Back in March one of my co-workers told me about a massage place that gives 2-hour massages for the ridiculously low price of 70,000won. I was immediately interested in trying it out. I'm always up for a cheap massage.
The owner of the place was a student at YBM and she did the massage for me personally. Korean massages are not your relaxed Swedish-style massages where you fall asleep with the rhythmic movements of an artist's hands. No, Korean massages are rough and the massage therapists work into your muscles with fervor.
For roughly an hour I was given a dry massage. They provide a t-shirt and shorts and massage over the clothing. It wasn't relaxing and was kind of painful, but I knew I would feel better after the fact.
Later, the oil was brought out and a slightly softer version was administered to my aching muscles. I really enjoyed it, having been subjected to the rougher versions of massages in the past 5 years or so (Thai, Aryuvedic...).
Then came the Shiatsu-style massage. She got on top of the table. There were poles bolted to the ceiling and as she held on to them, she used her feet to give me a deep tissue massage. Interesting how the feet can work out those kinks. In addition to her feet, she used her elbows.
This little woman, small of stature and thin as a rail, had such power in her body it was hard to imagine how she was able to possess such strength, but my body felt the effects.
It was quite good.
And then the clincher...She used what we call in Korea "Bu Huang", which is basically cupping. In European history, leeches were placed on the skin and a cup was fitted on top of the leeches, creating suction. The leeches would then do what leeches do and suck out what was thought to be bad blood.
In Korean culture, bu huang is used in traditional Korean medicine. I used to go to a clinic twice a week to get treatment. Bu huang was among those treatments. They would prick my skin with small needles to get the blood flowing and then place glass cups over the skin. Some kind of suction device was then used. It is a painful process and as my skin is particularly sensitive, I would lie there, trying to breath through the pain, hoping this process would help relieve the chronic pain in my neck, shoulders and back.
In the massage parlor, she didn't prick my skin first, but she did use the cups to create suction on my skin. Not the best part of the massage, I must admit.
Afterwards, though, I did feel better. Two hours of massage will do that to almost anyone. The problem, however, was that my skin was so bruised that even wearing a shirt was painful. Imagine trying to sleep afterwards!
In the future, if I can, I will definitely do it again, but I'll forego the bu huang. I want to have a good night's sleep.
Another Korean Experience!
12 comments:
WOw, you weren't joking. Those are serious bruises. Truth be told it looks like a tribal tattoo pattern, part of some ancient ritual that obviously prepares the soul for enlightenment. Heehee.
Yeah, I'll try to keep that in mind. Why don't you get branded too, then we could really say that families share everything?
You should NEVER EVER be bruised or hurting from a massage. "No pain No gain" is NOT the massage process and ANY GOOD therapist knows that. It looks and sounds as though you injuried your already tired and sore body more not to mention to rediculous markings from the cupping, cupping should be a gentle suction not suction to intense it leaves "hickys" on your body.
Hi Heather,
I can understand your anger about this process and though I will not go looking for that experience again, it is still an experience. In my travels I've always tried to be open to new and different things and see what possible benefits I could get from them. Some, I love, others...not so much, but I don't regret trying it. It's definitely not for me and obviously not for you, but others seem to think it's good for them and I'm in no position to judge them as I don't know how it feels to be in their body.
Thanks for your comments nonetheless!
The bu huang process is supposed to provide better circulation, oxygen, and nutrients into areas of your body that have poor circulation and stagnant blood. After several sessions within about 3 weeks, you no longer bruise because the circualtion in those areas of your body with stagnant blood improves. It's not for everyone but for those who can rough it, like myself, it is better than constantly feeling tense, stressed out in my back and neck, and taking medicine for relief. After cupping I actually feel so relaxed and sleepy from the release in tension. The pain in my back, neck, and shoulders goes away. But the first few times I felt like I got beat up.
Thank you for your comments. I do like to have different peoples' perspectives on things. I didn't go into much detail with regards to my experiences at the doctor's offices. When I had bu huang treatments there, I did have temporary relief (similar to what you have mentioned), but the massage I had was much more painful than what I had experienced at the doctor's. I wouldn't return for a massage with bu huang included, because that's not the purpose for going to a massage(for me) , but for medical purposes as I had done for about 6 months, in conjunction with acupuncture, it was somewhat helpful. Again though, it depends on how people react to things. I reacted very well to bee venom therapy, for example, whereas other people would never try that.
Thanks for your comments!
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Thank you! I appreciate your constructive criticism.
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I read a article under the same title some time ago, but this articles quality is much, much better. How you do this?
Thanks! I don't know how I do it...I guess I'm just passionate about new things and that passion comes out in some of the subjects I write about.
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