Just lying down for the start of the Chavutti-Thai massage was relaxing. In the middle of the treatment room, in place of the usual massage couch, a wide mattress filled much of the floor space. Stretching out in jogging pants and a loose t-shirt on the soft towels that covered the mattress, I could easily have drifted off. Regrettably, there was work to be done but, happily, not by me. Not for nothing is the process of Thai Stretching – always the first part of a Chavutti-Thai Massage – called “the lazy person’s yoga”.

Corrina told me to make like a rag doll so, of course, I tensed up. This made her job more difficult initially, as she had to work with muscles that wanted to fight back, but after a little while I got the idea and relaxed into it. Corrina put my body through a series of twists and stretches and even though I attend regular yoga classes I couldn’t have achieved by myself some of the positions she persuaded my body to adopt. It was a fairly rigorous workout and I must confess that a few muscles protested at the treatment, but at the end I was still in one piece and felt as if I had limbered up without any exertion - a very little pain for considerable gain.

For the Chavutti-Thirumal massage I stripped off and lay face down on the mattress, wearing a small towel in a sumo-style “nappy”. Corrina balanced herself using a rope strung from one side of the room to the other over the mattress and dipped her foot into warmed oil. She proceeded to massage the whole of the back of my body, from neck to toes (not forgetting my arms and hands) with her feet. At first I was unable to give in to the sensation, because I was too busy admiring the dexterity of her feet and marvelling at how much she could achieve with them. As with her manual massages she located all the areas of muscle tension and applied the appropriate amount of pressure, using her heels and toes to work particularly knotted areas, like my shoulders.

After a while I stopped paying so much attention to the mechanics of the situation and simply went with the peaceful feeling creeping over me. The massage was reassuring and I was very comfortable. There was no need to stress about anything.

As the final part of the experience, as if I needed more help to relax, Corrina briefly massaged my feet, this time with her hands. No wonder I felt so utterly unwound by the end; I just love a foot massage. Her work done, Corrina left the room to allow me to gather myself together and get ready to go home. I had no inclination to move. It was only 4:30 in the afternoon, but if I could have stayed there on that mattress, as warm, cosy and, frankly, zonked as I felt, I would have, at least until the next day.