MONROE, CT — Residents working from home, and helping their children with remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, could feel nagging back and shoulder pain and general muscle soreness from keeping up.
New Life Massage, which recently opened in the Reda Center, 483 Monroe Turnpike, may provide some much needed relief. The bodywork spa offers deep tissue and hot stone massage, as well as foot reflexology that works critical points of the hands and feet.
“It’s a place they can come to relax their muscles, relieve their pain and improve their wellness,” said Ashley Wao, whose mother Jenny Wao owns the new business. “We’re here to help them relieve the stress in their lives.”
New Life Massage will celebrate its grand opening this Saturday. The business is offering coupons for $5 discounts on any body service, $10 off a couples massage and $10 off a Birthday massage, and a card can be punched for every half hour and one hour session. After five visits, the sixth is free.
The spa is open from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
It has four private massage rooms and two can be connected for couples massages. New Life Massage also has a room dedicated to foot reflexology.
Jenny Wao grew up in China, where she became licensed as a masseuse. When she moved to the U.S. 15 years ago, she went to school to get her license here. Wao ran two massage parlors in New Jersey, before opening New Life in Monroe.
In addition to her daughter, Ashley, Wao has a son, Fei, and two grandchildren.
“She is really professional in massage,” Ashley said of her mother. “My mom is really nice. She has a smile on her face all the time.”
Health precautions taken
Wao and her two staff members take extra precautions to ensure the health of their clients during the pandemic, from wearing masks and having hand sanitizers to the cleanliness of the rooms.
“We change the sheet for every person and sanitize the room after each session,” Ashley Wao said. “We’re safe here.”
The spa offers free masks to anyone who forgets to bring their own.
Deep tissue, hot stone …
Among New Life Massage’s services are deep tissue, which is “a spa massage of the tissue that lies beneath the superficial layer of tissue,” according to the spa’s flier. “It is a remedial therapeutic procedure designed primarily to alleviate pain and discomfort associated with soft tissue.”
“Deep tissue massage will improve range of motion, remedy postural problems, and improve recovery time from injury,” the flier says. “Trigger Point Massage and Acupressure are used as part of Deep Tissue Massage to remove knots.”
Jenny Wao said one man treated at her spa regained the range of motion in his shoulder.
Among the benefits of massage are a boost in energy, alertness and productivity, an increase in circulation, a reduction in muscle tension, prevention of repetitive stress injuries and relief from emotional stress, and that it relaxes and rejuvenates, according to Wao.
Hot stone massage is a form of Swedish Massage that uses the application of heat to the client’s body with the therapist either placing stones on the client’s body, or massaging the client with heated stones to promote relaxation from strain and tension.
This spa procedure is recommended for people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia or arthritis, according to Wao.
Foot reflexology “views the hands and feet as a mirror image of the entire body and every organ.” Reflexologists apply pressure in a circular motion to relieve patterns of stress in the body. Reflexology can be used to balance emotions, restore circulation throughout the entire body, relieve stress and insomnia, and help to lower blood pressure, Wao said.
Jenny Wao said she also offers Ashiatsu Massage, known as the “walking on the back” massage.
New Life Massage’s prices for bodywork are $120 for 120 minutes, $90 for 90 minutes, $60 for 60 minutes and $40 for 30 minutes. Foot reflexology is $40 for 60 minutes and $30 for 30 minutes.
The spa also carries CBD oil, which is believed to have a variety of health benefits.
On Saturday, Wao’s landlord, Anna Reda and her daughter, Rosa Reda-Mullin, stopped by for a visit. “She’s very good. She’s a very nice lady,” Anna Reda said of her new tenant, adding of New Life’s services, “we haven’t tried it yet, but we definitely will.”
