MORRIS

NEWS COLUMN Massaging with suction, Spandex

by Carlie Morris BRI02007@BYUI.EDU News Editor

The white, Spandex body suit was not what I had expected. I felt a little self-conscious as I stepped out for my massage, but this was no doctor’s office. I was in the back room of the Career Beauty College in Rexburg.

My curiosity was peaked by an advertisement in the newspaper for a Synergie Vacuum Massage and I had no idea what it was. So I made an appointment for myself.

The receptionist on the phone explained that the massage was more of a health and beauty routine. The idea was to help firm up areas of the body that have problems with cellulite.

I did get a little concerned when the receptionist warned me twice that I needed to drink lots of water before I came in for my appointment that day. I wondered if the vacuum would end up sucking water out of my skin or something so I drank as much as I could before I left.

I checked in at the desk and then the student who was giving me the massage introduced herself as Tilyn Whitman and led me into a small, one-windowed room with posters all over the wall.

The back room had a bed that looked much like one you would find in a doctor’s office and I signed a couple of papers to say I would not sue them if I had any bruising or redness afterward and that I had no complications from sicknesses, such as hemophilia, that would be aggravated by the massage. I began hoping I could make it out of there without permanent damage.

Whitman told me I needed to change into a body suit because the Spandex would help the vacuum move smoothly across my body. Thankfully I could keep my undergarments on and she had a T-shirt for me to put over the suit.

Whitman assured me she had gone through the procedure before and this helped to assure me that she had made it through without any awful side effects.

When I asked her about why water was important, Whitman said the water broke up toxins in the body as well as cellulite and that the toxins needed to be flushed out of my system or I might feel sick. She said many of the toxins can build up because of things like stress.

The good news, I did enjoy most of the massage. Whitman made sure the pressure was not too much for me and she moved the vacuum slowly up and down my limbs, lower back and clockwise on my stomach while I asked her questions.

The massage was different from anything I would have imagined a massage to be like. It felt nice just to relax and be pampered, but my muscles were not rubbed. The suction just felt like pressure on my skin and so it didn’t feel like I thought it would.

Whitman said it takes about 10 massages to see a difference.

After around 45 minutes, I walked out, paid my $11 and headed for my car. I figure I will probably do this massage again but I am not willing to go in often enough to get my body cellulite-free. Maybe I will return during finals week to relieve some stress and be able to say I have done something that not many people in Rexburg know about.