Coastal Traveler - Fall 2007 - (Page 39)

coastaltraveler n the Bohemian Highway I awkwardly emerge from the pile, my arms pushing back debris. It must have looked like I was trying to make a cedar chip angel. I am told to clean myself off with a large brush on the back porch. My skin is tingly and warm as I brush, and I feel relaxed and comfortable. After a brief shower, where I remove more chips and debris from areas unreachable on the back porch, Kirana hands me a black woolen cloak and rubber clogs. We make our way to the outdoor pagoda where I will receive a 75-minute massage. I follow Kirana along a path that winds through towering bamboo and passes even more gardens. An old 1950’s truck sits overgrown with plants. Kirana tells me that the property used to be a railroad station, and that they left some of the remaining junk to be repurposed into the gardens. We stop by a fountain, and I am told to wait for my masseur. I expect a broadshouldered foreigner named Hans, but instead I am greeted by Douglas, a fiftyish, wiry massage therapist with Weird Al hair, wearing a masseuse tool belt holding with lotions. He leads me to the pagoda, where I am told to lay on a massage table where sheets printed with A Bug’s Life characters cover my body. Douglas brought a small oil lamp; the cap is screwed on so tightly that he can’t get it off. He is frustrated. “But I have really strong hands!” he says, clearly confused by his own lack of strength. He also has misplaced his flashlight, so he warns me that the massage is going to be taking place in the dark. Douglas gives me a connective tissue massage and finds his way to those tight, noxious knots that plague my back. Soon we are in darkness. He tells me that I’m a good breather, and my lungs swell with pride. I can hear crickets and the soft hoots of birds in the woods surrounding us. Douglas finds his flashlight towards the end of my massage. He makes a lightsaber sound effect as he turns it on. My Obi-Wan and I walk back towards the main house, and I realize what a funny, special place I’ve found. Not once was I greeted with snobby glances, and I didn’t see the liposuctioned and botoxed beauties that frequent most spas. Maybe it was the casual attitude of Osmosis – the back porch brushing, the silly sheets, the broken down car – but I didn’t feel guilty for treating myself to this experience. I am given another cup of peach elixir in a paper cup for the ride home. My body and I get in my car, and we drive back through the sleepy towns, with the full harvest moon lighting the road. Finally, I think, I am comfortable in my own skin. For an appointment call 707. 823.8231 fall coastaltraveler 39

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Coastal Traveler - Fall 2007

Coastal Traveler - Fall 2007 Coastal Contents Coastal Connoisseur Coastal Picks Coastal Hotel Coastal Reader Coastal Rider Coastal Spa Santa Barbara Pismo & Avila San Luis Obispo Big Sur Carmel Monterey Santa Cruz San Francisco Sausalito Mill Valley Stinson Beach Bolinas Olema Point Reyes Station San Geronimo Fairfax Inverness Marshall, Tomales Sebastopol Petuluma Sonoma Coast Redwood Coast Napa Map

Coastal Traveler - Fall 2007

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