Thai Combination Massage

A flowing combination of assisted stretches, considered pressure and oil-based techniques. This treatment is designed around easing everyday muscle tension and encouraging a sense of freedom in the body.

• Thai-inspired stretching
• Focused acupressure
• Soothing oil techniques

What happens in a Thai Combination Massage

1. Arriving and settlingYou arrive and hand over the day. For the first part of this treatment you stay dressed in loose clothing, so your practitioner asks how you move, where you feel tight and how much stretch you actually enjoy.
2. Warming through clothingThe work opens with steady palm and thumb pressure along your legs and back, through the clothing, with a slow rocking rhythm. Nothing is pulled yet. Your body is given time to soften first.
3. Assisted stretchesYour practitioner then guides your limbs into supported stretches, moving you rather than asking you to move. You stay passive and keep breathing. Each position is held only as long as it feels comfortable.
4. Into the oil workThe second half changes character. Warm oil, long strokes and slower kneading over the areas that were just stretched, so the session settles rather than stays active. Most guests go quiet somewhere here.
5. Coming back slowlyThe pressure lightens until it stops and you are left to lie still for a few minutes. Take your time sitting up. Your body may feel longer and looser, so move gently afterwards.

Who Thai Combination Massage suits

• Suits you if you sit still most of the day and miss the feeling of moving your body properly.
• A good fit when a plain oil massage leaves you comfortable but somehow still stiff by the evening.
• If being moved and stretched sounds like hard work, the Swedish Massage keeps you still throughout instead.
• Wanting one stubborn area worked on rather than a whole-body sequence, choose the Deep Tissue Massage.

Should you choose the shorter or the longer session?

Stretching needs runway to be worth having. The shorter session covers the sequence, but your practitioner moves at pace and the oil work is brief. Choose the longer session if you want the stretches held properly and unhurried, with time left over to finish soft on the table rather than stopping mid-flow.

What to tell your practitioner

Tell your practitioner where you feel restricted, which movements you tend to avoid and how far you like to be taken into a stretch. It changes which stretches are offered and how long each is held. Anyone who is pregnant, recovering from an injury or managing a medical condition should speak to their doctor first and tell the practitioner before the session begins.

For those who enjoy stretching alongside a more traditional massage.