Tuesday 3 April 2012

A fantastic tonic

Almost a year ago, I was gifted a relaxation experience at the Nirvana Spa. And I didn't get round to booking it because I'm a bit rubbish about things like that.

As the half-marathon loomed, I had a stroke of genius... Guess what I organised for the day after the event?! An evening of relaxation, including their unique floatation experience and a massage. It was glorious.


Amusingly, when I first climbed into one of the pools (in this case, the Spa Pool) my legs barely worked to swim between the different hydrotherapy jets! My thighs were very unhappy with me and getting around the pool was a bit of a struggle in itself. Gradually, my muscles started to relax a bit and I explored some of the other areas: the Tepidarium (with heated ceramic loungers), the Steam Rooms and the Roman Pool.

The massage was lovely, and a particularly good idea for tired legs. I'm not a regular visitor to places like this (maybe once every couple of years, if that) so it was a real treat to be pampered like this!

After a light dinner, it was time for my floatation experience. First, we had an orientation where the lady explained how the water is their own (from a spring under the spa) and the salts are imported from the Dead Sea. We had a lesson in how to lie back and float, and how to get yourself back upright when needed, before being taken into the Celestial Pool. With dim lights, a starry ceiling and relaxing spa music, we laid back and floated in gentle circles, directed by a slight current.

Was it relaxing? Definitely. It was a bit odd to start with - I had to fight with my brain to stop trying to stand up all the time. And I'm really rubbish at relaxing my neck and shoulders - even with a neck support I was quite tense. But overall, it was lovely and calm and my skin feels fantastic this morning!

What a way to recover :) Thank you Dave for a lovely gift!

Do you occassionally enjoy a spot of pampering? What's your favourite way of being pampered?

3 comments:

A Prelude To... said...

Wow! That sounds SO nice! I rarely pamper. I just won an hour massage, so that will be a real treat for me after all these deep tissue massages for my shoulder, which just make me swear inwardly and sometimes outwardly. A nice relaxing massage...ahhhh. I'm easy to please...but a flotation experience sounds nice, too!

RainStorm said...

There's something incredibly luxurious about having a massage, isn't there? Enjoy your gift :)

Elle said...

Oh I have never done anything like this and it sounds wonderful to me. I love to soak and laze in warm/hot water so I know that Celstial Pool is for me! How lovely that you saved it for such a good time... nice to have such a generous Dave in your life!