- Kansu bowl massage
- Kadi Vasti — for backache
- Greeva Vasti — for neck pain
- Janu Vasti — for knee pain
- Nasal medication to cleanse the head
Is this Ayurveda massage course for you?
Four weeks here gives you:
- Hands-on experience of every therapy, not a demonstration of it
- A group you will still be in touch with afterwards
- A certificate from the school on completion
- An Ayurvedic lifestyle you can actually keep up, for your own sake first
- A closer relationship with your own emotions — and the ability to feel and express them fully
Who you will be able to help
Students arrive with, and go on to work with:
- Insomnia
- Hair fall
- Anxiety
- Dryness of the skin
- Constipation
- Nervousness
How the day is shaped
- 7:30 – 9:00Nadiprana energy movement and meditation
- 9:00 – 10:00Breakfast
- 10:00 – 11:00Ayurveda theory
- 11:00 – 11:15Break
- 11:15 – 12:30Ayurveda theory continues
- 12:30 – 14:30Lunch
- 14:30 – 15:30Demonstration of the day’s therapy
- 15:30 – 18:00You practise the therapy, hands-on, on each other
Ayurveda Massage Course in Goa, India — Course Contents
You can overcome great difficulties while remaining true to your principles. This course is designed to awaken your own fearless and wise heart.
What students say about 4-Week Ayurveda Massage Course
Filmed at the school and published on its own channel. Nothing here was written for the website.
Ayurveda School in India — the Aithein experience
4 weeks of Ayurveda — Marco
Ayurveda course testimonial — Jan Wolsey
Learning Ayurveda at Aithein — Selda
Linda shares her experience of the Ayurveda courses
Danielle, from the Netherlands
Gagori & Nikhil put all the energy to make you feel comfortable
Steve Wood, from Sydney, Australia
If you ask her a question 100 times, she will answer a 100 times
Christine, from the United States
Gagori’s class is very organic setting for learning healing
What a month of Ayurvedic massage training looks like
What Kerala Ayurveda is, and why we teach that lineage
Kerala Ayurveda is the southern lineage of the oldest surviving complete medical system in the world — drawn from the classical Sanskrit texts and the Vedas, and holding massage, yoga, meditation and herbal remedy together rather than treating them as separate disciplines.
It is not really a system of medicine. It is a way of paying attention — to what you eat, how you sleep, what you are carrying, and what your body has been saying while you were busy.
The tradition is Kerala’s. The school is in Goa, on Agonda Beach, where it has taught since 2005 — and the teaching is the Kerala lineage, given by a teacher trained in it. You can read about any of this anywhere. What you cannot do from a book is watch an oil being prepared, take it an hour later, and feel what it does.
Why more people are looking for it
Sedentary work, processed food, stress and polluted air are quietly taking their toll, and people are noticing the cost of treating each consequence separately.
What draws them to Ayurveda is usually the same short list: it treats the body as a whole rather than as the site of one complaint; it works with herbs, oils and leaves, which carry little or no side effect; and it is preventive as much as curative, building resistance rather than waiting to fix something. It looks at the patient, not only at the disease.
Self-love, in the Ayurvedic sense
Ayurveda treats daily self-care — Dinacharya — as the practice of self-love rather than a metaphor for it. Oil pulling, oil massage (abhyanga), lubricating the nine openings, morning meditation, mantra, pranayama.
They are small things. Done every morning for four weeks, they change how you meet the rest of the day.
Relationships, and why doshas help
Every person carries their own combination of Vata, Pitta and Kapha, and it shows up in character, temperament and behaviour.
Understanding your own combination — and your partner’s, or your family’s — makes the differences between you legible instead of personal. Most students say this is the part they did not expect to take home.
A spiritual journey, not a detour
Ayurveda and spirituality point the same way: balance within yourself, and with what surrounds you.
Good health, in this tradition, follows from understanding and tending your own spiritual essence — your atma. That is not an add-on to the syllabus. It runs underneath all four weeks.
Why study here
Small groups, one-on-one time with qualified teachers, and a quiet place to learn in. Every student who completes it receives a certificate from the school.
Alongside theory and practice, the course works on the things that decide whether you can actually practise afterwards: how you talk to a client, how you manage a treatment, and how honestly you can read your own state while you work.
Questions people send us
Do I need any previous experience?
No. The course starts at the beginning — what Ayurveda is, where it came from, and how it divides up — and builds from there over four weeks.
Are there examinations?
Yes, near the end of the course: sixty minutes of theory and thirty minutes of practical.
What certificate do I get?
Every student who completes the course receives a certificate from the school.
Who will I be practising on?
Each other. Every afternoon from 3:30 is hands-on practice in pairs, which means you receive every therapy as well as give it. Knowing how something feels is what stops you giving it badly.
How do I book a place?
Complete the application form and you will hear back within 48 hours. If you have not, tell us through the contact page — it means something went astray, and we would rather you told us.
Once you are accepted, a deposit confirms your place and the balance is due on arrival.
How booking works, and what you are agreeing to
- Step 1
Complete the online application form (you will hear from us within 48 hours). If you do not receive a reply within the above mentioned period please get in touch.
- Step 2
If you are accepted for the course, you will be required to pay a deposit to confirm your booking (various payment options are available). Your place on the course will be confirmed only upon receipt of the deposit amount.
- Step 3
Your balance is due on arrival at the Aithein Healing School.
- Early bird discount
- An early bird discount is offered if you book your seat atleast 1 month in advance.
- Accommodation
- We will provide your requested accommodation on first come first serve basis. Please book early to avoid disappointment.
- Welcome meetings
- Welcome meetings are generally held between 4 – 5 pm on the day before the course start date. Please read the enrolment instructions carefully. These will be sent to you after your place has been booked on your chosen course.
- Check in
- One day before your chosen course start date.
- Check out
- Before 11.00 am on the day after your chosen course end date.
- Deposit
- The initial deposit is strictly non refundable and non transferable in any case.
- Language
- All the courses are in English.
- Model
- You need not get anybody with you as model. Your trainer or students in your batch becomes your model, and students practice on each other.
Code of ethics
You are expected to adhere to the guidelines set out below:-
- Zero tolerance of sexual harassment, innuendo, language and any form of discrimination on the grounds of sexuality.
- Zero tolerance of racist attitudes and language.
By Submitting the Application Form, I hereby agree to the following:
- I understand that the initial deposit amount for the course is non-refundable in any circumstances.
- I understand, if I decide to cancel, re-schedule or not take part in the courses or retreats I have signed up for, the initial deposit amount will not be refunded.
- The deposit amount is non-refundable even if it is due to travel restrictions, lockdown, or any similar or non-similar reasons due to a world-wide pandemic or war or anything else of the similar nature, any act of God, or any other unforeseen circumstances.
- Incase, due to personal reasons I want to choose another date, I understand that the deposit amount stays forfeited. If I meet with an accident, become pregnant (women only), and I am unable to join the course; I will need to provide a valid doctors certificate stating the reason. I am fully aware that I will have to inform Aithein Healing School via an email atleast 30 days before the start of the event. Failing to inform the school atleast 30 days before, will result in forfeiting the initial deposit. In such a case, the decision of transferring the course to another date lies with Aithein Healing School.
- I understand that once I have physically joined the course or the event I have signed up for, I shall become obligated and responsible to pay Aithein Healing School the complete fees of the course or event. This fees becomes non-refundable, non-cancellable, and non-transferable.
- I understand that if I fall sick due to Covid or any pandemic or if the course has to be stopped due to such restrictions or similar reasons, the school may consider transferring my pro-rata balance fees to any future course of my choice. The decision lies with Aithein Healing School.
- I understand and agree that once I have joined the course physically, Aithein Healing school is not liable to refund me the course fee if I choose to drop out of the course due to my personal issues or circumstances.
- I understand that I will have to pay the balance course fees (minus the initial advance deposit) upon arrival at Aithein Healing School, by cash or via transfer atleast 15 days before the course begins.
- Aithein Healing school reserves the right to end my participation or continuation in the course if it finds my presence disturbing to the group process.
- I also understand that if Aithein Healing School has to cancel the course for any situation beyond its control such as covid related restrictions or any other reason prior to the beginning of the course, then I am entitled for a full refund, except the initial advance deposit. In such a case, Aithein Healing School will not be liable to cover any other losses I might incur such as travel, insurance, etc. due to any such cancellations.
Any and all disputes will be subject to the jurisdiction of Canacona, Goa, India.
What the fee covers
Included
- The course manual
- Oils used throughout the course
- Massage tables and sheets
- Your certificate on completion
Arrange separately
- Flights and travel insurance
- Airport transfer
- Accommodation and food
We help every student find a room within walking distance of the school — tell us your dates and budget when you enquire.
Other courses you might be looking at
Siddha Marma Points Course
The vital points of the body — where they are, what they govern, and how to work them without doing harm.Chavutti Thirumal — Rope Massage
The Kerala foot-pressure massage, given from a rope. Long strokes, full body weight, and the balance it takes to control them.Ayurvedic Diet, Nutrition & Cooking
Five days in the kitchen — the six tastes, what suits which constitution, and food you can actually cook when you get home.
Come and see what happens
Tell us roughly when you could travel and we will write back within two working days. If we think a different course suits you better, we will say so — we would rather you came to the right one.