FAQs

Your massage can be completely tailored to your needs. The basic styles we use are Swedish relaxation,
traditional Hawaiian deep tissue lomilomi and Japanese shiatsu massage.

You can also opt for a sports massage. If you’re getting ready for a run, you’ll need a lighter warm-up massage. After
a run, you’ll need a decompressing massage. In between, a deep tissue sports massage will serve your needs.
You’re more than welcome to choose a mix of massage techniques.

You may, for example, want your therapist to
start out by working the kinks out of your shoulders and upper back, and then end with a pure relaxation massage. Or you may want to focus on your neck, hands and feet for the whole time.

No. Or rather, only if you want it to!
If you’re looking for a massage that will simply relax your body, your massage therapist will use long, smooth strokes
called effleurage, a Swedish technique. This kind of massage is gentle and soothing.

If you want to get rid of chronic tension in your shoulder, pain in your knee or any kind of muscle tightness, then you
will get more a more therapeutic deep-tissue massage that will engage the area where you have tension. In this case,
depending on your degree of muscle tension and your experience with deep-tissue massage, you may or may not
experience some sensitivity. Your therapist will gladly adjust pressure to accommodate your preference.

Not to worry: We provide complimentary aloe vera. Aloe vera relieves sunburn pain, allowing you to enjoy a
smooth, comfortable massage.

We use Phytoceane products, a branch of Phytomer. Phytoceane is made from a seaweed called jania rubens,
which is harvested in an area off the coast of Brittany where France has prohibited commercial shipping, leaving the
waters relatively pristine.

While we love that Phytomer plants more jania rubens when they harvest, making this a sustainable operation,
Phytoceane’s real claim to fame is the ionic balance of seawater within the products. Humans evolved from the sea,
and the interstitial fluids of our bodies should have the same ionic balance as seawater, but the cumulative stresses
of daily life leave out of ionic balance. Phytoceane helps restore skin to its natural health and vitality.

Absolutely. Our aesthetician will talk to you about your concerns, then assess your skin and select an appropriate
product and treatment that is best for your skin condition.

Yes. You can do everything at SpaPure together: massage, facial, a soak in our couples tub, ganbanyoku stone
bath and ocean massage.

Depending on the size of your snack or meal, between 45 minutes to one hour is good.

Arriving five minutes before your scheduled appointment will give you a chance to check in and relax your body
and mind while you look forward to your treatment.

If you’re receiving one of our floating treatments, you’ll need a swimsuit. Otherwise, we provide everything you’ll
need.

Yes — but it has to be one or the other.

Shiatsu — or ‘finger pressure’ in Japanese — involves direct, continuous, rhythmic pressure on your muscles at
the point where they attach to the bone. It requires no use of oil, since finger pressure is applied over a cotton towel
that is placed on your skin.

We recommend a massage concentrating on the deep tissue in the affected areas, and then either a firmer or a
softer relaxation massage over the whole body to help achieve whole-body balance. For example, we might
recommend spending 30 minutes on the sore area, and then another 30 minutes over the rest of your body.

Lomilomi, or ‘to knead,’ is the ancient Hawaiian term for a type of holistic massage unique to these islands. As
practiced today, lomilomi is a deep-tissue massage focusing on pain relief. It uses a flowing, rhythmic effleurage
technique applied by the forearm, not the palm, because the forearm applies pressure more broadly.

While different families in Hawaii practice the tradition differently, they share some common ideas: First, the belief
that the healing does not come from the practitioner, who simply allows universal energy to flow through him. This is
why a traditional lomilomi practitioner will always ask permission from his spiritual source before beginning the
massage.

Second, lomilomi is always applied with ha, or breath from the heart — with reverence.

Third, the abdomen is very important in lomilomi. Ancient Hawaiians believed that illness originated in the abdomen,
causing inadequate digestion. They began by massaging the abdominal organs, and then, having released pent-up
energy there, moved on to the sore areas of the body.

In ancient days, lomilomi involved spiritual as well as physical healing and was performed by a priest called a kahuna.
The person receiving the treatment might have been asked to fast and drink only seawater for six days prior. The
massage itself would have incorporated the use of herbs called lapa’au.

Ganbanyoku is a Japanese word meaning ‘stone bath.’ At SpaPure, we call it a granite sauna.

Wearing comfortable, loose clothing or a towel, you’ll lie under an herbal steam dome on a slab of specially quarried
Indian granite. The stone is gently warmed to 103 degrees, releasing a very safe far-infrared energy that increases
blood circulation and produces a deep, profuse sweat that flushes out toxins. Proponents say ganbanyoku also
stimulates your skin’s own production of youth-enhancing collagen.

Ganbanyoku’s immediate results are undeniable: a clean, non-sticky sweat that you don’t need to shower off, a
softening of formerly stiff muscles, and skin that’s radiant, smooth and shiny.

It is completely safe. While we get both principally from the sun, far-infrared light is different from harmful
ultraviolet radiation, which can damage skin.

All stone, when heated, emits far infrared light. The denser the stone, the more light it emits. Granite, being very
dense, emits a lot of far-infrared light.

Our stone is made by Dailyo in Japan. It’s literally state-of-the-art: We contacted Dailyo after learning that they had
discovered a new source of granite in India that emits more far-infrared light than any stone ever tested.

Far-infrared light energy is absorbed up to 3” into the skin, stimulating blood flow and delivering blood cells rich in
oxygen and nutrients to the skin. The process also stimulates production of collagen, the most common protein in the
body. Collagen is essential to repair damaged tissue and replace old tissue and contributes to the elasticity of
youthful-looking skin.

As mammals, we receive collagen from sunlight. Ganbanyoku, which uses warm energy from high-density granite to
bathe you in far-infrared light, delivers the beneficial effects of the sun’s energy while eliminating the harmful effects
of ultraviolet radiation, all without exposing you to sunlight

Ocean massage is a floating massage in warm saltwater. Your body is completely supported by buoyant noodles
as your therapist uses the motion of your body through the water to enhance the therapeutic effects of massage.

In water, your body relaxes naturally. With the help of the warm salt water, you will relax more naturally. When you
are comfortable being held by someone, with an element of trust with human support. The effect of experiencing
human trust is itself therapeutic in healing. First getting yourself into that place where you have trust, support, warm
salt water, already that takes you far beyond just lying on a massage table.
second, let’s say being cradled in a fetal position is not your cup of tea. Floating by yourself is also comfortable. We
will set noodles under your neck and body and give you a great massage. We do not hold you, but you will get a
great massage while floating without being held, while someone applies pressure point therapy.

Offering the Ocean Massage in a pool lets us control the exact temperature and salinity of the water. We warm
the water to the range of your body temperature so that your muscles will relax naturally, and add special Hawaiian
salts to mimic the traditional healing properties of the ocean.

In this relaxed, buoyant state, your therapist can help you achieve better stretches and use your body’s flowing
movement through the water to enhance your massage for a more soothing, therapeutic experience.

Providing a massage in a pool is an interesting experience. We begin by simply standing and holding each others
hands while taking a few deep breaths together. This begins to establish a gentle, ‘heart-connected’ awareness for
both the therapist and the client. Then, the art of ‘Allowing’ begins. We ‘allow’ you to fall back into our arms. One
hand cradles your neck while the other supports your legs. However, we do not lift or hold your weight. That would
be heavy and tedious. You will float, and we use minimal effort to maintain your spine in a neutral position, with the
water level below your chin.

Then, we pause. We just breathe, Are you ready to make an appointment now?effortlessly supporting your totally relaxed body. Then, the fun begins. We’d like
to swirl you into some swinging stretches, but, we can’t lift you. We have to suggest things like, with our arms, we
‘suggest’ that your legs bend into your chest. With your legs bending into your chest as we twist widely from our left
to our right, several interesting weight changes happen. Your head rises as your lower body sinks; where is your
neck? Are you holding it? We hope not. It is our job to adjust our forearms, back-of-hands or front of hands in such
a way that you can remain relaxed while your body is changing positions. That was one half of a twist.
Next, the other half; we return from our right side by swinging you over to our left side. This takes time, about ten
seconds per side, because we are always ‘allowing’ and ‘suggesting’ your movement. We are not forcing your
stretches. Gradually, your body achieves some momentum, which we follow. Then, at whiles, you are leading us!
The stretching is one part. The other part is the massage. We place your legs on floater noodles, and then there you
are, just floating, and we can stand by your neck. We support your neck with one hand while massaging the
shoulders with the other. By this time, you are already deeply relaxed, and your normal tensions have drifted away
into the warm salt water. However, your massage is just beginning. In your relaxed state of being, we can use
pressure point Shiatsu to unlock your shoulders, neck, and whole back. There is some rotation of the torso as we
provide the shiatsu, which makes it even more fulfilling. Finally, we place another noodle under your neck so as you
float in a dream like bliss, we can provide foot reflexology.

TBA

Not at all. Ocean massage is done in shallow, chest-high warm saltwater, and your body is completely supported
by buoyant noodles the entire time. In fact, it’s helpful if you don’t try to swim during your massage.