I know I promised…

not to write about massages anymore!  But then the internet went down yesterday….and I just felt like The Spa was calling to me….”Come visit Sarah, we miss you”….and I was feeling bold and adventurous….and so I tried my first THAI MASSAGE!  The pictures I found on the internet do it more justice than words:

I had no idea what to expect (but assumed that I wasn’t going to like it and this would be my only Thai Massage of my life).  I COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG!  Wow, there was something so soothing about the Thai style.  It’s very different than a Swedish or relaxation massage where the strokes are long and fluid.  This style can best be described as a combination of assisted stretching and heavy, focused pressing across each part of your body.  I’ve never experienced anything like it – I was almost in a trance at certain points, the rhythmic pressing was so hypnotic.

The mechanics of it are this:  You are given shorts and a t-shirt to wear for the session.  You enter the small room and there’s a mattress laying on the floor.  I lay face-up to start and she covered me with 4 different small sheets.  All pressing takes place through the sheets, so there’s no skin-to-skin contact, nor is there any oil or lotion used.  Again, it’s VERY different than Swedish!  She worked each side of my body meticulously, working from top to bottom.  I felt like Gumby and the therapist reminded me of a little acrobat jumping all over the mat.  Each segment started with pressing and then progressed to stretching.

This was no passive massage!  There was one instance in which she had all her bodyweight on me and was kneeling on my bottom and walking her hands up and down my back.  At another point I had locked my hands behind my head and she had lifted my torso (by hooking through my outstretched elbows) and was tilting me from side to side.  Head, Elbow, Legs, Foot, Hands – you name it, she used it!  I’ve never had such a cool relaxation experience.  It was so different than anything I’ve ever partaken in.  And at $28 for 75 minutes, the price matches the quality of the experience – which means that I’ll be rotating a Thai in every other week between the Swedish types.  Makes for a little better variety – I mean who wants to get tired of getting massages??  Next up: A Volcanic Rock Massage.  Stay tuned…

And so I apologize for talking massage again, but I just had to share this experience with you!  I hope you’ll forgive me…