Healing, rejuvenating, recharging, pampering, indulging, and spoiling – just name your need at the moment and it will be given unto you

It’s a Monday, but I can still feel the toll of the hectic previous week: muscles aching from too much exertion, body and mind complaining from too much tension, the entire spirit crying out because of stress and exhaustion. Time to go to TRIA medical spa for some relaxation and de-stressing attention.

TRIA is that medical spa located just beside the Piyavate Hospital building on Rama 9 Road. Known for offering an exceptional blend of alternative medicine and natural therapy, it is a one-stop health, beauty and wellness facility that caters to both men and women. Obviously, TRIA provides a comprehensive range of solutions and so a visit to the facility has become a regular routine for many health, fitness, and beauty conscious denizens of Bangkok.

TRIA (Tel: 02 660 2620; email: customerservice@triawellness.com; www.triawellness.com) doesn’t just have spa rooms or clinics it has an entire building devoted to healing, rejuvenating, recharging, pampering, indulging, and spoiling – individually in groups. Name your need at the moment and it will be given unto you – so to speak.

I booked a Deep Tissue Massage treatment, one of the two main massages offered in their “Sensational Massage” spa menu. This deep tissue massage is suitable for the sporty type, people who are always feeling occupational stress, or those in physically demanding jobs. While I don’t usually list myself in any of those categories, my job can be quite demanding and stressful too, so I decided to try this one. I wasn’t disappointed.

As the name suggests, it is a massage that really gets down to the bones. With strong, hard strokes – hands, elbows, and mits – my therapist seems to be searching for each and every hidden pain, not sparing any corner, not satisfied until she is sure that every ache, in every tissue is gone. A rub down here, a rub down there, sometimes in constant uniform rhythm, sometimes in contrasting motions, but the goal is clear: “I am going deep, deep, deep – until stress and tension go away, and your injured muscle is healed.”

In my mind’s eye, I tried to recreate each and every move that she makes but I guess I fell asleep. When I woke up after two hours later, I felt like I was a brand new person. Ah, this is what I call massage, indeed. It was so good that I felt hesitant to leave the treatment room yet!

Meanwhile, at the other sections of the facility, my two girl officemates were enjoying similar feelings of bliss although with different treatments. The other one was enjoying a “TRIA Signature,” one of the “Best of the Best” treatments offers at TRIA. “Ah, pure bliss,” she was to tell me later. “The massage incorporates many famous styles of massages from around the world: Swedish, Abhyanga, shiatsu, lymphatic drainage, acupressure, and traditional Thai massage!”

Being a true-blue spa person, I can easily imagine how such a profoundly healing treatment releases stress and tension, and restores balance and harmony to the body, mind, and spirit. I was already thinking of trying out this one on my next visit.

My other officemate chose a “Royal Thai Massage” – from the “Back to the Classic” section – which she described as more personalized than anything she has ever tried in a spa before. The therapeutic massage is designed to improved circulation and released blocked energy that causes illness, and she loves the TRIA technique that helps release muscle pains and spasms, she told me. Needless to say, she enjoyed the experience thoroughly, I saw here making a next booking already even before we left.

But back to myself. At the men’s section, I surveyed the facility with the open wonder of a child’s eyes. My, the place is huge, and while there are a number of treatment rooms facing each other, I didn’t see anyone on the way in or the way out. That’s how private and exclusive it is. The atmosphere is also quite warm and friendly indeed.

I was still deep in my thoughts when the therapist ushered me to the cozy waiting lounge. There, I lingered for a while, drinking hot tea and enjoying some of the fruit nibbles available for all guests while reading some of the health magazines from the rack. My therapist and receptionist then told me I could actually still stay on for a awhile, and maybe even enjoy some time in the Jacuzzi pool next to the locker room until I am ready to leave.

It was tempting, but unfortunately I needed to be somewhere else that afternoon. I picked up some brochures to learn more about the range of their offerings and treatments, as well as special promotions, and made a promise to come back.

As our car leaves the building, I was reading the back page of the brochure: “TRIA – We enhance your life.” Ah, just what the doctor ordered!