All about: trying Traditional Mexican Massage

Many years ago I lived for a time in Mexico’s Oaxaca State, and as well as a plethora of amazing traditions, heard about the work of Curanderos. Often described as indigenous “medicine” men and women, they are also the source of many an amazing massage. Lucky for me then that there is now a practitioner of Mexican traditional massage close to my home, in the form of Warwick Powell.
Warwick works out of a light, airy space above Louise Gray Skincare on Ponsonby Road, and from the moment I first entered his treatment room I knew I was in for something special. Charming as well as a dab hand when it comes to a truly transformational massage, he was definitely someone I wanted to know more about. Coffee across the road at Agnes Curran soon followed, and some insights into a truly unique style of bodywork.
“In my early thirties I had a bit of an emotional crisis,” he explained to me, “and I realised that I didn’t like the way I was living my life. I started looking around for a guru and began studying with a Chinese Master, eventually spending three years in a Chinese monastery based in England.” Days in the monastery involved 4am starts and ten-hour meditation sessions, and after three years he decided he didn’t feel he could make the commitment to 25 years of study and left.
At the same time, a Mexican teacher was travelling throughout the UK offering insights into the culture’s traditional healing work, and after attending a weekend workshop Warwick realised that he’d found his niche. A four-year apprenticeship followed in the art of being a Curandero, which involves bodywork, the study of herbs and working with ceremony.
After 20 years in London he realised that it was the time to come home, and he set up shop in Ponsonby. He decided to specialise in the bodywork side of things “and ceremonial work when it’s required”. An example of this is the treatment of “susto”, which is essentially a spiritual illness that is caused when a person experiences a sudden shock or a traumatic event in their life. When a person has susto it’s believed that their soul leaves the physical body, unable to find its way back. Many things can cause soul loss depending upon the person, but Warwick cites examples like the death of a loved one or a car accident as two possible causes. “In ceremony we call that part of the spirit back,” he explains, “and it can make a real difference even to pain and trauma in the physical body.”
I’ve experienced several massages at the hands of Warwick now and have found them to be incredible, everything from healing to just plain old relaxing. Mexican massage practice says that “pain and tension occur when blockages manifest in the ‘energetic rivers’ that move through our bodies”, and this type of bodywork incorporates energetic visualisations with pressure massage to release these blockages and re-teach the body how to relax. In a word: heavenly, and well worth a try.
And as for one of my favourite pictures used to illustrate this post above? I think Frida would approve.
If you're keen to book in for session with Warwick, you'll find his details here.