By Katrina Doran.

Omni Ayurveda Health and Beauty at The Ramada, Shaw's Bridge, Belfast is one of those little gems that once you discover the amazing treatments, you wonder what you did before you knew about it!

I booked in for the Regency massage at Omni on a chilly, snowy Tuesday and I couldn't wait to indulge in the full body massage and Indian head massage therapy.

After posting on facebook that I was off to Omni for a treatment there was a mass of posts ‘ooing' and ‘aaing' over how everyone loves Omni and wanted to hear what I thought of the treatment. Boosted by the wave of positive comments from my facebook pals I was looking forward to the treatment even more.

I've had massages before, I've used Ayurveda products before but the Regency massage at Omni was quite a revelation. It's a true therapy - it's a treatment that actually makes you better.

The treatment began sitting in a chair just with my towel wrapped around me, and my slippers on. My therapist Tini began the treatment with an Indian head massage that lasted for about ten minutes and had me in a blissed-out state. The warmed oils soothed my knotted shoulders. Tini then mixed a blend of therapeutic herbal powder with heated oils and applied the mixture to the skin on my shoulders and upper back with a padded leather pouch, which is heated and then used to massage to oils into the skin. A similar idea to hot stones - the heated pouch really works the therapeutic oils and herbs into the muscle.  For such a petite girl Tini's massage pressure is absolutely amazing!

Then up onto the bed where the back and legs are treated. The leather-padded pouch is used again across the back to really work deep into the muscles. Unlike full body massages that I've had in other spas and salons where the therapist has most of your body covered up with towels and then reveals the leg and works on the leg before covering up and moving onto the next part of the body - in this Ayurveda treatment which is about treating the body as a whole - the massage follows a circuit of one half of the body from shoulder to feet and back again. So after the leg and feet are worked on - the massage comes back up to the top of the body and arms to continuously treat the body as a whole.

I'll be honest and say I was a little apprehensive initially but the treatment is so amazing after a few seconds my inner prude had gone off to a higher plane of bliss. The final phase of the treatment is the on the face and the body is now covered with towels for cosy and comfort.  You can shower off the oils afterwards in the ensuite shower room but it advised to keep the oils on your skin for as long as possibl.

An incredible treatment - and a true therapy. Afterwards I felt intensely relaxed but also incredibly energized.

The Regency Massage is priced £59 at Omni Ayurveda Health and Beauty at The Ramada, Shaw's Bridge. Tel: (028) 9092 3660
www.theomni.co.uk

Photo caption: Client has a Shirodhara (Oil Drip)treatment at Omni Ayurveda Health & Beauty. Please note the Shirodhara treatment is not included in the Regency massage therapy as reviewed above. Photo for illustration only.