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Nothing will make a person less relaxed than being trapped in Los Angeles traffic—especially if said traffic means you’re about to miss your spa appointment. That’s what was about to happen to me the last time I visited the West Coast. I had an appointment booked at the Santa Monica Proper’s Surya Spa, where a much-whispered-about four-hand massage is on the menu. But many stop-and-go, stop-and-gos later, and my Uber rolled into the hotel’s driveway with moments so spare.
The next thing I knew, I was lying on a heated table, nearly naked, with two female massage therapists on either side of me. It started with the most divine oils—which were custom-blended and simmering overnight—poured over my body while the massage started in unison. It was like nothing I had experienced in the past, yet before I could really indulge in the treatment, time was up.
But as luck would have it, three weeks later I was back on the West Coast with another appointment at Surya on the books.
I walked into the spa on a late Wednesday afternoon much more relaxed—I had just had a vegan lunch from the hotel’s kitchen—and ready for 90 minutes of synchronized stress relief. As before, the experience was like a Tony Award–winning dance.
“The abhyanga moves in a series of small circles at the joints and long light strokes up and down the limbs,” explains Martha Soffer, founder of Surya Spa. “Each part of the body receives this tender touch, and the light, intentional work moves lymph, awakens the circulatory system, and deeply calms the nervous system.”
While I can’t say I was particularly stressed, tired, or overwhelmed when I walked in (I actually slept really well the night before), Soffer’s definitely not joking when she talks about how the treatment calms the nervous system. Despite being well rested and very much alert, it took everything in me to try to stay awake (especially when I was lying on my stomach) and I still ended up falling asleep periodically—totally against my will.
“The therapists perform a traditional silent healing invocation,” she explains. “Throughout the treatment [they] are quietly focusing on activating and rebalancing specific marma points, or energy centers, as their hands and oil flow across your body in perfect synchrony.” Which is why the extra pair of hands makes a world of difference.
Soffer explains that while, yes, of course, a single therapist can perform most traditional massages seamlessly, having two people work on the body at once makes the experience all the more pleasurable.
“Four hands stimulate and balance both sides of the body, including, and especially, the crisscrossing nervous system,” she says. “It becomes increasingly difficult [for the client] to track movement and decipher whose hands are whose and what is coming next.”
At the end of the session, I noticed that my mind felt clearer and any physical tension in my body had dissipated—even as I started to get stuck in the dreaded evening traffic.