I’m in favour of anything that helps the body relax during a treatment. Warm beds and rooms are top of the list, sensuous smells and occasionally (very occasionally) soothing music. I love those massage chairs you are sometimes offered while having a manicure but I have just experienced one of the best things ever. It’s called a SilentChi machine and I encountered it at the newly opened Spa at the Grand Hotel, Stockholm. It is Raison d’Etre’s first own brand spa and has all sorts of special therapies and treatments especially devised for this northern pamper palace – one signature treatment, called Be Rested, has this machine as part of it. After your feet have been massaged, anointed and then placed in those rather fetching plastic bags before being wrapped in towels, your feet and legs are raised and placed on a small machine – which then gently rocks your body to such an extent that gradually you can feel each vertebra gradually relax and loosen so that your spine and back lose any muscle tightness and rigidity., thus preparing your body for a great massage. It only takes about 10 minutes and once you get used to the rhythm you want it to continue for ever. Apparently if you have one regularly your aching and rigid muscles become almost normal! Sheer magic – I’d love one at the end of my bed so that I could have a session whenever I wanted or needed one. (www.rasiondetrespa.se)
