Stress is a killer. Literally. According to statistics released in 2010 by the Ministry of Health, a high proportion of deaths in the UAE are stress-related. Inflation, soaring rents, extra hours at work, family squabbles and traffic all play an integral part in creating an anxious existence for us. Clearly, such a common enemy needs to be confronted. And one way to keep stress at bay is by trying a bit of reflexology at the Heavenly Spa at The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa.
Reflexology is aimed at promoting a deep sense of relaxation. Upon arrival at the spa, we’re greeted at reception by our therapist, Heena, who gets us to fill in a form about our health and explains the benefits of this alternative therapy, where pressure is applied to the feet, hands and ears with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques. It is based on the idea our feet and hands reflect an image of our whole body’s health – a bit like remote controls for the central system.
The treatment
Heena starts by giving us some helpful tips on keeping our hearts and minds refreshed and healthy. For example, she tells us we should be drinking at least eight glassses of water a day and attributes one of the reasons for our lethargy to a lack of water in our body. She also tells us to lay off the caffeine and that for every coffee we drink, we need to consume two more glasses of water on top of the eight already prescribed.
We’d highlighted some back pain in our form, so Heena starts by giving us a hot stone massage because, she explains, it is best for intense pain as it penetrates deeper into the muscle. Heena performs the treatment all over our back, concentrating on the tense areas and uses the stones to really work at undoing knots. The heat of the stones works to relax us and there’s an immediate, tangible difference. Heena tells us we are too young to have such bad knots in our back and it’s obvious this is where we hold most of our stress. She suggests pilates to combat this problem because we need to strengthen our core.
We then move onto the reflexology and Heena suggests the Chinese technique that Heavenly Spa favours because she feels it will be better for us, but warns that it’ll hurt.
She starts by scrubbing our feet with detoxifying salts and makes sure we are comfortable before she starts the treatment. Heena massages our feet one at a time using special manipulative thumb and finger techniques that work target points on the feet. She wasn’t lying when she said it would hurt. She works on our big toe first and it is really quite painful. She suggests the big toe represents our brain and that our brain is tired and that’s why it is hurting. She moves onto our second toe which again aches a lot and she asks us if we suffer from bad migraines and sinus problems. These are our two main ailments and we are shocked that she has picked this up just five minutes into the treatment. She continues with our toes and then moves down the centre of our foot, which represents the stomach and intestines. We don’t seem to have any issues here and the pain is very mild. She then works on the outside of our foot and there is a sharp pain that startles us. Heena explains that this represents the shoulders and since we have such bad knots this is causing a reaction. She then moves onto our other foot and we recoil slightly as this one seems to hurt much more. Heena says this is due to the fact that this side of our back and shoulder is in a much worse state then the other and that’s why it’s painful. The treatment ends with a relaxing foot and leg massage which, thankfully, leaves us feeling rejuvenated.
The pros
We slept extremely well that night after the treatment and, although we were a bit sore the next day, we felt energized.
The cons
It can be painful but as Heena says, ‘no pain, no gain’. It is worth it and you will feel amazing the next day.
The verdict
Despite the pain, we really enjoyed this treatment. It was interesting finding out what our ailments are and what affect this has on our body. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but we would highly recommend it.
The 90-minute hot stone massage is Dhs510 and the reflexology is Dhs390 for 60 minutes. Heavenly Spa at The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa (02 616 9770).
