The Great Escape: European Body Concepts

Call this one the ultimate escape from the rest of the world: a husband-and-wife hour-long hot oil massage.

Ours happened to be after work on Valentine’s Day at , a reward, if you will, for all our toil and trouble.

At the special price of  $75 each, it was not cheap, but then neither are roses or fine chocolates. And this pampered us both at the same time.

For me, the relaxation starts on the ride to the spa, my body already anticipating what will come.

I’ve been a loyal fan of Irene Koufalis's spa for more than 20 years, when my husband first gave me a gift certificate after finding her listing in the phone book.

 The business has moved several times to accommodate an ever-growing clientele eager for specials that on this day include chocolate facials, body scrubs and scented oils with names such as “love is in the air,“ “Cupid’s arrow,“ and “White Chocolate Explosion.“

Ours hot oil treatment  is called “Experience the flame massage.“ We enter the room set with low lights, soft piano music and rose petals scattered across two heated beds.  We slip out of everything but our skivvies and slip between the sheets, face up.

Chelsea and Linda, our masseuses, enter the room and the magic begins.
They start with a light fingertip massage of the scalp and head.  I tingle from head to toe. Cradling my head in her hands, Chelsea lifts what sometimes feels like a two-ton boulder off my neck.

Tension and stress melt away. She rubs the scented oil between her hands before gently massaging it into my aching shoulders.  Each arm. Each leg and foot.  I delight in the sensations I get just from the circles her hands make around each ankle.

Bruce appreciated the deeper massage Linda applied to his neck and shoulders, ironing out the kinks.

We turn over and the massage continues with our backs.   Chelsea applies just the right pressure to just the right spots either side of my spine. I start to dissolve into the table.  My nervous system becomes a shield against any negative thoughts.  Arms, legs, and done.

The masseuses quietly leave the room, and Bruce and I continue to lie still, reverberating with content.  “I love you,“ I told him. “This is heaven.“

Years ago, he told me, “It’s you and me against the world.”  I don’t think a couple’s massage was on his mind when he said it, but for us this occasional treat has become a great way to renew body and spirit.  On the ride home, we both savored the serenity