Oncology massage

A few months ago my friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her surgery was set for a couple of weeks later. Trying to think of a thoughtful gift that might cheer her up in advance of her surgery, I called Elizabeth Arden's Red Door spa location in Baltimore, which is where my friend and her family now lives. Turned out that the spa was a mere few blocks from her home! I quickly had them FedEx a gift certificate for a massage for her; if I were in her shoes that would be exactly what my inner doctor would have ordered.

I told a mutual friend what I’d done. This friend spent no time mincing words, for she is also a 10-years-clean cancer survivor. (I know! What’s with all this cancer??) “She can’t have a massage!" she cried. "It’s very dangerous! It could spread the cancer!"

Oy! I hadn’t thought of that. I felt like one of those embarrassing relatives who can be counted on to act inappropriately by constantly saying and doing exactly the wrong thing. So I contact Red Door and told them to nix the massage and make it for a facial instead. (Fortunately (?), they hadn't even sent out the gift certificate, even though it was already supposed to have been delivered. . .)

But then I wondered, Might a a facial be bad, too? When I called the first time I'd specifically told the receptionist it was for a cancer patient and she didn't seem to know it was a no-no. Maybe it was bad. I never found out if my friend used the facial gift certificate. She's got bigger concerns right now.

Well, it looks like things are finally looking up for cancer patients massage-wise. There is now what’s called the Oncology Massage. Therapists are trained explicitly on safe massage techniques, nonharmful applications of massage styles for those with active cancer, those in remission or those in treatment. (The link above specializes in this massage technique; it would behoove us all to research carefully before booking for yourself or loved ones.)

I think this new massage technique is just great. I can only imagine the level of stress that a cancer patient lives with. And, I believe—and there are many studies to back this up—that your state of mind is integral to beating the C-beast.

I’m going to start doing some homework on spas that include this offering. Hope it doesn’t sound morbid, but I might find myself needing the info again soon. Fingers crossed that I won’t.

The Living Loofah

From the now-I’ve-heard-of-everything department, here’s the latest in innovative pedicures from The Land of Spa: live fish that nibble on your feet to remove dead skin cells. Talk about sustainable!

Apparently, the Turkish Garra rufa species—colloquially referred to Turkish spa fish—are native to hot springs, lakes and river basins. This fact got a host of Middle-Eastern holistic healers thinking: Why not put a school of these spa fish in a luxuriously warm pool and invite people to dip in their footsies! The spa fish will gently swim about, nibbling on all your dead skin. Yum.

I’d try it in a nanosecond, though it looks a tad creepy. If you find yourself in Singapore and at Underwater World, which has recently begun offering the service, book a session and report back. All I can say is make sure you don’t fall in.

Editing

Today will be dedicated to cleaning up the sloppy writing in yesterday's post. It was a quick and dirty one, and it looks it. Sheesh.

In the meantime, meet the dogs. Nelson and Vishnu, lounging in the sun.

Trust is the operative word, the cleaned-up version

This morning I was cruising on the website spas.about.com and came across an interesting posting that I want to share.

The topic was salt scrubs and how, because all clients aren’t always fully informed about the treatments they're about to receive, many enter not knowing exactly what scrubs are. Therefore, they sometimes make unusual requests. For those of you who have had a scrub know that it can be plenty painful. So when this person requested a “deep tissue” salt scrub the therapist was surprised—and quick to make clear that actually, they probably did not want to bring deep tissue anywhere near a scrub because, well, Ouch!

A click on another link posed this question, Are hot stone massages really worth it? Many respondents weighed in with a big no. They indicated that after their first hot-stone experience they had concluded that it was more of a marketing ploy than a true, satisfying treatment worth experiencing. They questioned the benefits because, Wasn’t the point of a massage that it be hands-on? Many said they felt disconnected from the experience because the stones were touching their body, not the therapist's hands and that got in the way. That last comment, by the way, also came from a therapist.

I don't know if I agree with that last comment, and many said they enjoyed the hands/stones combo. But imbedded somewhere in those posts are some core truths.

As many of you know by now, the focus of this blog is to bring some clarity to the spa experience so that you, the spa-goer, don’t walk in with one set of expectations and walk out disappointed.

Coincidentally, I had an interview set up with Geoffrey Gross, manager of Urban Oasis spa on Maple Street. (Their other location is also in Chicago, on North Avenue.) It was with these two anecdotes that I began our conversation. I’d wanted to talk to Geoffrey because I knew he was having ongoing dialogues with his team of therapists and receptionists--the receptionists being the very first contact a potential client has with the spa when they call to inquire about treatments. He was trying to find ways for the receptionists to describe, fully and accurately, the treatment about which the client was expressing interest—without taking too much phone time and without scaring clients off. Why would they be scared off? He went on to describe overhearing one receptionist describing the difference between Swedish and Deep Tissue being that the latter will likely cause you pain the next day. When you consider that between their two locations, Urban Oasis employs 16 receptionists, it's easy to understand how hard it is to get everyone on the same page, especially given that receptionists are just tha— not therapists, and there are call-time restrictions and considerations. I’ll wait to share details of what Geoffrey and his staff have come up with when I write the article for DAYSPA magazine. But in the meantime Geoffrey really opened my eyes.

We were talking about Urban Oasis’s well-established, 15-year-old brand for keeping their sole focus on body work only. They do not jump on every new treatment trend. Because of that consistency they’ve established a deep trust between client and therapist. Geoffrey says they hardly get any complaints, so it's a testament to their commitment to quality that these conversations (with the team) are occurring at all!

That was such an ah-ha moment for me, to quote Oprah. I’ve always had some concerns about most spas’ rush to keep up with all the exotic-sounding new treatments. The menu offerings may be long but how much do they really know about these fancy treatments? How skilled are the practitioners, how steeped in the history are they?

So if nothing else, remember to ask those questions when you’re thinking about signing up for, say, an Ayurvedic Indian Head Massage. Make sure the practitioner knows his or her stuff. Ask where his or her training came from. What makes them qualified to do it? Ayurvedic practices are thousands of year old and I dare say you don't want someone who read a manual or even took a day course to give you this or any other treatment unless they have the bonafides to do so. If you like what you hear and subsequently like what you get, you’ll go there again, happily That’s how trust gets developed.

Rolfing and Deep Tissue Massage, What’s the Diff?

See that before/after photo to the left? Based on my experience, that’s not an exaggeration! Rolfing was designed to improve structural alignment. I was Rolfed several years ago and saw first hand the changes in my body. The cool thing about my experience was that my therapist had (and continues to have) a bit of the performer in her. What Althea Orr did was to Rolf one side of my body, say, the right, and then got me up and in front of a mirror to show me her handy work.

I couldn’t believe what I was looking at: My right side was inches taller, the arm was longer, my shoulder was no longer creeping up to my ear but was down and unhunched. The most amazing part was my torso. The right-side ribs were equally spread and separated as opposed to the left’s, which were compressed and pinched. It was the closest I’d ever come to looking half human, half ape. When she completed the other side, I was once again symmetrical.

At the time I had the treatment, those practitioners who were not specifically trained by Dr. Ida Rolf—the founder of the technique in the mid 20th century—or her acolytes, were not supposed to use the term Rolfing. And since Rolf remains controversial, not least because her treatments were known to be particularly painful—or at most because of claims that energy healing is at work— therapists who believed in the core principles but not necessarily how or the extend to which they were implemented, began to call the treatment deep-tissue massage. Over the ensuing years, there continues to be a growing misconception that Rolfing is nothing more than a very deep-tissue massage.

Both soft-tissue manipulations have in common effects such as loosening tissue, stress relief and detoxification. Rolfing is said to go a step further and actually reshapes, or structurally reintegrates, the effects of gravity on the body. Hence the postural improvements. Rolfing’s theory is rooted in separating the fascia, or connective tissue, manually so as to restore and loosen movement patterns.

If you’re thinking about being Rolfed (it usually comes as a 10-pack of treatments, it would behoove you to ask some questions and do a little homework to see exactly what you’ll be getting. I think there are lots of good practitioners, but some that call their treatment Rolfing when it’s really not, and others who are Rolfing fanatics.

The Rise of the Mega Spas

Will we soon be calling them big-box spas alà Wal-Mart? Spas such as Bliss, Exhale and the Ruby Room, which for now is only in Chicago, all have a reach that is wide and far. I've been to them all. Remarkable works of bigness.

My attraction to spas is the spiritually rooted intimacy they provide. Since mega spas are cash cows, surely they have a more-than adequate budget earmarked to create the illusion of intimacy, like Buddhas strewn about in all shapes and sizes like party favors.

But services are all over the place in mega spas— from 'beauty bars' for make-up applications and a cut and color and ecstatic shopping boutique expeditions to gear shifting healing lounges and chakra and crystal journeys—my experience has been that the vibe is a bit spread out, too.

With a shiver I recall checking out Exhale when it first opened its Chicago location a couple of years ago. They weren't quite open yet but they gave me a tour. Yes, it was really beautiful, but the staff was running around like a bunch of coke-hoovering board of traders as the floor is about to open. (Not saying they were doing drugs; just alluding to the buzz in the air.) The manager who was showing me around stopped in his tracks to announce one of the owners was on the premises. I turned around and saw a beautifully tan, perfectly manicured and exquisitely dressed mid-forties female. All was well until I looked at her face. Her mouth was set in a deeply disturbing frozen smile. When I looked further down I realized she was in Tree Pose, foot inching higher and higher up the side of her thigh. She looked the part but didn't feel the part. I was. a bit shaken by that image. I recall I didn't want to talk to her; I probably couldn't anyway because she was busy busy.

I returned and had a pretty great Thai massage from one of Exhale's therapist. But it didn't get quiet until we were in the treatment room. Entering, I had the same shot-of-espresso buzz as the previous recent visit, which I didn't like at all, being a chameleon as I am.

Wonder how others feel? I have a friend who loves Bliss, asked if I wanted to go for a girlfriend outing. I took a pass.

Lazy bones

Spa spa spa spa spa spa spa spa. Spaaaah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.

Temporary brain drain . . .