Massage. Is there anything else which is so good for you and at the same time so pleasurable? Yesterday I went for a massage at Harmony in Cathcart. It was free (of course – I am the Freebie Queen) because my sister had given me her O2 reward. I had the choice of facial waxing or threading, manicure, pedicure or massage, and went for massage.
Harmony is less than a ten minute walk from Cathcart station, but it’s a bit off the beaten track and you have to know where you’re going – which I didn’t. I was wishing I had brought a map by the time I finally found Ashmore Road. The door was locked because there was only one person working (Caroline) but I was let in almost immediately and left in the small waiting area opposite a wall full of reassuring certificates.
The salon smelt of wax, as all beauty salons do. It’s not a strong smell, nor is it unpleasant, but it is very pervasive. (If you don’t know what it smells like, pop your head round the door of any beauty salon in the country.) The waiting area could have done with a better selection of magazines; my choice was Woman’s Weekly, trashy celebrity magazines or a shopping catalogue. I’ll leave you to guess which I chose. But I didn’t go there for the reading material, did I? I went for the massage, and that was lovely.
The treatment room was small but clean and tastefully decorated, with the usual soothing music on the stereo. It had a proper massage bed with a hole for the client’s face, which was good for me, and adjustable height, which is good for the therapist.
Caroline offered me the choice of Swedish or aromatherapy massage, and a choice of aims for the aromatherapy – relaxing, energising, etc. During the massage the room was very dark, the music quiet, Caroline’s hands warm, and it was very easy to relax. I’m sure I got more than the fifteen minutes I was entitled to, and even my legs got a bit of treatment. At the end my back felt wonderful and all the knots were worked out of my neck. My lymphatic system was also stimulated and my levels of cortisol (stress hormone) reduced, but perhaps that’s a bit too sciency. The point it, massage is great and everyone should do it, and Harmony (provided you have a map) is a good place to have one.
K C Murdarasi 
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