Heavenly signature
Rollerssage Massage
There comes a point when you’ve tried enough massages and spa treatments to think you’ve tried them all. Times like this are often followed by incidents in which the universe tells you, in so many words, ‘think again!’ This is precisely what happened to us on the day we visited Heavenly Spa at the new Westin Golf Resort. We’d nonchalantly signed up for their signature Rollerssage Massage with a pinch of skepticism because this is a massage that relies on the metaphysical and healing powers of semi-precious stones.
The treatment
step by step:
Changed into robe and slippers, we headed to the little relaxation area where we were met by Heena, our therapist, and taken to our treatment room. Now we’re used to our treatments starting off with a foot wash/rub. It’s just one of those things every spa seems to do. It doesn’t happen here (one of the early signs that Heavenly is about no frills, hard core treatment). Instead Heena sat us down on the massage bed, took one look at us and said, ‘You must drink more water.’ Then she spread out a handfull of stones on the bed and asked us to choose one after telling us what they were all good for.
There was rose quartz, which holds metaphysical properties like love, forgiveness and self-wellbeing, and which works on the heart chakra and clears stored anger and fears. The sodalite was a mysterious looking blue stone that works on the throat chakra, heals the digestive system and restores harmony to the conscious and subconscious mind. The yellowy-brown tiger eye apparently works on the solar plexus and third eye chakra, boosting confidence, optimism, insight and personal power. And finally, hematite, we were told, is excellent for grounding and improving circulation, while working on the root chakra.
We liked the look of the mysterious blue stone combined with the idea of restoring harmony, so we chose the sodalite. Heena began by wrapping us up all cozy and pressing a hot, damp towel to our feet. Then she started massaging our legs with massage oil. Her hands moved in sweeping, dance-like motions, which were phenomenally comforting. When she began using the stones (these were heated and hit together every now and then) she maintained these connective movements which flowed into each other. The pressure was light to medium, because the focus here was the lymphatic tissue. Midway through working on our left leg, Heena stopped and asked if she could use the rose quartz on us as well. ‘It’ll be better for you,’ she said like some insightful and wise medicine woman. ‘Sure, knock yourself out,’ is our response. Then she asked if we get cramps, and when we confirmed that we do indeed, she recommended a session of reflexology – turns out we’re pent up with too many toxins and have bad circulation. Upon hearing this, we requested a short session after our Rollerssage treatment. ‘I do Japanese reflexology,’ she warned. ‘It will hurt – but no pain, no gain. You will feel great afterwards!’ We convinced her of our high tolerance to pain. Heena rolled up her metaphorical sleeves and proved two things: that she wasn’t exaggerating about the pain, and that she isn’t just a masseuse, but a professional therapist with a world of knowledge about alternative healing. Goodbye initial scepticism on our part. The moment Heena got her hands on our feet, she listed all of our bodily ailments; guessing pretty much everything from our lower back problems (a memento from a quad-bike accident three years ago) to telling us we worry and think too much, and that we must relax. Easier said than done, but this healing treatment feels like a good place to start.
Pros:
The session felt very personalised, with Heena being mindful of our needs and issues and really tailoring the therapy to suit us. She also offered a word of advice about things we could do at home to improve our wellbeing and circulation.
Cons:
For a spa located in a resort called ‘Westin Golf Resort and Spa’ Heavenly is something of an anticlimax at first. It’s small and understated (though still pretty enough) and its changing room area has no sauna or Jacuzzi. It does have a wonderful, starlit steam room though.
The verdict:
As Heena predicted, we had the best night’s sleep in months and woke up feeling lighter the next day. Her personalised advice (which we put to practice) has also had us feeling better. All in all, this is definitely a treatment that stands out from the rest, and is one we’d look forward to doing once a month.
The Rollerssage massage costs Dhs410 and the head, back and foot massage, which focuses on your preferred area, costs Dhs410. Available daily between 9am and 9pm at the Heavenly Spa, Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and Spa (02 616 9770).
