Spring clean me

It's that time of the year again - time to emerge off my couch, throw open the curtains and welcome in spring.

It's time again for the ubiquitous spring clean to dust away the cobwebs of winter that have settled heavily over my house and me, except that I think the house can wait a bit.

After six months hunched over a computer and looking like a Twilight extra from not having ventured out much, what needs spring cleaning the most is me.

Full body massage and reiki

Sitting hunched over a computer is definitely bad for your posture and bad posture leads to tension in your neck and across your back resulting in headaches, digestion problems and breathing issues. It's really a downward spiral, says Argentinian massage therapist Gaston Gevodan.

To kick-start my cleanse, Gevodan recommends a 60-minute full body massage, followed by 15 minutes of reiki. I lie face down on the massage table and he asks how I'd like the pressure. At times, I regret my decision for a firm touch as his fingers seek out and destroy the knots of muscle in my shoulders and neck.

For 60 minutes, Gevodan pummels, bends, straightens and stretches me, before stopping and holding his hands just above my face. Reiki is about using energy to heal, and I'm amazed to feel the heat that flows from his hands down my scalp and neck and into my body. I head out with a sense of calm and later realise that for the first time in ages, I don't have the tingling numbness that I usually feel under my shoulder blades. I feel myself standing up straighter and my shoulders are back.

The Spa at Terrace Downs

From $90

Phone 03 318 6597

terracedowns.co.nz

Relexology

Walking into MuZu on Hereford St is a soothing experience. From the minute you arrive, you are seduced by the warmth and calm. The theory behind reflexology is that reflex areas on your feet correspond to parts of your body. Massaging or applying pressure to these reflex areas activates the body's own healing process and opens up the energy flow through the body. The owner of MuZu and a qualified Chinese medicine practitioner, Ching Wang, suggests the hour-long Cheng Xiang or prime minister treatment and soaks my feet in a footbath of herbal essences. She then starts to massage my feet, applying rhythmic pressure to different areas. Occasionally, she'll mutter and I'll wince at the same time, some bits of me are under more stress than others, she says. I feel energised when I leave. However, Wang warns me that I will feel sleepy later and that I should drink lots of water and relax. I end up falling asleep, leaving the family to make dinner for themselves - bliss.

MuZu

135 Hereford St

Phone 03 377 7668

Packages start from

www.muzu.co.nz

Smile

Dr Rob Ashman rescued me from a dental nightmare several years ago and as he has watched Bill Dorfman, the dentist on Extreme Makeover at work in Los Angeles, when he said a Zoom treatment would brighten my face I booked in. It is a two-hour session. The first step is to take some moulds of the teeth for the take-home bleaching trays (for maintenance; as part of the package you are given tubes of a peroxide-based gel to put in the trays, which go on your teeth for an hour). Next, he masked off my lips and gums to protect them from the peroxide-based gel and ultraviolet light. A layer of gel was then applied to my teeth four times at 15-minute intervals. The gel is activated by a UV light, which speeds up the process - the bleach eats away the years of staining. The downside is that towards the end of the treatment and for several hours afterwards, you feel twinges of sensitivity that can be quite painful. But the result is phenomenal. My teeth are six shades whiter than they were and I haven't stopped smiling.

Dr Rob Ashman,

Bealey Dental

Phone 03 366 2912

Cost: $1050

www.drrobashman.co.nz

- © Fairfax NZ News