Spa centre Sukho Thai is currently offering a foot, head and shoulder massage for CEOs. Anu Prabhakar tries it out and comes away almost feeling like one
It’s ironic. The only time I ever felt close to feeling like a CEO was at a spa. On a rainy Tuesday afternoon, I head to spa chain Sukho Thai’s outlet at High Street Phoenix Mall for a foot, head, back and shoulder massage, custom made for what an email preceding the review called, ‘Men CEOs’.
The foot, head, back and shoulder massage at Sukho Thai is rejuvenating
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After making sure the term could be broadened to include women, I end up at the spa, ready for 90 minutes of promised bliss. After changing into a roomy pair of pants and shirt, I sit waiting among scented candles and rolled-up white towels for my therapist, who turns out to be a young man.
And as he, matter-of-factly, begins the massage by first rolling up my pants, I decide to banish the Victorian in me to the far corners of my conscious mind. There is simply no room for embarrassment, I firmly tell myself. (Note: You can change your therapist depending on your comfort level).
The first 60 minutes are dedicated to a rejuvenating foot massage. The feet, therapists believe, can be used to cure an ailment in any part of the body. It is only when my therapist starts working on my aching heel and tired toes with fragrant creams and oils that I realise how exhausted I am.
Next stop: face and head. While wrapped in a light, warm blanket, the therapist gently rubs my forehead, eyebrows, temples and head, as I snuggle deeper into my blanket with a dreamy smile. The massage is calming and soothing, and puts me completely at ease.
The therapy is a combination of traditional Thai massages ‘that help improve flexibility and enhance blood circulation, in addition to creating a relaxing experience for body and mind’. As the therapist works on my shoulders, slowly releasing the pent up tension, I also, surprisingly, feel mild pain.
Call it an abysmal lack of grit that probably only bona fide bosses are blessed with, but I find the pressure applied on my shoulder blades a bit too much. The exercises, which include twisting my body sideways, is a little strenuous for my taste. And towards the end of the therapy, exercises include stretching and bending your hands, back and body in angles previously unknown to you.
While the therapy, no doubt, released all that negative energy which was stored in my body and was as therapeutic as it promised to be, whether the treatment was exactly ‘relaxing’ remains debatable. The treatment is a great option for anyone looking to unwind, before heading back to the drudgery of office work. It’s definitely worth a shot CEO or not.