Relax, this unique massage launched in Newmarket helps body and mind - NewmarketToday.ca

[massage]

A Newmarket small business owner who knows first-hand the stress and anxiety of living through six months of the COVID pandemic decided to do something about it.

Timeless Harmony Salon and Spa owner Katie Gilligan took matters into her own hands — literally — and developed a unique massage treatment that blends mindfulness, meditation, and massage to boost the well-being of body and mind.

It’s called Triple M and is specifically designed to address anxiety and stress by leading a client through guided meditation while he or she is getting a one-hour relaxation massage. The two techniques combined encourage the client to experience a deeper engagement of mind and body.

Gilligan created and recorded the meditation herself, which includes soothing music and sounds of nature along with prompts in a soft whisper to focus on one’s breathing and the body part being massaged, and do a scan of your body throughout the session to visualize the tension seeping out.

“The benefits of it is it’s keeping your mind present in the massage room,” Gilligan said. “You can get the best healing out of a massage when you’re present and you’re accepting the massage, but when your mind is off thinking about grocery shopping or picking the kids up, even though you don’t realize it, your body is tensing and you're fighting the massage, so this is keeping you in the massage.”

Triple M was introduced at the 2,100-square-foot, full-service Gorham Street salon and spa mid-July and five clients have been treated with the service, which is the first of its kind in York Region.

“The feedback right now is that clients go somewhere really deep when they’re on the massage table and they felt like they slept for eight hours,” said Gilligan, who along with two staff members perform the specialized massage. “They feel that they are able to hit a deeper level of relaxation with this, as opposed to just a massage.”

This reporter was invited to try the Triple M massage and hopes were not high that an hour on a massage table would calm the frazzled nerves that come with racing from deadline to deadline, struggling to make ends meet, and worries about COVID-19 and the health of loved ones with medical conditions.

From the outset, the heated massage table and the soothing scent of lavender essential oil made one feel a little dreamy.

Had it not been for the recorded guided meditation that gently reminded one to focus on the breath and pay attention to how each body part felt during the message, this reporter’s mind would have quickly wandered to lunch, which hadn’t yet happened by 2:30 p.m.

The full body massage started with the feet and the therapist slowly and mindfully massaged up the calves, thighs, lower and upper back, arms, shoulders and neck to the crown of the head.

The mindful part of the massage is a two-way street, where the only thing on the therapist’s mind is the client on the table, not what’s for dinner that night.

It was striking that when you allow yourself to surrender and be present in the moment, the mind quiets. You can feel where your body is holding onto stress and anxiety and you have a heightened sense of awareness of the circumstances that made it that way.

Aches and pain were felt in this writer's thumb and hip joints, forearms, lower back, and shoulders. Later, when processing the thoughts and feelings that came up, it became clear that I could do much more to take better care of myself.

I’ve been wanting to restart my daily yoga practice for more than a month and so far haven’t made the time to pull the mat out of the closet -— until now.

The massage got me thinking positively long after I climbed down from the table, which made meaningful as well as relaxing.

Namaste, dear readers.

The Triple M massage at Timeless Harmony Salon and Spa is $109.

For more information, email relax@timelessharmonyspa.ca, call 905-235-4019 or visit them at 1091 Gorham St., Unit 107, in Newmarket.