Being stretched by another man!

One of my favourite things on the internet right now is sites like Groupon and Tickles. Recently I purchased a Thai Yoga massage via one of these sites. Basically, you can buy the daily deal at a massively discounted price.

I am always up for different types of therapies (I also have a voucher for a fish feet pedicure) so was looking forward to trying a Thai Yoga massage. Now, I have had something similar before in the Maldives - but back then it was a 7 stone female walking along my back, not a fully grown man as I was about to find out!

So, today I turned up at my therapist Sudheesh's house and he led me to his treatment room. It was a big airy, well decorated, traditional room, with a thin mattress on the floor used as as the treatment couch.

After a brief description of what I was about to go through, it was action time! I laid down on the mattress and Sudheesh started on my feet and calves, his whole body weight was pushing through my little legs - wow! There are no oils used (not unless you request it for the Indian head massage part as I did) and it's a completely different feeling and type of massage to what I give and to treatments I would usually have.

It's more like an extreme stretching class or as Sudheesh describes it, Yoga for lazy people - and when it comes to stretching this is something I am ashamed to admit I am!

Anyway, after having the feeling my hips were going to pop out along with a few discs, we were closing in on the finale - the Indian head massage! Some people are not too keen on their face, head and neck being touched, but I love it - and even though I was being pummeled by a man - I still enjoyed it!

How do I feel now? Well its only 3 hours later, but I definitely feel relaxed - more relaxed than I have for a long time. I have an ongoing hip flexor problem, which this morning was sore, and it isn't now! My back and hips in general feel a lot more flexible, as do my feet!

I would recommend this treatment to anybody, but you have to expect a bit of pain, so if your pain threshold isn't too high, then you probably won't get the same benefits that I am feeling.

If you have a general injury that you are looking to get fixed then you are probably best going to a massage therapist (me!!) or a physio, but for general aches and pain or tightness, then this is a great alternative, and a fantastic experience.

As I am a lazy stretcher, I will be going back to Sudheesh in a few weeks for another treatment and see it as an on-going programme for me, and hopefully a discussion on how I can use him and his treatment to benefit my clients.

www.ayurvedicthaiyogamassage.com