A new business has opened next to Michelle Nail Salon on Washington Street. Former 2 year employee of Michelle Nail Salon, Joe Zhao is the proud new owner/operator of Oriental Massage & Spa Inc. The new business offers foot reflexology and body massage. Joe Zhao is a licensed massage therapist specializing in acupressure massage. Acupressure massage is a form of deep tissue massage- deep tissue massage itself is a type of massage designed to relieve tension in muscles and connective tissue. The Acupressure part focuses on acupuncture points on the body.
I have had massages before by friends. Still this was a new experience and I was quite pleased with the results. As I am sure many other people are finding, this winter has taken its told stress wise on me; I'd like to dub this the week from hell for me also, thank you very much. Deadlines, cold & flus, car troubles, basement flooding etc etc etc, and to top it all off I got stuck in traffic on the Merrit Parkway this morning for 2 hours because of road flooding, and then again on 91 for an hour and a half coming home after the highway was closed. Oh, and to top it all off- I got rear-ended today and missed an important appointment. Lovely. Coming home it was either drop by Preferred Care Walk in Clinic for some sympathy and hopefully a muscle relaxer for wretched neck & back - a pre existing condition aggravated by the jolt I took, or seek another method to console myself. ( I love the people at Preferred Care, Dr. Robinson still remembers giving me weekly allergy shots when I was five.) I did have ice cream at Friendly's on Washington for dinner for my suffering, but that's later. I decided to take a natural approach today just to be different.
For $40 and a 10% off first time client discount I received an amazing 30 min.+ deep tissue massage. $40 is a very reasonable price for a treatment of this quality, and equal to the price of my and many others insurance co-pay amount for a walk in visit & muscle relaxer- that's how I justified the expense. Spas with the emphasis on luxury do not always equate to budget friendly, but this one is & leans towards the therapeutic. I had never really done any alternative "health" treatments so I am pleased to say I am happy with the decision today. So I thought I would share it- especially when new business owners are struggling these days.
I was initially a little wary of the closed curtains at Oriental Spa, at first it seemed very
un-inviting. However, the curtains are necessary to block out the busy street traffic and light, and allow the interior to seem far away from the noisy stretch of road the shop is on; and they do the job. The interior of Oriental Spa not only spotless, but quiet, warm, inviting, and has the level of privacy typically only found at more pricey spas. Dim light and quiet violin music make the shop relaxing immediately. The massage rooms are private, although more like dressing rooms and it was reassuring to know others clients were in the vicinity. Joe Zhao is not only extremely talented, he is exceptionally professional & accommodating. Another thing I enjoyed was not being pressured into more services; there is nothing more annoying listening to a sales pitch for another service while trying to relax. Zhao focused on my back's trouble areas, and customized his technique to my needs. I have to say I started to fall asleep. I thought Zhao had to be using a variety of tools, but the entire massage was done with only hands. Zhao went over the 30 minutes I had paid for because my neck was still a wreck and was able to work the connective tissues with the acupressure technique. Gently forcing the bones of the back and neck apart, in the way that they would bend normally, the therapist is able to work his fingers into the tissues relieving pain and inflammation. The technique is not for the faint at heart; at times the pressure is very intense, but never painful, with the emphasis on deep tissue.
So I would just like to say the experience was great & welcome to the neighborhood Oriental Massage & Spa Inc.!
Check out this new business: Open 7 Days a week, 10 am -9:30 pm, 551 Washington Street. 860 986 6742
excellent article. The health care industry really needs to start recognizing massage therapy as a valid way to treat and prevent medical issues. I hope that the professional massage therapists associations are making progress in that arena. Also, Preferred Care walk-in clinic is incredible. Both massage therapy and Preferred Care have helped me immensely through some difficult health issues. More than I can even put into words. Better care than most of the conventional doctors I have been to around here. Thanks again for taking time to write this up for the EYE after all that stress!
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