The Shirodhara session, step by step

Before

The room is warm and draught-free. Cold air on oiled skin defeats the purpose. Phones off, lighting low, no conversation once the stream starts.

The person lies supine on a table with the head at the end, supported so the neck is neutral and the forehead is level. A rolled towel under the neck and a folded one under the knees is the usual arrangement. Hair is loose. A thin cloth band is placed just above the eyebrows to stop oil running into the eyes, and cotton pads or a light cloth cover the eyes and ears.

A short shiro abhyanga, three to five minutes of head, neck and shoulder oleation by hand, warms the tissue and settles the person before the stream begins.

The pour

The vessel is suspended so the orifice sits roughly four finger-widths, about ten to twelve centimetres, above the forehead. Too high and the stream stings; too low and it pools rather than flows.

The pour runs 30 to 45 minutes, adjusted to the presentation: nearer 40 to 45 for a Vata-predominant picture, 30 to 40 for Pitta, 25 to 30 for Kapha. That is the part of the session people underestimate, because holding a stream steady for forty minutes is harder than it sounds.

The stream starts on the forehead at the point between the eyebrows. Some schools hold it there for the whole session. Others move it slowly side to side across the forehead in a gentle oscillation, returning to centre. Both are taught; consistency within a session matters more than which is chosen.

Throughout, the oil that runs off is caught in a basin below the head. In a two-person setup an assistant strains, rewarms and returns it to the vessel continuously, which is how the classical method holds temperature. A powered machine does the same thing with a pump.

Working alone without a pump, the third option is a vessel large enough to hold the whole session’s oil, so nothing has to be returned while the pour is running. The oil is caught in the base and recovered afterwards rather than during. The trade is temperature: it drifts down across the session, so the oil is warmed to the top of the range at the start.

After

The stream stops. The oil is left in the hair. The person rests, still covered and still warm, for ten to twenty minutes before sitting up, and sits for a further minute or two before standing. Standing up straight after a long session is the most common way people come to grief.

The head is wrapped in a warm cloth. Traditionally the hair is washed with a mild herbal cleanser some hours later, or the next morning, rather than immediately.

The rest of the day is kept quiet. No cold showers, no cold wind on the head, no strenuous work, no screens if it can be helped. A light, warm meal.

What people report during a session

Most people describe a drift into a state between waking and sleep, sometimes with a sense of time distortion. Some fall asleep. Some feel emotional. Some feel nothing much on a first session and more on a third. A brief chill or a mild headache afterwards usually points to oil that was too cool, a room that was too cold, or standing up too fast.