In the performance of classical arts like Kathakali and Kutiyattam, the movements of the body plays a great part and an artiste’s body should be flexible enough to be communicative. For this, the trainees have to undergo an Ayurvedic oil massage. Teachers usually massage the students themselves.

Oil is applied from head to toe and it is usually performed in the wee small hours of the morning. Massages help to keep the body supple and flexible. It is assumed that such a course of training has been adapted to these art forms from Kalarippayattu, the martial art form of Kerala.