I was feeling overwhelmed and decided, out of the blue, to book an oil massage to relax my nervous system ‘n stuff. I decided to try this one spa that I’ve never been to. I had set a 6pm appointment for after work, so I had to keep watching the time while finishing up my work at the office to avoid being late. I ended up being late by a few minutes anyway because it was grey and rainy (so traffic flow was like molasses going uphill in winter), but the massage therapist very kindly made up the lost time for me.
As usual, I opted for the full-body aromatherapy massage, 90 minutes. I had initially considered trying the hot stone massage, but later decided I wasn’t feeling that adventurous after all. I have bad experiences with heated substances: I once left an activated carbon heat patch stuck on my tummy overnight instead of a couple of hours and woke up with burns that took an entire year to fade completely. I also did linger on the idea of getting a lymphatic drainage massage, but didn’t know enough about it to make an informed decision.
There were four oils to choose from at the counter: ginger, lemongrass, eucalyptus, and lavender. I smelled all of them, but the scents weren’t very strong. I had to keep smelling each bottle over and over because I kept forgetting what each one smelled like. I was torn between ginger and eucalyptus, but I figured since I would be served ginger tea at the end anyway, I might as well just get eucalyptus for my massage oil.
I stepped into the massage room. It was very spacious, much more than I was used to. There was plenty of walking room. And, instead of just the usual solitary coat rack or wall hooks for me to hang my clothes on, there was an actual closet with a door for me to put my clothes in. The sheet I would lie on was bright pink (also +1). The towels were folded into a pair of basic decorative swans. I got changed and soaked my feet in the soapy basin. I sat there thinking about how glad I was that the day was over and the only thing I had to do was just relax and let someone else take care of my weary body in a dark, cold room.
After maybe five minutes of sitting with my feet in the water, the MT returned and I got on the massage table and upon placing my face in the cradle, found myself looking at a large wooden bowl of water with three large flowers floating serenely in it.
The pressure was a little stronger than I was used to, but it was still fine and it was a good massage. I had had a charley horse in my left calf earlier that morning when I woke up and stretched in bed though, so it felt very tender when she was rubbing my calf. I had to keep asking her to lighten up on my legs. I also noticed that despite it being my n-th time getting a full-body massage, I always have to fight the urge to laugh or giggle when they start rubbing my feet. I can never get used to the tickling sensation or stop fidgeting no matter how many times I have done it.
For some reason this massage seemed to pass a little too quickly. Before long I was told to flip over from my stomach on to my back, which told me that at least half the allotted massage time had elapsed, and I had thought, what, already!?
I requested for a stomach massage and stretching toward the end of the session, because I absolutely love having my tummy rubbed (maybe I was a dog in my previous incarnation?). I just like the feeling of warm hands compressing on my ribs and stomach and pushing my internal organs around, as strange as that sounds. It really does make me feel less bloated afterward.
Obligatory post-massage after-work #OOTD and after I had finally somewhat gotten my hair back under control.
The tea was all right, in my opinion. It was served in a cute floral cup, but it was too little and the tea itself was not as strong or flavourful as I would have liked; it tasted more like plain hot water.
All in all, I had a good massage. I went home feeling good, and continued to feel good the next day. I certainly felt like the day was much easier to get through. I’m absolutely looking forward to coming back again next week.