soaking the blues away at the water spa

My sister has been telling me about this water spa in Pasig lately. I gave it a try yesterday and  I went home loving it too.  It's brilliant! Highly recommended.

According to the brochures, it's a European-concept spa that offers what is called hydrotherapy - a massage sans the masseuse.  Your body gets treated instead by pressurized water jets in a pleasantly warm pool.  It's kind of like being in a hot tub, only it's not so hot, and it has jets targeted for specific areas of the body.

Illustration mine.
For representation purposes only.  We aren't really that skinny.

Imagine a huge but shallow swimming pool divided into twenty or so sections.  Each section specializes in massaging a certain body part - shoulders, legs, full back, and so on.  All you have to do is choose a section, sit there (or stand, or squat, or lie down; whichever you prefer), push the ON button and enjoy your massage.  As I've been having upper back and shoulder pains these past several days, I spent more time in the sections that focus on the back.

Besides, you don't really need to have body aches to appreciate a water spa.  You can just go there to wind down or have fun.  It's like going to a swimming pool, only this one massages you.  It's a lot more exciting than I make it seem, trust me.  ^_^   But if you'd rather do laps, the facility has a separate pool just for that as well.

After trying out all the various sections, we lolled in what they called the "Lazy River" - it goes around the main hydrotherapy pool, and it has slight current.  Grab one of the kickboards there and float along.  I managed to lie down on my board (after much struggle) and I had four rounds of a nice, slow drift.

My favorite part though was the hot herbal pools.  There was a separate section with four pools,each filled with hot, scented herbal infusions - mint, jasmine and lavender.  Excellent for relieving muscle and joint pain, insomnia or diabetes, we've been told.   I made sure to dunk myself in all four, alternately with the cold-water pool.  It kinda felt like soaking in tea, but it was sooooo nice.

The place also offers a steam bath and a sauna, for sweating out bodily toxins.  I sat in the sauna for ten minutes, and despite the high humidity that made it a bit hard to breathe, I found it enjoyable.  Though maybe next time, I should bring a book.

Hydrotherapy massage + lazy river + lap pool + hot herbal pools + sauna + steam bath = a whole morning of relaxation, all for a P550 entrance fee.  Not bad, huh?  We're definitely coming back and telling our friends about this place.
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