Was my neck broken, did I break my neck?
The day I gingerly approached this temple of Thai healing I was a broken man. Danielsan was not a well boy.
Unlike the karate kid, I had no Mr Miyagi with which to give me a white hot hand slap to bring my vital signs back to life. But, I soon realised that I did not need him...
The all female crew at Mumsabai make Miyagi look like a first-year rookie at a TAFE massage school. As I entered I was greeted with a shy hello and asked which of the services I was interested in. I opted for a 60 minute traditional Thai massage with reflexology. I was ushered through a velvet curtain and once ready I was asked my preference of pressure. I chose hard, and I was regretting it early. The ladies might be tiny waifs but the strength in their fingers is such that they could shatter concrete like a sledgehammer.
The knots in my shoulders and neck were like a sailors taut-line hitch but seasoned fingers dug them loose whilst paying particular attention to my neck and the back of my skull. The tension was such that my pain threshold exceeded excruciating and I found myself for the first time ever tapping out in a massage. I've had plenty of remedial massages in my time with burly men putting forearms through my iliotibial bands which brought laughter born of too much pain, but this was another level of pleasurable torture entirely.
The foot reflexology involved a technique I had never received before. A sharp tool, like a sewing needle, was employed to extract a greater response from my body and it was perhaps the greatest foot probe I've ever endured. Once complete I thought the massage was over... but I had a final 20 minutes in store.
Firstly, I was put in a position that can only be described as Sting's scorpion death lock. Unlike the wrestler's finishing move I wasn't pinned to the mat, I was lifted gracefully and effortlessly by this tiny girl right off the table and was floating in air as my back and neck had their tensions released. Returning me to the bench she finished up by interlocking her hands inside my raised arms and re-aligned my verterbrae with an expert touch.
After this massage I was the Zen Master. I felt like a trillion bucks for the next 2 weeks. Highly recommended. Wish I was here right now! read more