Recently my friend Cheryl recommended Thai House massage to fellow mums in Tokyo, so I decided to give it a try. It was AMAZING! I have previously been to Thailand and had experienced the wonders of the Thai massage, so was excited to be able to not only have one again, but to have it in the comfort of our home in Tokyo. I emailed Sue (Surintorn Grasmueck) last week and she replied straight away with some information and days and times that she was free. I ended up booking for the Saturday so that my husband could look after our baby while I was having the massage, but when I told him about it, he wanted one too! Hehe. So we both had a 1.5 hour massage and took it in turns to look after baby. Sue was extremely professional and very skillful at the massage, and always checked to make sure I was comfortable and relaxed. My whole body was exhausted from the past 7 months of picking up and carrying our baby, so the massage hurt a bit particularly in the muscles on my back, but it hurt in a good way and felt amazing afterwards. (My husband said his massage didn’t hurt at all, which I think is a sign that he needs to pick up our 10kg baby more often! Hehe.)

Sue also provides a special 3-day massage for new mums after childbirth. I wish I had known!!! I definitely would have had this massage after our baby was born, as I remember about a month after birth my whole body was aching from the pregnancy and birth and looking after our baby, and I had trouble getting out of bed in the mornings. Sue explained that the special post-natal massage can be done 7 days after birth for natural births, or 1 month after birth for c-section. There are details and photos on Sue’s website. Highly recommend booking after your baby is born to help your body to recover:)!

To make a booking, contact Sue through her website:

• Thai House website
  • http://surintorn.wixsite.com/thaimassage

Advice for having Thai massage:

• Wear comfortable clothes for the massage (I wore tights and a T-shirt)
• It is best to do the massage on the floor, so good to lie on carpeted floor or a yoga mat to give some cushioning. Sue also brings a Thai cloth for you to lie on for the massage.
• If you haven’t had a Thai massage before, I personally recommend doing some research beforehand on the internet so you know a bit about it – there are some special techniques and stretches involved which may surprise you if you’re not prepared for them!
• Try to control your breathing during the massage – exhale slowly when Sue applies pressure to your muscles. My body was very tired so the massage did hurt a little especially on my back muscles, but I found the breathing helped. Sue can adjust the strength of the massage to your needs, but it is also recommended to try and endure a bit of pain as your muscles will feel extra good afterwards (^^)!
• Drink lots of water after the massage. Sue also provides Thai herbal tea to drink.