I've had a reflexology foot massage (in Taipei – fantastic – especially after a long day of walking) but never a massage that was performed by feet. The Japanese invented one called ashiatsu, from the Japanese word ashi meaning foot, and atsu, meaning pressure. Basically, you lie on your stomach, and the massage therapist walks on your back. The therapist holds onto a bar suspended from the ceiling so you don't feel her/his entire weight.
Alison Stein Wellner tried one out at the Broadmoor spa in Colorado Springs, and reported on her experience in the Huffington Post: Although strange, it was "the least painful and deepest massage I've ever had." She writes:
"There is a strength and a power that comes from the legs that is lacking in the arms. The leg, after all, houses the body's largest and strongest bone, the femur, the thigh bone. It's a significant part of any human's mass. If you've ever had a deep tissue massage when someone uses their elbows or their whole arm, there's something of a brutality to it, or at least a lack of finesse. But although the leg is powerful, the foot is curved, it has that arch, it has those pads, it is not a slab of unarticulated flesh bearing down on you."
It sounds rather less violent than the Russian platza treatment Emily Haile wrote about for IT. Sitting at my desk at 6 p.m., I could really use one right about now.
Photo: Tom Kimmell, courtesy the Broadmoor
Oh, I forgot to link to Traveler's new online feature, "50 Top Wellness Destinations," which highlights spas around the world. You can experience an underwater massage in the Czech Republic, hot springs in Alaska, Aztec sweat baths in Chichen Itza, Tibetan cranial training in Colorado, grapeseed exfoliation in South Africa, acupressure in British Columbia, geothermal seawater baths in Iceland, a hammam scrub in Turkey, volcanic mud masks in Chile or an ayurvedic massage in Sri Lanka, among other treatments:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/extras/wellnessdestinations0803/wellness.html
Posted by: Marilyn Terrell | March 18, 2008 at 12:21 AM
The Broadmoor spa and amenities are second to none. It is definitely worth the visit!
Posted by: Colorado Springs | July 03, 2008 at 09:41 PM