I took advantage of MFA’s Joanna’s offer for free alternative healthcare, by getting a massage. You may think of massage as just a relaxing “one day vacation,” which it IS, but it also is a valid health-positive treatment. It warms the body, enhances circulation and stimulates lymphatic flow, smooths the connective tissue, releases chronic tension, and promotes a deep sense of wellbeing.

Pro athletes today, such as Tom Brady and Novak Djokovic, are able to perform at a high level into their forties, because of the steps they take to enhance their overall health and recover from muscle stress. One such step is regular massages.

And, if you’ve read Naomi Wolf’s great book The Bodies of Others, you know human touch is extremely important.

I went to Great Jones Spa, down in the village, website: gjspa.com. Overall, it was a great experience, with one asterisk, which I will save till the end of this report.

Great Jones offers a menu of 5 or 6 massage types. Typical cost is about $200 for an hour. They also offer 90 minutes, but not 30 minutes.

They boast of a “Water Lounge,” which you may use before or after your massage. It includes a hot tub, eucalyptus steam room, sauna, cold-plunge pool, nearby showers, and relaxing “beach chairs” under a high ceiling (the facility is in a basement) and a sunroof.

Here is a brief description of the massage choices:

Swedish: A soothing massage to revitalize sore muscles and calm the cluttered mind, with long, fluid strokes enhanced by creams or oils.

Deep Tissue / Sports: A deeply therapeutic technique that pulls stress out of tired muscles with strong and vigorous pressure. Targets knots and muscle tension from exercise and repetitive stress. Uses deeply penetrating botanical extracts that ease muscle pain and soreness.

Signature: Combines Swedish with 3 add-ons: aromatherapy, hot towel, and hot stone (these 3 could be chosen separately instead).

Reflexology: Based on mapping the body’s organs through corresponding points on the feet (related to Arek’s talk). Helps heal imbalances by massaging and stimulating specific points on the feet. This is a 30-minute add-on you can choose, not sold separately. (By the way, the foot portion of the regular massage I got was VERY pleasurable!)

Pre Natal: For pregnant women in second and third trimesters. They treat you with kid gloves.

Shiatsu: Japanese/Chinese technique. Pressure point massage with fingers, thumbs, palms and feet, along the energetic meridians of the body (related to Eric’s talk), as well as gentle stretches.

Thai: Combines acupressure, stretching, gentle rocking movements and simple yoga postures to stimulate blood flow, relieve muscle tension and re-energize the mind and body.

How it Went

I chose the Signature Massage, and arrived an hour early to use the Water Lounge (bring a swimsuit for this). I started with about 15 minutes in the hot tub (awesome, and I try to avoid that word!).

I then did 10 minutes in the sauna, taking care to leave my eyeglasses outside. It is about 170 degrees, and a large, traditional sauna (not infrared). It creates deep, intense sweating to release toxins.

I followed with a quick cold shower, and then a trip to the cold-plunge pool. I tentatively walked in and out the first time. The second time, I submerged up to my neck, for about 5 seconds. Then I did one more. During this time you have to regulate your breathing; your blood, which has collected near the skin from the sauna, returns more to your internal organs.

The overall experience of the plunge pool was very invigorating and refreshing! But it is very, very cold; use caution (as with the sauna) if you have cardiovascular issues.

These are stated benefits of this combination therapy (from thesaunalife.com): Sauna releases endorphins, including beta-endorphin, a neurotransmitter that improves your mood, energy, sense of calm, and pain tolerance. Cold plunge teaches you to regulate your breathing, which reduces your sympathetic nervous system activity. This is a crucial component of stress alleviation. Exposure to cold water may help you maintain your composure and manage stress in a difficult situation. The hot/cold combination improves blood flow and, as a result, skin health. Cold water gives you a rush of norepinephrine, which is a stress hormone and a neurotransmitter which affects mood and anxiety control.

I then relaxed for about 15 minutes before they called me to the massage. I then entered a small, dark, quiet room with Claire, my masseuse. She was excellent, but not at all proactive with talking. I had to prod her to explain the steps she was doing.

At various times, the massage was enhanced by placing hot towels various places (great) or rubbing with the “hot” (really warm) smooth, black stones. These stones were for me the highlight. The aromatherapy was subtle and not really a big deal. She did explain the 3 scents used and checked against allergies or preferences.

The massage was very thorough, patiently working over my body from hands/arms, neck, down to the legs, the back, and even a little on the head. Midway, she switched me from face-down to face-up. All this time, I wore underwear under a light blanket, which she moved from time to time to access areas. The only area she skipped was my chest/abdominal area.

It was an EXTREMELY pleasurable, relaxing experience, highly recommended. Big Thanks to Joanna and her contributors, for facilitating this! I can see how, if one were to get such a massage weekly, it could enhance your health and sense of wellbeing.

Now to the Asterisk

They had a blue Covid vaccination sign — not on the window, thank God, but on the back wall behind the receptionists. An outdated sign, displayed but not enforced; apparently a “souvenir.” I calmly objected to this; was told to email the manager; and here is the email I sent:

Manager/Owner of Great Jones Spa:

I want to comment on an issue which marred my otherwise wonderful massage today.

The sign behind the Reception desk “requiring” Covid vaccination is promoting an outdated regulation, is deeply offensive, and thus should be removed.

What is worse, is that most people have been conditioned to BELIEVE the sign is about public health, and to snap at anyone like me who points out certain inconsistencies.

For instance, they said you need 2 shots. Biden has had FIVE. 2 does not equal 5.

They said, “get the shot, you won’t get Covid.” Biden got the shot, and still got Covid. Along with his wife. And here is a partial list of others: Eric Adams, Kathy Hochul and husband, Anthony Fauci, the CEO of Pfizer, and the Prime Ministers of Canada and New Zealand, two of the most oppressive countries in the world.

Two giant, big, fat lies — supported by massive coordinated censorship. The TV evening news is supported 60% by pharmaceutical ads. All this and more is spelled out in the book by Robert Kennedy Jr., The Real Anthony Fauci, or the easier read, Naomi Wolf’s book The Bodies of Others. These are 2 of the 4 books I’ve read on Covid, along with 5 books on vaccines, so please don’t consider me ignorant.

The sign is deeply offensive, equivalent to “No Blacks Allowed” or “No Jews Allowed”. I cannot come back to your place until the sign is removed, and neither can I recommend it. Such a shame because the massage itself was so enjoyable.

Your place was closed down for over a year, I believe? That wasn’t from a virus; it was from massive governmental overreach. Huge lies, supported by massive, coordinated censorship.

Signed Alan Taylor

Not an antivaxxer; a whistleblower and consumer advocate.
(As of publication of this article: no response to email. My hope is they will come to their senses and remove the obnoxious sign.)