Ladies, Get a Lymphatic Drainage Massage for Mother’s Day This Year
This Mother’s Day I am not giving you a list of things you can get for the fit mom because I give you those things all year round. This Mother’s Day, I am giving you something that you can and should treat yourself to with a focus on taking charge of your own health and wellness.
Getting a lympathic drainage massage has been on my to-do list for some time now. So for you all, I will go the distance— I got not one, but two, lymphatic drainage massages to prepare for this post.
The lymphatic drainage massage is a special kind of massage that is intended to drain the lymph of toxins. The lymph nourishes the cells in the body so when they are open and moving, free of toxins, blood moves more freely, the heart pumps more easily and cells turn over and are rejuvenated more effectively. It’s a way to clean your body that ultimately gives you more energy, boosts your immune system, brightens your skin and clears your mind. And for this 40 something mama, what could be better?!
The lymph system sits right below the skin so this type of massage feels very different than the deep tissue massage that you may be used to. Targeting the lymph nodes in the underarm, collarbone, neck, back and tops of the legs, the groin and inner thighs, the back and the belly, the massage therapist first opens the nodes by massaging them. Then the therapist massages the lymph system in the direction of those nodes using a small and light pumping motion.
While the ultimate goal is to detoxify, both times I got this type of massage I fell into this deep, zen-like state. Those light and small pumping motions may not feel like much, but they do a great job to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. I left feeling a calm energy. As a stressed and busy mom of three, calm energy could just be the greatest gift. I did have to dash for the bathroom both times (some people cannot even make it through the 60-minute session without emptying their bladder), but that’s a good thing. It’s the first sign that the detoxification process has started. This removal process can last for several days. Hydtration is the most important thing to do following the service. Those toxins need a way to flush out and water is the way. I felt lighter and more energized after the session but some people feel tired initially from all of the toxins leaving their body.
This is your best friend following a lymphatic drainage massage. Eating clean also helps to flush the toxins out.
Lymphatic drainage massage is just starting to catch on in this country. Whereas, Europeans have been doing it for decades. Lucky for us, there are two places in our area that do this special massage technique. So of course, I had to visit both… for research, of course!
I first went to the Day Spa by Zsuzsanna in Wayne. Adrienn Karsai is the trained therapist who specializes in lympathic drainage massage there. The pumping and stretching motions of her massage work in an upward direction, the direction of the lymph circulatory system. She does not touch the face but includes the neck and head in the 60-minute session. I found Adrienn to be very knowledgeable and passionate about her work. I was completely confident in her abilities and felt totally at ease with her. The cost for this 60-minute service is $100 (She also offers an abbreviated session of 25 minutes for $55). I enjoyed every second of the treatment. It felt much like the indulgent spa day (heated bed, soft music, and a delicious lavender, coconut and thyme oil, etc.) that I am used to but with a more beneficial and targeted result.
The Day Spa is a beautiful, 2-floor facility with 8 rooms for various services. I was totally impressed by this place. LSF Pilates is two stores down so I am at that small shopping strip pretty regularly. But, I had no clue that such a top notch spa was right there (although LSF Pilates owner, Liz McKee, did recommend it to me in the past). They do it all at the Day Spa but Adrienn’s specialities are what interest me most. Her services are more focused on long term health benefits and self improvement. I am trying her Reshaping Treatment (75 minutes; $220) and Reflexology (50 minutes; $75) next. But I will also be going to Zsuzsanna for facials, which come highly recommended.
This month, in honor of Mother’s Day, Zsuzsanna is offering various specials on treatment packages. I found the prices at the Day Spa to be very reasonable. Zsuzsanna told me that her goal is to get people into her spa so that they can take charge of their own health. “Take care of your self. We underestimate what we do as women.” Zsuzsanna likes to work with clients to teach them to do lymphatic drainage on themselves, too.
This week, I visited Restore HLC in Wayne for a day of wellness. Tiffany Miller is the therapist at Restore HLC that does the lymphatic drainage massage. Her method is a bit different than Adrienn’s. Her strokes are lighter and she moves everything towards the heart so she starts and finishes at the chest. She also includes the face in her 60-minute session. The cost for the hour is $100. Tiffany also offers a 90-minute session that spends more time on each area and is recommended for someone recovering from an illness or surgery.
While Tiffany was quiet during my session, which I totally appreciate as I zenned out, we chatted after the service and she offered a lot of great information. She even mentioned some workouts that help to move the lymph and stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (such as jumping on a trampoline or doing some targeted yoga poses). You know I love that!
Tiffany also specializes in prenatal massage, sports massage and deep tissue massage. Restore HLC is not a spa but offers a variety of health and wellness treatments and services. Like a spa, you could totally spend the day there taking care of yourself! I sat in the infrared sauna for forty minutes before my massage to boost the detoxification process by heating the body. If I had more time, I would have gotten local cryotherapy on my face after the massage. Local cryo is like an amped up facial. Don’t quote me, but I did hear that 5 local cryo treatments equals one botox session— totally injection free! So I’ll be starting my five treatments on Sunday!
Restore HLC also offers full body cryo, compression therapy, infusion therapy, hyperbaric chamber therapy, kinesiology taping, fascial stretch therapy and shockwave therapy. Talk to one of the knowledgeable people at the front desk about which services would be beneficial for you based on your health and wellness goals.
So this Mother’s Day, I encourage you to put your own health and wellness first for once and schedule a lymphatic drainage massage right here on the Main Line. A healthy person should get this treatment about 4 times a year. You clean other parts of your life seasonally so why not clean the most important part— your SELF!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the strong, beautiful and inspiring women out there. Enjoy your special day.