Many spas, or is it therapists(?) rarely go near the stomach when massaging – and in fact many clients don’t want their stomachs touched, unless it’s with the wing of a butterfly which is of no use at all. The Chinese, as in many other areas, have got stomach massage right. It’s known as Chi Nei Tsang and it is a massage with a message. No Traditional Chinese Medical therapist would pussyfoot about when giving this treatment, they dive straight in with fingers prodding and poking and using strong strokes around and across the stomach. It can be painful – but then it gets everything going, all those organs huddled together in mid-body are separated and revitalised. To the Chinese the stomach is the centre of energy which is why this is such an important element of their treatments.
If you’re a tad squeamish about going hardcore to begin with, then head for the Ushvani Day Spa in London’s Cadogan Gardens where the Signature Massage includes a good strong stomach massage. Most of the treatments available here are based on traditional Malayasian and Indonesian therapies – both of which have been influenced by the Chinese. It’s a very calming place to visit and entering it is rather like visiting one of the better girls’ schools with its dark carved wood and hush everywhere. Indeed I expected to see Margaret Rutherford in a tweed suit at the top of the stairs, not a slip of a thing in traditional therapist wear.
