I recently slipped on a stair at home and pulled muscle in my sacro-iliac joint. This meant the base of my back was sore. After about an hour I could walk only with excruciating pain.

Several chiropractor and physio-therapist visits had me able to walk quite normally after about six weeks. But there was still a nagging twinge that had me scared to bend over and turn in certain ways. I honestly felt as though my back would break.

Organising the trip to the New York City Omega conference on Being Fearless, I decided to try and get an ayurvedic massage to help my back. I searched out spas and salons that offer such treatments and eventually decided on a samunprai treatment at Body Essentials Ayurvedic Rejuvenation Spa in midtown Manhattan.

I have been a certified massage therapist for several years, trained in lymphatic drainage and a special ayurvedic technique from Kerala, India. I had never heard of samunprai and after researching it thought the hot herbal compression balls might just alleviate the dull nagging pain that lingered in my back.

In the New York treatment room the strong aroma of herbs from the balls hung in the air ready to seep into my pores.

The masseuse gave an unremarkable massage of my back legs, shoulders, arms, neck and even head. This warmed my skin opening the pores and readying me for the actual samunprai. The ball was hot and a few times I jumped as the heat was a little too much to bear but the masseuse was responsive to my sensitivity.

I also reminded myself that very often medical treatments are painful.

This was not painful, just at times a bit uncomfortable. I willingly received the entire 75-minute treatment and at the end felt energised.

Hours later I realised the dull persistent back pain had gone. The next day I noticed it was still absent. Even a week later after the stress of a cancelled flight home with two day lay-over that meant I might miss a final exam, my back remained pain free.

Home for three weeks and having moved house, the pain was beginning to return but I was stretching it out. Jerome Knights contacted me about doing an article on a new massage treatment he was using locally. I agreed. I’ll cover all health related items that have a local angle.

But I was so surprised to find that he was doing samunprai.

As part of the article he gave me a treatment. Unlike the New York treatment room, the smell or the herbs was not strong in his room.

He heated the ball in a covered crockpot whereas in New York it was over open heat. I preferred the latter. But Mr. Knights began the treatment with a remarkable massage. He asked if I had any pain and when I explained it, he knew exactly the spot it originated in and emanated to.

Through accupressure along my spine and hip area he worked to loosen the stiff muscles. I screamed out a few times from the pain and he said the muscles had to be loosened. I knew he was right. I didn’t want him to stop. After about 15 minutes he took the warm ball and lightly pressed it on a few acupressure points in my back. The aroma was light. I waited for the strong pressure to be applied to the balls on my back but that did not happen.

As soon as the photos had been taken — about five minutes — the balls returned to the crockpot and my massage was finished with acupressure in my stomach to release my hips and physical manipulation of my legs, to loosen the pelvic area.

His strength and skill at massage are impressive. I would recommend no less than 70 minutes, however, to get the real benefit of a samunprai treatment.

My session was half an hour and I don’t think the herbs had any effect in the short period they were used.

How samunprai rescued me from back pain