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12
xpress
www.xpress4me.com
life
Thursday / April 30, 2015
harp
massage
for your
Soul
An upmarket spa in Al
Barari introduces unique
treatment based on the
benefits of an ancient
musical science
photos: zarina fernandes/xpress
Healing touch. Left: Diana plays the
harp while Nikoleta works on a client during a harp healing massage
session. Above: The Heart & Soul
Spa’s indoor Moroccan hamam
room and nail salon
By Sharmila Dhal
Chief Reporter
Dubai It was refreshing just driving into Al Barari on a weekday
morning. Away from Dubai’s rush
hour traffic, the lush greenery
lining the quiet community road
lent a rare sense of calm, a preface
perhaps to what lay ahead.
Booked for a choreographed
harp massage at the Heart & Soul
Spa, the first of its kind in the
UAE, I could barely wait to meet
my innovative therapists.
The Pandova sisters from
Bulgaria, who were assigned to me,
didn’t disappoint. Diana, 31, was
a picture of poise as she readied
herself with an antique harp while
Nikoleta, 27, had convinced me to
try the “tired soul” massage.
“It’s a 60-minute session that
involves therapeutic lymphatic
drainage. It will release your toxins,
relieve water retention and fatigue,
promote sleep and soothe your
body. You will feel like a new person altogether,” she promised.
Unlike the usual indoor spa
treatments, this one was out in
the open. All that separated us
from the verdant cover around us
were bamboo poles to absorb the
summer heat.
As I lay on a poolside bed, I could
hear birds chirping and feel the soft
rays of the morning sun streaming
in through the bamboo strips on
top. Nikoleta began to work on my
muscles and I soaked in the sweet
aroma of the “mind, body and soul”
oil I had opted for. Somewhere
along the line, I realised she was in
sync with Diana’s harp music.
Spa director Maria Axinte had
earlier told me how the idea of
harp healing came about at the
spa. “One of our therapists had
talked about her experience with
sound therapy at one of our weekly
brainstorming sessions. So we
studied it and decided to introduce
it as a form of treatment.”
Harp-felt
Dwelling on the harp’s healing
power, she said: “When healing
harpists play, your body absorbs
the invisible vibrations of the
sound. Each tiny vibrating atom
or combination of sound waves
(harmony)
changes
matter,
including the electrical activity
of the brain and body. Your own
vibrations (brain waves, heartbeat
and breathing) eventually get in
sync with the wavelengths of the
music. The vibrations from a harp
are especially powerful for changing our body’s energy. Each string
vibrates with its whole length, and
therefore the body can feel the
vibrations even if the ear cannot
hear the sounds.”
According to her, there are
special tunes and keys that are
played to relieve anxiety and stress.
“The plucked string produces
an infinite number of harmonics
which can vibrate our dense,
physical bodies and its energetic
counterpart, providing multi-level
stimulation and harmonisation.
“Two-thirds of the human body
is liquid, and because sound
travels faster through water than
through denser objects, the combination of a relaxing massage
with the soothing vibrations of a
live acoustic harp releases tension
and relaxes the body. Harp strings
produce healing frequencies that
are absorbed by the body, creating
balance and good energy flow,
allowing you to relax deeper and
receive your massage treatment
more fully,” she said, adding that
the spa’s two harpists – Diana
and Lidia Stankulova were both
classically trained harpists with
master’s degrees.
The technicalities were now
lost on me as I gave in to the
sheer experience. As promised, it
left me rejuvenated, a feedback I
promptly provided as I sipped on
a cup of warm ginger lemon tea.
»»What: Harp healing massage
Where: Heart & Soul Spa,
Al Barari, Dubai
Price: Dh950
Contact: 04-388 6030
Music to the soul . Diana Pandova on the harp. According to Heart & Soul
Spa, harp strings produce healing frequencies that are absorbed by the
body, creating balance and good energy flow, allowing you to relax.