With today’s packed schedules and pill-a-day remedies, a time to relax and rejuvenate is a rarity. Try out these unique treatments and manage your body’s aches and ailments once and for all.
I’m an unapologetic spa addict. If money and resources were no object, I would probably be getting a massage every week. While my profession usually just requires me to sit in front of a computer practically the entire day, I am almost always stressed and anxious about one thing or another. And every single time I’m at the spa, the therapist would comment about how tight my muscles feel, or how I have so many knots in my shoulders and back. After each massage, I’d feel refreshed and relaxed for a few hours…then go back into my I’m-so-freaking-tired-and-have-so-much-to-do anxiety spiral the next day.
This led me to a hunt for treatments that don’t just momentarily refresh, but go deep within to the point of healing. I knew that my anxiety and sleeplessness had a lot to do with not being at peace within, and while I reasoned that I will not find inner peace in a spa, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try. Here’s where my pursuit has taken me, and how it’s given me the respite that I so badly needed.
DEVARANA SPA, DUSIT THANI HOTEL MANILA
As authentic as it gets Devarana Spa offers Thai-trained therapists and signature massage treatments that totally pampers.
I’m no stranger to Thai massage treatments, and frankly, I’m not a big fan of it. But I wasn’t about to turn down Devarana Spa in the chichi Dusit Thani Hotel. I’d heard from friends that Dusit’s own spa has Thai trainers flown in to teach its therapists extensively; so who am I to turn down authenticity? Spa manager Sara Jan-Im, herself a Thai, meets me and recommends that I receive their Pampering Package, consisting of the Halo-Halo Body Scrub (which Jan-Im reports is unique to the Manila branch of Devarana) and their Devarana Signature Massage. I got to choose from their selection of four massage oil blends too; I pick Cherish, a mix of sandalwood, vetiver, and patchouli, and which calms nervous tensions. I love sandalwood, and instantly my mind is put at ease. The soothing interiors of wood and marble work to the same effect. My spacious spa suite also impresses me—my own shower, toilet, a huge bathtub, and two massage beds, not to mention soft, fresh-smelling robes and towels. Truly, nothing relaxes a person quite like understated luxury.
The Halo-Halo scrub is what it says it is: a body scrub that makes use of ingredients from the Pinoy summertime dessert. The sweet, milky-nutty smell brings me straight back to the halcyon days of my childhood, and my therapist promises the scent will last on my skin for three days. I don’t know about that, but my skin did feel incredibly soft and velvety for days. After showering off the scrub, I get the blissful, 90-minute Devarana Signature Massage. Contrary to my expectations, it wasn’t an hour and a half session of pressing and stretching. The spa’s signature treatment is actually a combination of Thai, Ayurveda, and Shiatsu techniques, and influenced by Swedish and aromatherapy styles. In other words, it was a smorgasbord of massage techniques that put me into a deep, tranquil sleep just five minutes into my treatment. Jan-Im recommends that people who work long hours on the computer take the pampering package regularly to promote blood flow and prevent certain illnesses. It’s a bit pricey, at P5,100nett, but the payoff is definitely worth it. I braved rush hour right after my treatment, but I swear, I drove through EDSA with a smile on my face.
You may enrol to become a member at the Devarana Spa and receive year-round specials and discounts. Or treat yourself on your birth month with a Devarana Spa visit, and get 30 percent off your choice treatment.
Contact details: manila@devaranaspa.com, telephones (02) 818-7081 or 238-8888 ext. 8856, or go to www.devaranaspa.com.
AYOGRA AYURVEDA CENTER
No, it’s not a spa but Ayogra Ayurveda Center can give any spa a run for their money. (Photo by ALI VICOY)
Ayurveda has been in existence in India for thousands of years, and in fact is one of their main medicinal practices. But it was only almost 30 years ago when Westerners decided to look into the efficacy of this branch of medicine, and with the proof from that experiment, accepted it as legit. Patrick Eyquem, who originally hails from Bordeaux, France, but now runs the Ayogra Ayurveda Center in Makati, knows this as fact. “I’m French, and you know in Europe they say we are ready to believe whatever they say in India, but we like to check.” So they did an experiment in Netherlands with a group—first checking chemical levels in their blood, then having them do two weeks of Ayurvedic treatments, and ended by doing blood tests again. “The reduction of chemicals was 48 to 50 percent—not complete, but in two weeks, significant enough to confirm what Ayurveda was doing.”
Fast forward to today, where Ayogra Ayurveda is now one of the most sought-after treatment centres (no, it’s not a spa), but still quite the hidden gem it’s remained since opening in Manila in 2010. Ayurvedic medicine is basically about the application of a huge amount of medicinal herbal oils on the skin, so that it becomes fully absorbed “down to the level of the bone,” says Patrick. “In doing so, the oils are doing two things: cure certain health complaints, and clean the body through detox.”
When I arrived, I was given questionnaires to answer, detailing my medical history as well as my current health complaints. These are then assessed by Eyquem himself, who considers what decoctions to use for my treatment. This is done to all patients at Ayogra Ayurveda. I was given the most basic treatment, the Abhyanga, where two technicians (Eyquem says his staff is composed mostly of registered nurses trained in the Ayurvedic practice) applied a large quantity of oil on my body, mainly to balance my dosha, or the energies that make up every individual. Then, as I complained of a poor sleep quality and excessive tiredness in the morning, I was given the Takradhara, where medicated buttermilk was poured onto my forehead. It was during this treatment that I fell into a deep, deep sleep. Eyquem explained to me that that is what the medicinal buttermilk does. “The medicine in the decoction is what puts you to sleep,” he explains. “The treatment clears your mind and your thoughts, removes stress. Your brain detoxifies itself.”
Clearly, Ayurveda is not just a one-session experience. If one is suffering from a particular ailment, Eyquem advises several visits, although as Ayurveda also has fantastic results in preventive medicine, practically anyone, young or old, can go. “Our youngest client is four years old, and our oldest is about 89. In India, infants are given Ayurvedic treatments.” After just one session and my sleep quality significantly improved and lower back pain reduced considerably, I am seriously considering entering the Panchakarma, the Ayurvedic detox program.
Contact details: 8398 Mayapis St., San Antonio Village, Makati; telephones (02) 4034048, 0906-2492463; arogyamanila@gmail.com; www.arogya-manila.com.
THIRD EYE WELLNESS CENTER
MANI-PEDI The center offers hands and feet pampering through its Transcend spa and nails using only the best eco-friendly products with organic and natural ingredients.
The treatment: Mind and body cleansing through Theta healing, the Hawaiian lomi-lomi massage, and—wait for it—tarot card reading. While the name Third Eye Wellness Center may throw off cynics and unbelievers, it’s actually quite a contemporary and relaxing space—just like your regular body and wellness spa. Owner and founder Sanaiyah Gurnamal explains to me, “We want to create a safe haven for people who want to make wellness a priority in their lifestyles.” So while they do offer services like Theta healing (more on that later), hypnotherapy, past-life regression, tarot, and angel readings, they also have body massages, an organic-vegetarian café, and the ubiquitous nail spa.
But perhaps the core of the business is healing, and that is exactly what led me to it. Theta healing, which Gurnamal, a certified Theta healer and trainer, has brought to Manila from the US and Dubai, heals the individual using a mind-body-energy approach. She furthers, “We work on the individual’s emotional issues and thought patterns. We find that a lot of traumas, loss, betrayal, any kind of issue affect a person so deeply that he or she can actually become sick from it. So we come in to resolve it and release it [through Theta healing], so that they can move on to a much better future.”
I’m treated first to a lomi-lomi massage, a Hawaiian technique that makes use of the therapist’s forearm instead of fingers and palms, and results in a smooth, flowing tactile experience that I can only liken to cool, calming liquid on my skin. After that rejuvenating hour and a half, I meet Avril Rodriguez, also a certified Theta healer, who amazingly gives me an accurate description of my current situation in life (while we are previously acquainted with each other, she definitely had no idea what I had been up to since the last few years we hadn’t seen each other), and lays down some options that will be made available to me in the future. I ask her how tarot card is related to Theta healing, and Avril answers, “The cards read the very same energy as Theta healing. Basically, it is reading what is going on with you energetically now, and if you have questions about what it says, then let’s ask. If you like it, how can we enhance it? If you don’t like it, how can we lessen the effects, or how can we make some changes? It helps give people a certain clarity and guidance on how they can move forward in their lives.” I only had a quick, 20-minute session, but I kid you not when I say it did give me much clarity—I asked about my career—and gave me hope in an aspect of my life that had previously given me much anxiety.
HEALING TOUCH Aside from Theta healing, the Third Eye Wellness Center also offers body massages.
On a different day, I also met up with Maisha Chulani, one of Third Eye Wellness Center’s co-owners, who demonstrated to me how Theta healing works. She asked me what aspect of my life I needed healing from, and as I wanted to quell my anxieties, she asked me what was causing me to feel tension. Deeper and deeper we explored my own issues, eventually reaching to childhood experiences, teenhood traumas, my own experience with my parents and siblings, and soon, it was clear to me what exactly was causing my mini anxiety attacks. It was an issue that had been affecting other aspects of my life too—which on a conscious level, I wouldn’t have been able to connect on my own. Gurnamal had explained to me that with Theta healing, the healer’s brain waves are slowed down to the Theta level, the state at which the body is asleep. “We heal in an altered state of consciousness, and because we are working on an individual, your brain waves tend to sync with ours, so you too are in a much more relaxed state, but you’re awake.” I definitely sank into a relaxed state that I was afraid of falling asleep, except for the fact that Maisha kept asking me questions repetitively, to the point that I felt we were both chanting. In a way, it is how meditation works.
One session is definitely not enough, because while my anxieties have significantly lessened since then, my issues still have their hold on me. I can see myself going back to Third Eye Wellness Center.
Contact details: 6th floor, 20th Drive Corporate Center, 20th Drive, McKinley Business Park, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig; www.thirdeyeonline.com.