When Balance Wellbeing 360 offered the chance to try its new Organic Colour Therapy treatment, I had visions of being bathed in soothing violet light.
The lights, it turns out, were just of the normal variety and quite dim. That was a good thing, because before any massaging is done, this treatment involves a very hot and long bath.
Feeling slightly wary, I followed my therapist’s instructions to doff my robe and climb into a deep, reclining tub. The therapist flipped a switch, prompting many vigorous, massaging jets to fire up. She had already sprinkled the bath with pure Himalayan bath salts.
For some people, this part might be heaven, but for someone like me, who likes my baths short and warm, it became an endurance test – one that I ultimately failed.
I tried my best, but I didn’t make it quite the full 30 minutes. By the time I crawled out and wrapped myself in a towel, I felt wilted, weak and entirely overheated, not to mention a bit embarrassed.
As for the “colour therapy” portion of the treatment, it turned out to be based not so much on colour, but on a variety of carefully composed scents associated with a colour.
At the outset we had done a colour-therapy test, during which the therapist introduced the French Altearah Bio range of essential oil sprays to see what I responded to.
The therapist had me spray my palms with each, advising me to rub them together so the alcohol would evaporate and then instructing me to inhale deeply. The scent of the remaining oils is supposed to stimulate the brain. While I am not sure about that, they were fun to sniff.
The four we ended up using were: Royal Purple, a mixture that smelled like Christmas spices and is supposed to promote energy; Orange, a citrussy melange designed to prompt creativity; Indigo, which had a minty scent aiming for clarity; and Silver, a calming, lavender-esque scent also designed to calm.
The scents were also incorporated into a relaxing one-hour back, facial and head massage, each using light strokes and designed to calm the mind.
Blessedly, I had cooled down from my overheated state enough to allow the therapist to use the warm poultices she had prepared. This treatment is not intended to work out knots and kinks, which is usually what I like out of a massage. Instead, I forgot about all that and submitted to the relaxing and practiced rhythm of my therapist’s hands until I was almost sent into la-la land.
I left feeling exactly as the treatment promised: balanced and calm, if not slightly euphoric, the too-hot bath all but a vague memory.
• Balance Wellbeing 360 is in Dubai’s Oasis Centre. The Organic Colour Therapy treatment using the Altearah Bio line is Dh425 and takes about two hours. Call 04 384 7010 or visit www.balance-wellness-centre.com
amcqueen@thenational.ae
