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Not for the weak of heart

Looking for the unconventional, Karen Ann Monsy may have gotten a tad more than she bargained for with Tao Spa's Ashi-Bar massage - but in a good way!

"So you're just going to lie there and let her walk all over you?!" asked my friend, incredulous.
"Pretty much," I responded, partly amused, partly resigned.
No, the subject of our discussion was not a 'mean girl'. I'd just signed up for an Ashi-Bar massage at Tao Spa in Dubai Mall. A signature treatment, it involved a therapist using parallel bars suspended from the ceiling for balance and control, in order to deliver a deep-tissue, barefoot massage that would tackle the body's pressure points and release the pent-up tension in your muscles.
Ashiatsu - the massage technique employed here - is an ancient art form that's derived from a combination of Ayurveda, Shiatsu and classic Thai massage. It's billed as pain-free, but that may be subjective, to be honest. It's definitely intense - which, by the way, a lot of folks really like - so it's more a question of what you're looking for; just don't expect to drift off to sleep. What you can expect is to walk away, de-stressed and relatively 'knot-free'.
Arrive a little early to factor in the time it takes to get from the parking lot to the spa - unless you like to get in some cardio before your massage and run through the world's largest mall.

Therapy time
The treatment began with the application of massage oil (I'd chosen the lovely scented Sakura), after which my therapist, Terrakkan, lost no time in ensuring her feet were clean before mounting the massage table and beginning the treatment with firm strokes down my back. If I was anxious at all about her accidentally slipping and falling, I needn't have fretted. Terrakkan's expert administrations meant she knew perfectly well what she was doing - which showed in how she managed to locate every tight knot and work it free. Who'd have thought that feet could be just as effective as hands, if not more?

What we loved...
The laughs. The unwritten spa code usually demands silence during sessions, but this one was so intense for me that we ended up in splits over my plight. Code forgotten, Terrakkan (who knew very little English) and I chatted almost throughout. I was sore, but left happy and inexplicably light-hearted.

What we didn't...
The intensity can be a bit much, if your body is chock-full of knots like mine. That is more the exception than the norm, however. The spa assures that therapists customise the pressure for each guest - which is what mine did for me, always ensuring that it never reached a point beyond bearing.

Tao Ashi-Bar Massage
Tao Spa, Dubai Mall
Reservations: Call 04-2998875
Cost: Dh375 (for 60 minutes)
Our rating: 3.5/5
karen@khaleejtimes.com