My body was sore from overdoing a workout Tuesday, so yesterday, I made an impromptu massage appointment at Glen Ivy Day Spa in Brea for 7:30pm. Man, that place is popular. On a Wednesday nite, the only slots they had left were 20 mins at 5:30 and 20 mins at 7:30. I wanted an 80-minute but oh well, guess I’ll have to save my money for something else.

I got there an hour early to enjoy the facility. The first place I went to is the empty Garden Tea Room to fill out my waiver and consent form. That room is amazing! It’s got quaint little conversation areas set up all over, plus a large blazing fireplace on the far wall with cozy seating and lounging areas around it. There were ample stone tables to do work, and low soothing music was playing. I could see myself there with a spot of tea working on my (soon-to-be-purchased) laptop, organizing my notes and writing my book. Next, after putting my stuff away in the locker room, which has windows into garden-looking enclosed areas, I sunk into the kidney-shaped whirlpool. There was only one other person in it, and it was large enough that sitting at a certain angle I couldn’t even see her. Instead I faced the large glass wall that opened into another garden-like area. Then I laid for 15 minutes in the sauna. The temperature of the sauna and the whirlpool were perfect. Most of these places tend to have the water/steam too hot, and I have to get used to it while feeling like cannibal dinner. Cold wet towels on ice were provided in a large brass bowl by the sauna door. All the sinks were large round brass bowls. It all looked very neo-Roman. 10 minutes before my massage appointment time, I got into the robe and spread out in the women’s lounge with complimentary cup of their Serendipi-tea. They had sliced cucumbers on ice in the lounge, too, for our puffy eyes. I didn’t use any as I did not want to risk pouring hot tea down my chest.

The massage therapist, Carla, was wonderful. It was probably the best massage I’d ever had. She had a unique way of applying pressure, and she explained that she was trying to distribute the lactic acid buildup in my muscles so that the soreness would go away faster. At the conclusion, she agreed with me that yes, I did need a longer massage as all my muscles are tight. (Maybe I’m not stressed and they’re just tight because I work out. HAHA, right.) I was in this fuzzy sedated heaven state when I teetered out of the massage area back thru the lounge into the women’s area, and I jumped into their shower. Oh! Shower bliss, too! A large overhead cylinder dispensed rainfall-like hot water onto my head. A regular showerhead on the left wall gave me the diagonal blast for my upper back. The right shower wall had a lower, more focused showerhead that gave me pressurized water onto my lower abdomen or lower back, depending on which way I turn. And of course, complimentary Red Mineral Clay shampoo, conditioner, shower gel. I was afraid I wouldn’t make it home last nite.

Seriously, the drive home, I felt drunk. Or high. It felt like my body and spirit were padded in a cozy soft envelopment, and nothing could touch me, physically or mentally. I finished off my night at home with yoga and fresh grapes.