Hiss is bliss at snake spa

Hiss is bliss at snake spa
Unique treatment uses reptiles to give massages
December 28, 2008

YOU may have heard of letting little fish nibble away your dead skin at the fish spas, but here comes another bizarre offering - the snake spa.

Ms Ada Barak, who runs The Snake Spa in Israel, claims the slithering sensation caused by her pets creates a highly relaxing sensation, reported Time magazine.

Crack what jokes you may about snakes sending a shiver down your spine, or making your skin crawl - Ms Barak's bizarre spa has seen its share of clients willing to fork out US$80 ($116) for a slithery rub-down since she opened the outfit in 2006.

Ms Barak, who also runs carnivorous plant farms, said she hit on the idea after visitors told her that the sensation of snakes moving over their skin had a cooling, albeit ticklish effect.

Most of Ms Barak's income comes from showing off her plants which eat everything from insects and reptiles to small mammals and schnitzel.

At the end of an act, she would grab one of the little snakes slithering in and out of the hungry plants' jaws and pass it around to visitors.

Said Ms Barak: 'Some people said that holding the snakes made them feel better, relaxed.

Soothing effect
'One old lady said it was soothing, like a cold compress.'

After some experimenting, she eventually settled on a combination of big snakes for a deep massage.

She explained that the king and corn snakes are heavy enough to produce a kneading sensation.

The little ones, whose passage over the skin is a trembling flutter, are for a soothing, lulling effect.

She added: 'People either like it a lot or they hate it.'

According to a Time reporter who tried the signature treatment, the snakes, once dropped on his belly, writhed away in different directions.

As they moved across the skin, they felt 'cool, dry and smooth' and not as unpleasant as he anticipated.

The reporter said: 'Their presence stirs something deep and peaceful in me. I come away relaxed and curiously light-headed, though I don't feel the urge to buy myself a python to continue this therapy at home.'

Since the time of Eve, serpents do not boastagreat reputation in the Holy Land and in this case they lack any medical credibility to support MsBarak'sclaims.

The snake-spa owner has appeared on talk shows in the United States, gets calls from across Europe, and insists Madonna is interested in trying her massage treatment.

Many of Ms Barak's regular clients claim that the snakes help ease migraines and soothe sore muscles.

Next up... rat reflexology?
Encouraged by the increasing interest, Ms Barak hopes to expand her menu of treatments to include rodent reflexology, where rats and mice are set free on the feet.

In the meantime, the snake massage is attracting nearly a dozen therapy and thrill-seeking clients a week at the world's only spa where hiss is bliss.

Source: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,188011,00.html?