I've always fancied trying a hot stone massage, but they often seem to be prohibitively expensive and until recently, were largely to be found on the treatment menus of pricey spa resorts.
So, having already encountered the delightful Tash at the Sensory, I was interested to note that hot stone massages there came in at less than forty quid, which is easily what you'll pay for the standard version in the city centre, so despite it sounding a little like something they'd do to witches in Medieval times, I booked.
I'm definitely now a convert, not so much for a soothing and relaxing experience, but for the kind of times when your back feels like a big tangle of knotted rope and no amateurish efforts from friends or lovers are going to relieve the pain. As far as I'm concerned, hot stone massages are the efficient, fast way to sort out scrunched-up back muscles.
I'm not sure what I was expecting from the stones themselves – probably something quite large being heated up using, say, hot water or... something. Who knows. What was actually entailed was something more akin to one of those bread making machines that were fashionable a few years ago – a sort of table-top electrical device which could have been made by Tefal or Swan or some other distinctly unenchanting white goods brand. The stones were a lot smaller than I imagined, too, small enough for Tash to hold in her hand and basically use to deliver a massage, as if they were her hands and fists.
So the difference is not so much in the techniques of massage used, but simply in the heat – which was a bit of a shock and slightly too much for me to start with, but which can be controlled to an extent by putting the stones in cool water (I think; I was face-down at this point). Applying the hot stones in this way basically does what a nice, relaxing, warming massage does in terms of heating your muscles and causing them to relax – but it does so a damn sight quicker and more thoroughly, so if you're dealing with, for instance, a tree-root back like mine it can release hideous amounts of pain and tension in a fairly short period of time.
As I've kind of said, this isn't the most relaxing or pleasurable experience to be had on a massage table, but it is bloody effective and, certainly in this case, not much more expensive than a normal back and shoulder massage.
The one downside to the second of my two visits for hot stone massages here was the jobsworths who run Sunlight House – a rather impressive 1930s building on Quay Street. Apparently chaining bikes to their faux-heritage lamp-posts on the stone flagged area near the entrance is Forbidden, leaving little option but the use the less convenient – both for cyclist and pedestrian – signpost on the main street itself. Take note, Bannatyne's, your landlords are busy pissing off the customers.
Contacts: Bannatyne's Health Club, Sunlight House, Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3JU. Tel: 0161 8323227. Hot stone massage £38
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Foot massage, Ana, E-Rejuvenation Centre, Spitalfields, London 24th June 2009
Ok, so I know this is supposed to be about Manchester massages. But this one was fun, so I'm going to include it anyway.
Firstly it was fun because it was a freebie, and I'm on a low enough income to very much appreciate nice things I don't have to pay for. But the lovely folks at the Fairtrade Foundation were doling out free half-hour massages as part of the launch event for the new labelling scheme for Fairtrade beauty products. For a long time, individual Fairtrade ingredients could be labelled, but the actual product wasn't, unlike for instance food products where a bar or cake, say, containing over 20% Fairtrade ingredients could carry the well-known label. But now they have come up with rules for a scheme, and today was the day the press got let loose on it.
So, having done the meet & greet and tried to ask vaguely intelligent questions to some of the Fairtrade beauty product producers there (including some favourites of mine – Visionary Soap Company, Lush and Neal's Yard Remedies), I got spirited off down a long corridor to a very pleasant treatment room with ochre walls, harp music and some lovely scented candles.
A very smiley and terrifyingly young-looking girl called Ana (I'm guessing Scandinavian) was doing my foot massage, which was more of a foot and lower leg massage, using the gorgeous-scented jasmine body cream which was one of the newly branded Fairtrade products. It's from Neal's Yard so it's bloody expensive, but it smells absolutely amazing.
In terms of the massage, it was very able, and interesting in so far as I'd never quite grasped how having one part of you massaged can be quite so relaxing all over. Unlike the deep tissue massage I prefer on my knotted up back and shoulders, I've never been very good with my calves and feet and Ana had to resist the temptation to use her thumbs too much on me, but once we got the pressure sorted out having my calves, ankles, soles and toes firmly massaged was very therapeutic. The massage itself was followed up by effleurage up to thigh level. One of the skills that Ana had down very well was the practice of never letting a part of the client's body out of her reach – ie there was always a warm hand on my foot or ankle, which is a strangely comforting experience, something that Jutika taught at the classes I went to years ago but which not all therapists observe.
The full treatment lasted a half hour, which is a pretty fair amount of time to spend on one part of the body like this, and probably one of the reasons it was so relaxing.
The E-Rejuvenation Centre itself is a bit odd, seemingly combining ideas about total relaxation with some weird stuff like seminars on Sun Tzu's Art of War, perhaps to keep the city boys from just over the way on Bishopsgate interested. But I can't fault the quality of their massage therapy.
Contacts: E Rejuvenation Centre, 132 Commercial Street, London E1 6NG, T. 020 7650 0718
Firstly it was fun because it was a freebie, and I'm on a low enough income to very much appreciate nice things I don't have to pay for. But the lovely folks at the Fairtrade Foundation were doling out free half-hour massages as part of the launch event for the new labelling scheme for Fairtrade beauty products. For a long time, individual Fairtrade ingredients could be labelled, but the actual product wasn't, unlike for instance food products where a bar or cake, say, containing over 20% Fairtrade ingredients could carry the well-known label. But now they have come up with rules for a scheme, and today was the day the press got let loose on it.
So, having done the meet & greet and tried to ask vaguely intelligent questions to some of the Fairtrade beauty product producers there (including some favourites of mine – Visionary Soap Company, Lush and Neal's Yard Remedies), I got spirited off down a long corridor to a very pleasant treatment room with ochre walls, harp music and some lovely scented candles.
A very smiley and terrifyingly young-looking girl called Ana (I'm guessing Scandinavian) was doing my foot massage, which was more of a foot and lower leg massage, using the gorgeous-scented jasmine body cream which was one of the newly branded Fairtrade products. It's from Neal's Yard so it's bloody expensive, but it smells absolutely amazing.
In terms of the massage, it was very able, and interesting in so far as I'd never quite grasped how having one part of you massaged can be quite so relaxing all over. Unlike the deep tissue massage I prefer on my knotted up back and shoulders, I've never been very good with my calves and feet and Ana had to resist the temptation to use her thumbs too much on me, but once we got the pressure sorted out having my calves, ankles, soles and toes firmly massaged was very therapeutic. The massage itself was followed up by effleurage up to thigh level. One of the skills that Ana had down very well was the practice of never letting a part of the client's body out of her reach – ie there was always a warm hand on my foot or ankle, which is a strangely comforting experience, something that Jutika taught at the classes I went to years ago but which not all therapists observe.
The full treatment lasted a half hour, which is a pretty fair amount of time to spend on one part of the body like this, and probably one of the reasons it was so relaxing.
The E-Rejuvenation Centre itself is a bit odd, seemingly combining ideas about total relaxation with some weird stuff like seminars on Sun Tzu's Art of War, perhaps to keep the city boys from just over the way on Bishopsgate interested. But I can't fault the quality of their massage therapy.
Contacts: E Rejuvenation Centre, 132 Commercial Street, London E1 6NG, T. 020 7650 0718
Monday, 27 April 2009
Tash, the Sensory Spa at Bannatyne's Quay Street, February 2009
This trip was the result of finding the many two-for-one and other offers for spa afternoons and experiences on lastminute.com, especially if you're able to take up offers available only during the week. Friend Jess and I went for an afternoon – being a teacher she was able to do this during half term, and being a freelance writerI can just work weekends and take time out during the week. This offer worked out at about £28 each for use of the spa and for a 45 minute treatment, with both of us going for the back, neck and shoulder massage. Bannatyne's is a nationwide chain so the offer is available pretty widely.
The Quay Street Bannatyne's – which is also a gym and fitness centre – has a pleasant enough if slightly odd spa. The many corridors can be a bit baffling, and the changing rooms are a bit big and draughty – more school gym lesson than luxurious spa. The sauna and steam room were fine and enjoyable, and situated next to a decent sized, if bizarrely shaped and slightly under-lit, swimming pool. Apparently this used to be a big, well-known pool with art deco decorations, diving boards etc, but a mezzanine has now gone in to extend the space available for the gyms etc. There could have been more loungers and chairs and you really need to take your own drinking water if you don't want to have to shell out for bottles from a machine, but for the price I wasn't complaining. The vouchers sent for the offer were ambiguous as to whether we'd be supplied with things like towels and robes and I think the Bannatyne's website implied that these would not be included. But they were, although slippers weren't.
The massage itself was, to put it bluntly, surprisingly good. After my experiences at the Radisson I'd come to expect that what I'd get somewhere like this would be an adequate but uninspiring beautician-with-a-bit-of-massage-training kind of deal. But I was lucky enough to get Tash. Now, she's not Jutika – but she might be in 5 or 10 years' time, if she stays in the profession.
From chatting to her, I got the distinct impression that she knows her stuff and has a genuine interest in massage and relaxation therapies. Her main training was, she said, in massage, and she's topped it up with skills in things like facials and manicures because it makes her more employable. The setting she's working in isn't ideal for setting off her talent – it's very much the kind of place where you walk in and are overwhelmed with a range of overpriced (if nice-smelling) potions in bottles and millions of shades of nail polish and lipstick. I'm guessing the staff are either on commission or that selling the contents of those various bottles is a major part of their role. But nevertheless, Tash gives a damn good massage – in-depth without being painful, and asking the right kind of questions about needs, pain levels and sore spots - so anyone finding themselves here should try asking for her. Having said that, Jess was pretty happy with her experience too, so maybe this place is lucky with its staff.
Contact details: Bannatyne's Health Club, Sunlight House, Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3JU , 0161 832 3227
The Quay Street Bannatyne's – which is also a gym and fitness centre – has a pleasant enough if slightly odd spa. The many corridors can be a bit baffling, and the changing rooms are a bit big and draughty – more school gym lesson than luxurious spa. The sauna and steam room were fine and enjoyable, and situated next to a decent sized, if bizarrely shaped and slightly under-lit, swimming pool. Apparently this used to be a big, well-known pool with art deco decorations, diving boards etc, but a mezzanine has now gone in to extend the space available for the gyms etc. There could have been more loungers and chairs and you really need to take your own drinking water if you don't want to have to shell out for bottles from a machine, but for the price I wasn't complaining. The vouchers sent for the offer were ambiguous as to whether we'd be supplied with things like towels and robes and I think the Bannatyne's website implied that these would not be included. But they were, although slippers weren't.
The massage itself was, to put it bluntly, surprisingly good. After my experiences at the Radisson I'd come to expect that what I'd get somewhere like this would be an adequate but uninspiring beautician-with-a-bit-of-massage-training kind of deal. But I was lucky enough to get Tash. Now, she's not Jutika – but she might be in 5 or 10 years' time, if she stays in the profession.
From chatting to her, I got the distinct impression that she knows her stuff and has a genuine interest in massage and relaxation therapies. Her main training was, she said, in massage, and she's topped it up with skills in things like facials and manicures because it makes her more employable. The setting she's working in isn't ideal for setting off her talent – it's very much the kind of place where you walk in and are overwhelmed with a range of overpriced (if nice-smelling) potions in bottles and millions of shades of nail polish and lipstick. I'm guessing the staff are either on commission or that selling the contents of those various bottles is a major part of their role. But nevertheless, Tash gives a damn good massage – in-depth without being painful, and asking the right kind of questions about needs, pain levels and sore spots - so anyone finding themselves here should try asking for her. Having said that, Jess was pretty happy with her experience too, so maybe this place is lucky with its staff.
Contact details: Bannatyne's Health Club, Sunlight House, Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3JU , 0161 832 3227
Friday, 24 April 2009
Sienna spa at the Radisson Hotel, deep tissue massage, June 2008
I got married in September 2008, so this was a road test for the Sienna Spa at the Radisson in Manchester as a possible hen expedition venue. Also, friend Ruth was in the country for her one-and-only break from a year managing a diving conservation project in Madagascar, living in a village with very little in the way of creature comforts, so a little pampering was in order.
The Sienna Spa is, I think, a good bet for an afternoon off or a group thing like a hen night, because the spa itself – which has a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and decent sized swimming pool – is free to use with treatments costing £40 or more, or is £12 for the spa alone. This means it's reasonably affordable for groups where some people are a bit more flush than others. There's also a gym, but let's not go there, and a full set of towels, robe and slippers is supplied, which is nice. And the spa is well-supplied with loungers and chairs where you can fall asleep, read fat trashy novels or do other things that might be lovely and relaxing.
Although there's no real chat about what you need or want from a massage, you do have to fill in medical conditions form, which is a little mechanistic and can feel like their main objective is to cover themselves in case they damage you, rather than actually understanding what the purpose of your treatment might be. But the little lounge overlooking the pool where you wait for treatments is nice enough, with jugs of water and complementary apples. Very healthy.
I have to say my experience of the deep tissue massage I went for on this visit wasn't terrific. It was satisfactory, but for £60 a pop I want pretty damn good, to be honest. I don't remember the name of the massage therapists Ruth and I had that day, but my overwhelming impression was that the therapists there tended towards the young, blonde beauty-therapists-who've-done-a-bit-of-massage-training type, rather than people interested in the more in-depth aspects of wellbeing and relaxation. I normally really enjoy a proper deep muscle massage – as I said in my review of Jutika I'm happy to have my back and shoulders worked on with elbows and knees as well as hands – but my experience at the Radisson was actually quite painful, especially on the calves, and when I tried to convey this to my therapist I didn't get the impression that what I was saying was really getting across. I felt I was in the hands of someone with fairly limited experience and a small repertoire, who had little skill or flexibility to adapt what they were doing to the client's needs. I needed the sauna and steam afterwards to recover from the massage! Which is a pity, especially at that price.
Contact details: Radisson Edwardian Manchester Hotel, Peter Street, Manchester M2 5GP, 0161 835 8964. Email sienna[at]radisson.com
The Sienna Spa is, I think, a good bet for an afternoon off or a group thing like a hen night, because the spa itself – which has a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and decent sized swimming pool – is free to use with treatments costing £40 or more, or is £12 for the spa alone. This means it's reasonably affordable for groups where some people are a bit more flush than others. There's also a gym, but let's not go there, and a full set of towels, robe and slippers is supplied, which is nice. And the spa is well-supplied with loungers and chairs where you can fall asleep, read fat trashy novels or do other things that might be lovely and relaxing.
Although there's no real chat about what you need or want from a massage, you do have to fill in medical conditions form, which is a little mechanistic and can feel like their main objective is to cover themselves in case they damage you, rather than actually understanding what the purpose of your treatment might be. But the little lounge overlooking the pool where you wait for treatments is nice enough, with jugs of water and complementary apples. Very healthy.
I have to say my experience of the deep tissue massage I went for on this visit wasn't terrific. It was satisfactory, but for £60 a pop I want pretty damn good, to be honest. I don't remember the name of the massage therapists Ruth and I had that day, but my overwhelming impression was that the therapists there tended towards the young, blonde beauty-therapists-who've-done-a-bit-of-massage-training type, rather than people interested in the more in-depth aspects of wellbeing and relaxation. I normally really enjoy a proper deep muscle massage – as I said in my review of Jutika I'm happy to have my back and shoulders worked on with elbows and knees as well as hands – but my experience at the Radisson was actually quite painful, especially on the calves, and when I tried to convey this to my therapist I didn't get the impression that what I was saying was really getting across. I felt I was in the hands of someone with fairly limited experience and a small repertoire, who had little skill or flexibility to adapt what they were doing to the client's needs. I needed the sauna and steam afterwards to recover from the massage! Which is a pity, especially at that price.
Contact details: Radisson Edwardian Manchester Hotel, Peter Street, Manchester M2 5GP, 0161 835 8964. Email sienna[at]radisson.com
Thursday, 23 April 2009
The Hammam al-Shifa
Ok, I know that this blog was meant to be about Manchester, but I recently came back from the amazing city of Nablus and a quick visit to the Hammam al-Shifa, one of the few remaining traditional Turkish Baths in use in Palestine, and a very beautiful space. It was built in 1624 by the Tuqan family. So here are a few gratuitous photos...
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Manchester School of Massage, Whalley Range, June 2004?
I'm not sure how I arrived here. I think Jutika was away for the summer and I was desperate for a good kneading of my shoulders muscles. I think I was also skint and horrified by the price of the various city centre spa-type-places, and I found the Manchester School of Massage. It was cheap and close to home, did courses (which suggested to me that they should know what they're doing) and offered a bewildering array of different massages.
The Manchester School of Massage building itself was a little unprepossessing – an inter-war suburban house. Inside, the hallway-turned-waiting-area was a bit dingy and the absence of much in the way of a reception meant I wasn't sure where to wait or who I should be talking to, or indeed who was going to be actually performing my treatment.
I don't remember the name of the therapist I ended up seeing. She was capable, if rather the brusque. I think I'd booked something like a Thai massage, which sounded relaxing from the description on the website, but was firmly informed that from the questions she's asked me a sports massage was more appropriate. Far be it from me to disagree! The massage room itself, as I remember it was a fair-sized suburban living room, which meant that it was a bit big and draughty.
All in all, this was a very reasonably-priced and capable therapeutic experience, but with none of the pleasant or relaxing environment or interactions which make a massage a physically enjoyable and psychologically useful exercise. Looking at their current website, the prices are still some of the most reasonable I've seen in the city.
Contact: Manchester School of Massage, 77 Russell Rd, Manchester, M16 8AR; 0161 881 7171 or 0161 881 3863 or 0845 4582302 or 0845 4582303; dfranks[at]btinternet.com or lucy.j1[at]btinternet.com
The Manchester School of Massage building itself was a little unprepossessing – an inter-war suburban house. Inside, the hallway-turned-waiting-area was a bit dingy and the absence of much in the way of a reception meant I wasn't sure where to wait or who I should be talking to, or indeed who was going to be actually performing my treatment.
I don't remember the name of the therapist I ended up seeing. She was capable, if rather the brusque. I think I'd booked something like a Thai massage, which sounded relaxing from the description on the website, but was firmly informed that from the questions she's asked me a sports massage was more appropriate. Far be it from me to disagree! The massage room itself, as I remember it was a fair-sized suburban living room, which meant that it was a bit big and draughty.
All in all, this was a very reasonably-priced and capable therapeutic experience, but with none of the pleasant or relaxing environment or interactions which make a massage a physically enjoyable and psychologically useful exercise. Looking at their current website, the prices are still some of the most reasonable I've seen in the city.
Contact: Manchester School of Massage, 77 Russell Rd, Manchester, M16 8AR; 0161 881 7171 or 0161 881 3863 or 0845 4582302 or 0845 4582303; dfranks[at]btinternet.com or lucy.j1[at]btinternet.com
Jutika, Manchester Buddhist Centre, several times a year since about 1999
The Bodywise natural health centre is to be found a couple of floors up a beautiful old wooden staircase at Manchester Buddhist Centre in the Northern Quarter. I found out about it when a friend and I decided to do a 6 week introductory massage course in about 1999 and I encountered Jutika, who's been my favourite person to get a massage from ever since. Bodywise itself exudes a sense of calm – delicately scented with aromatherapy oils and with curving pastel walls, I relax just walking into the corridor. The one great pity is that the place only has treatment rooms and a larger space used for yoga classes and the like, and that it doesn't have a full spa on offer. I'd probably move in there if it did...
I'm not one to talk about auras and similar hippy things, but Jutika herself is one of those people who just seem to give off a calming, warm vibe. Maybe it's just that I've had so many good experiences at her hands, but my shoulders seem to loosen up as I sit in the chair in her treatment room. She always asks a range of questions about a client's physical and mental wellbeing, evaluating not just whether there are areas of their body that should be focused on or avoided, but also the kind of treatment they will benefit from. Although her massages aren't advertised as 'aromatherapy' or anything else fancy, she usually uses one or more essential oils according to what she's just heard. She's also completely open to focusing on whatever areas of the body a client asks for – so when my back and shoulders are a big ol' mess from sitting hunched over a keyboard for stupid amounts of time, she's happy to concentrate on those, skipping completely or doing a quick once-over on arms, legs etc.
Jutika is a highly experienced therapist who seems to have an enduring interest in her craft and in continually improving the service she offers. I've often visited her and heard about the new course or technique she's learnt, and many of the most effective and innovative techniques I've experienced have been at her hands – or elbows, or knees, since she's been known to employ these in getting deep into the muscles of my back and shoulders. She also introduced me to the joys of the eyebrow massage – I didn't used to like have my face, especially around my eyes, touched at all, but under Jutika's care I've had the pleasure of finding just how calming this can be.
Unusually in central Manchester nowadays, a full hour's massage from Jutika still comes in at just under £40. Bodywise also offers gift vouchers which can be bought for specific amounts or for named treatments.
Contact: Bodywise Natural Health Centre, ( 2nd floor, Manchester Buddhist Centre ), 16 - 20 Turner Street, Manchester M4 1DZ, 0161 833 2528, health[at]bodywisenaturalhealth.co.uk
I'm not one to talk about auras and similar hippy things, but Jutika herself is one of those people who just seem to give off a calming, warm vibe. Maybe it's just that I've had so many good experiences at her hands, but my shoulders seem to loosen up as I sit in the chair in her treatment room. She always asks a range of questions about a client's physical and mental wellbeing, evaluating not just whether there are areas of their body that should be focused on or avoided, but also the kind of treatment they will benefit from. Although her massages aren't advertised as 'aromatherapy' or anything else fancy, she usually uses one or more essential oils according to what she's just heard. She's also completely open to focusing on whatever areas of the body a client asks for – so when my back and shoulders are a big ol' mess from sitting hunched over a keyboard for stupid amounts of time, she's happy to concentrate on those, skipping completely or doing a quick once-over on arms, legs etc.
Jutika is a highly experienced therapist who seems to have an enduring interest in her craft and in continually improving the service she offers. I've often visited her and heard about the new course or technique she's learnt, and many of the most effective and innovative techniques I've experienced have been at her hands – or elbows, or knees, since she's been known to employ these in getting deep into the muscles of my back and shoulders. She also introduced me to the joys of the eyebrow massage – I didn't used to like have my face, especially around my eyes, touched at all, but under Jutika's care I've had the pleasure of finding just how calming this can be.
Unusually in central Manchester nowadays, a full hour's massage from Jutika still comes in at just under £40. Bodywise also offers gift vouchers which can be bought for specific amounts or for named treatments.
Contact: Bodywise Natural Health Centre, ( 2nd floor, Manchester Buddhist Centre ), 16 - 20 Turner Street, Manchester M4 1DZ, 0161 833 2528, health[at]bodywisenaturalhealth.co.uk
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