Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Bersih Sehat Massage Center - 1.5 hr for $15

I slept at the wrong side of the bed, so today when I woke up I practically couldn't turn my head to the right. It was hella painful. I was supposed to go yoga today, but seeing my condition, I was like... nah. Instead I asked good ol' mom for a solution and she told me to go to this one massage parlor that she frequents all the time.

It's called Bersih Sehat ("Clean" and "Healthy" in Indonesian) and she claimed that they do an excellent job with minimal fee. As it turns out, it was perhaps a LITTLE too good. We came together to the parlor and my mom ordered the most "senior" masseuse who would know a thing or two about muscles and tendons.

Out came this short, pudgy, stocky middle-aged lady. She was so very nice and very courteous, but she was a monster. She meant business. Her grips were like vises and she treated me as if I was Kobe beef. Brother, was she STRONG. I couldn't believe how strong she really was. She really drove in her fingers into my muscles and it was as if she cut me open with her fingers. She performed a type of Shiatsu where she targets individual muscles and my right shoulder and neck, which were the affected areas, burned like crazy.

If you're not used to deep tissue massage, it won't be at all comfortable for the first time, especially if you have young, tender muscles. Double true if you have "frozen" muscles from cramps. But old people like my mom totally loves super hard massages, because they need the extra stimulation; their muscles are stiffer. I remember when I used to massage my mom, no matter how hard I squeezed, she was never satisfied; in fact, she asked me to double the effort. I was a little younger, but I seriously already had some serious muscle power, and it always amazed me that I can never seem to hurt her. Oftentimes she even asked me to stand on top of her lying face down and walk all over her back. Amazing.

Anyways, so the first time Nur (the masseuse's name) touched my shoulders, I felt as if a vise was clamping down hard and I couldn't breathe. My face was buried deep inside the pillow and my right shoulder felt as if it was burned by a torch, and then split open with an ice axe. I jumped up, eyes wide open, and stared at her. She was surprised at first, but she knew right away the symptoms of young, feeble bodies like mine and acted very professionally. She "toned" down her strength, but it was plenty monstrous to me.

Regardless, I spent the next 1.5 hours squirming, grunting, and screaming like a little girl. And at one point I cackled loudly like a hyena, because she started massaging my thigh, which I'm VERY ticklish on, without warning. It took a lot efforts from her part to steady me as I kept on shifting and squirming, but I mean, she KNOWS muscles and she found that I have two very large knots on each side of my shoulders, which she suspected was from weight lifting. Close. It was from two years of rock climbing, and no massages at all.

I was actually surprised that my back was very knotty. There were at least 7 large knots, most of them running along my shoulder blades. She succeeded in untangling all but two of the largest, which are on my shoulders. But by all means it was not without sacrifice on my part. It. Really. Hurt.

But her massage works like a wonder. I can now freely move around my head, and although my back is kinda sore from all the high pressure penetration, she told me it'll all go away tomorrow. She also told me to drink plenty, plenty and plenty of liquid and try to expel them all from my system, due to the toxins being released when she untangled the knots. The knots are supposed to harbor bad, old toxins. I am actually feeling a little light-headed now and relaxed and sleepy, but at the same time feeling a little nauseous, probably from the toxins now circulating in my body. My mouth also feels a bit bitter.

I really think I should make a habit of coming there at least once a month, especially when the rate is really reasonable. I paid Rp. 135,000 (about $13.50) for one and a half hour, plus Rp. 20,000 for tip. The place is sparkling clean, smells really nice, and very professional. Nur rubbed some kind of a massage oil potion consisting of herbals, mint extract, and a kind of a hot rubbing oil. It's supposed to be aromatherapeutic. At the end of the massage, she put a hot towel on my back which functioned both as a relaxer and towel to wipe off the oil.

She told me that with continued massage, the two knots on my back should go away, and my muscles should be back to their supple states. And massage is actually really good for the body as it improves blood circulation, tones your overall body and get rid of toxins. And why shouldn't I take advantage of this? The place is nice, the rates reasonable and it's here.

Bersih Sehat is a chain of massage parlors owned by Dayu Group located in Jakarta, Anyer and Bandung. It has been around since 1983. It is the only massage parlor in Indonesia that is ISO 9001 certified. They provide massage services, aromatherapies, spas, saunas and manicures and pedicures.

I went to the one in Pondok Indah:
Bersih Sehat Pondok Indah
Plaza 2 Blok B3 No. 16
Jl. Metro Pondok Indah
Jakarta Selatan 12310.
Telp. (62-21) 750.1342 - 750.1349
More info http://www.dayugroup.web.id/ina/bscabang.php?proses=1&id=20


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5 comments:

Unknown said...

long live bersih sehat!
i'm a raving fan too myself.

Greggiepooh said...

long live indeed! enak n' murah rub... :-) I'll see you there he2.

Dila said...

Thank you for sharing the post about Bersih Sehat Massage Center. It's very useful for me. I'd perhaps visit that place some day.

I Valencia said...

Oooh how I miss Indo massages. By the way, the one Mom got for me was this home-service, yup the masseuse actually came to the house, and it was only for Rp. 60,000 - no joking - $6 for 1 1/2 hours.

Anonymous said...

Vadaaa...looove the way you detailing! =))) sampe geli sendiri! so life is good over there i guess... (isti)