THE LAST thing I wanted to do last Thursday was waste three hours on a massage. I had a lot of work to do, not enough time to do it in and I had to be somewhere at 6pm.
I had often told myself I’d take time out for an all over body massage, but I never got round to it. I kept putting it off for ‘another, more convenient time’. That time never came, and that’s how I found myself at the Sanctuary Day Retreat and allowed myself to be enveloped by the able hands of Elena Rowett Johns.
Elena is a petite half Romanian, half Swiss woman who looks even younger than her 29 years. Her smile is bright and warm as she welcomes you into her home, which has been converted into a spa of sorts.
The first thing that strikes you is the candles, leading you up the stairs and into the room where you are promised spiritual escape from the tensions and stress of modern life. The house smells faintly of rose petals and you instantly feel at home as you gingerly make your way upstairs.
Once you enter the dimly lit room, painted in hues of orange and red, you are instantly engulfed by the peace and calm it emanates. Rose petals and candles float inside a glass case of water on the floor and two cushions are carefully placed alongside it. The ‘massage’ bed lies quietly at one end, as you nervously wonder what is going to happen next. Elena opens a cupboard and shows me a robe, slippers and a bag for my jewellery. I’m told to undress and leave only my underwear on. Inside, I balk and want to bolt for the door, mortified that this stranger is going to see me in my pants! However, at this point she quietly leaves the room and allows me to undress in private. On her return she knocks the door and asks if I’m ready. I am and am sitting nervously cross-legged on one of the pillows. She pours me some soothing rose tea to drink and all I can think of is wanting to smoke.
Elena then picks up her clipboard and proceeds to give me a confidential lifestyle consultation. This includes questions on my stress level, sleep patterns, working activity, eating habits, smoking and drinking, face and body assessment (that dreaded sensitive combination skin) and medical history. I’m mortified to admit that I’m a stress ball, two-pack a day smoker, with erratic eating patterns.
“So what are you?” I ask her, hoping to divert attention from my unhealthy lifestyle. The answer is simple: a holistic therapist. In other words, she draws on the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, yoga, massage and herbal medicine to benefit and balance your mind, body and spirit. UK-trained, she’s been on courses at spas around the world and has been working as a holistic therapist for three years.
“If you don’t look good on the inside, you’re not going to look on the outside,” said Elena, quoting the thousand-year-old holistic Eastern philosophy that true beauty and well-being come from within. Great, I thought to myself, as I guiltily remembered stubbing out my tenth cigarette of the day before meeting with her.
Before she gets to work on ‘The Ritual’, which includes a well-being massage (an all over body massage) and an aromapure facial (a therapeutic deep cleansing facial prescribed for your skin), I’m given a footbath. My feet are placed into warm water, sprinkled with rose petals and a splash of scented, soothing oil.
At this point I’ve started to relax and am ready for a deeper form of relaxation. Elena leaves the room and I get onto the bed, face down, and cover myself with towels. When she comes back I’m given a choice of two essential oils she’ll use. I choose the one with ylang ylang, because I prefer the smell and then settle down to the soft sounds of oriental music playing in the background.
First off Elena gets to work on my neck: the epicentre of all my tension and stress. It aches, a lot, as she kneads away the pain using deep pressure massage. As she moves down my spinal cord I feel the toll of months worth of stress slipping away. My muscles relax under her miracle touch, as the oils seep through my pores and into my bloodstream. I feel myself being transported upwards as her fingers seem to absorb all my negative energy.
When she gets to work on my feet I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. Over the years I’ve given other people foot massages and been told how good I am at them. Unfortunately, no one has ever bothered to return the favour. Now, here I am, lying face down on my lavender pillow as Elena gets to work on my tired, stressed feet.
It seems everyone has stress in their feet, because they are the one part of the body that even the laziest human being is forced to use. As she starts working her magic into the soles of my feet I begin to feel the tension seeping, slowly at first and then more rapidly, away. My toes are plucked and the balls, arches and heels of my feet nurtured back to life. I can’t tell you how long Elena spent on each foot because I lost all track of time as I found myself lifted higher and higher on a cloud of deep relaxation. I struggled to stay awake and fought back several yawns so that I could remember – and write about – the experience.
Next came my calves. Having being skiing the previous weekend, they were in knots. Then she gets to work on my arms. Before long they feel rejuvenated and lighter.
When I flip over onto my back, Elena puts a lavender pillow onto my eyes. She then works on the front of my feet, stomach and hands. I now feel like a dead weight and am already trying to figure out when to have my next session. Throughout ‘the ritual’, my modesty is spared thanks to the towels draped over me, only moved slightly when she’s working on a particular part of my body.
“Do you work on computers a lot?” asks Elena, as she firmly tugs at my fingers, releasing pent up energy. She then squeezes my hand between my thumb and index finger. The pain is excruciating and I tell her so.
“Hold on for just a few more seconds,” she smiles. “You’ll feel much better.” She’s right, I do. All the while I’m wondering how I can go back to work after all this, when all I want to do is close my eyes and drift off to sleep, cocooned in this warm, safe place.
Once it’s over, I’m given a glass of water because the oils make you dehydrated. Next comes the facial. This does not involve steam and spot popping. Instead it combines the power of absolutes with true essential oils, treating the skin at the deepest level without aggression. Specialised Eastern massage movements help to stimulate and oxygenate your skin, while bringing the body and mind into balance. Suffering from dry skin, my face eagerly drinks up the non-greasy oils and instantly feels soothed and relaxed.
Unfortunately I’m forced to cut my session short because I still have that meeting at 6pm. I gulp down another herbal drink that is guaranteed to give me an energy boost within 30 minutes and get up and get dressed.
At this point Elena would normally outline a special programme for me, but I’m in a hurry and can’t stop. I take a brochure with me and wonder what other treatment I can have next time, from various facials, body booster treatments, detox and body cleansing sessions, hand and feet treatments or even just finishing touches like an eyebrow tint or manicure.
When I got back to the office, everyone told me how relaxed I looked. Too right, I thought to myself, and wondered why I hadn’t just skived off work and headed downtown for a little mosey along the shops, particularly since that herbal energy boosting drink had started to work its magic.
The Sanctuary is on 16a Pavlou Liasidi Street, Archangelos, Nicosia. Elena’s telephone number is: 22-721799 or 99-796347. She works daily and at weekends on special request.
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