We are creatures designed for touch. It is certainly the most personally experienced of all sensations. And the Indonesian people understand this better than most. Low-touch Western society keeps tactile expression behind closed doors, while Indonesians touch all the time: walking hand in hand and arm in arm, and stroking each other as a way of life.
They carry compassion in their hands. This they pass on naturally through massage to all the family from birth to death. Without a working knowledge of anatomy, many Indonesian people have an in-built sensibility to congested, tight or hot areas in the body, which they carefully relieve with the power of their hands and the application of aromatic oils. It's interesting that Western culture, that has put so much faith in science for cures, and in medical practitioners for answers, is now turning, disillusioned, to touch therapies: kineisiology, cranial osteopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, all variations on a cure practised for centuries by Asian peoples.
Indonesian massage puts touch back into your system. As well as an unconditional desire to please and an intuitive reaction to the body, here is what to expect:
*medium pressure.
*scented massage oil: coconut oil prepared with local flowers such as champak (tropical magnolia), akar wangi (vetiver) and pandanus leaf is the traditional preparation; however, coconut is a heavy oil not suited to everyone, and is not always used in spas. (Balinese people chew on the white flesh, ingest the juices, spit out the fibres and rub them onto their skins for nourishment).
*long sensual strokes, working the length of the muscle to relieve tension. All sequences finish with upward strokes toward the heart.
*rolling skin between thumb and forefinger to spark up the nerve endings and increase blood flow.
*circular thumb movements for the same.
*pressure on the points in the foot and hand reflex zones.
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