If you’ve been making good on resolutions to yogacize daily, run at 5 a.m. or bench press twice your body weight by summer, perhaps it’s time to reward that self-abuse with a massage. The going rate for an hour’s rubdown at Kings County spas is anywhere from $80-$120, but our task was to find massages for $50 and under, preferably for an hour. It turned out that most of the deals we found were at Asian places. In the event that you are a massage noob, we’ve comprised an “Asian Massage Styles” mini-guide.
- Tui Na: The massage therapist kneads, rolls and brushes areas between each of the joints and stimulates acupressure points. Acupressure points are the junctures of energy pathways in the body (combination of the words “acupuncture” and “pressure”).
- Qi Gong: A style of massage that places emphasis on breathing and movement exercises. Similar to Tui Na in that it makes use of applying pressure to certain points and rolling/grasping/kneading techniques.
- Thai Massage: The massage therapist uses their hands, knees, legs and feet to move one into a series of yoga-like stretches.
Keep in mind that at most of these places, no frills is the operating principle. Paper screens and curtains separating massage tables are standard fare, as well as tables lined with paper towels. But at the end of your work (or out-of-work) day, your shoulders are knot-free and your wallet’s only slightly lighter.
Sunshine Best Body Work, 4 Park Place at Fifth Ave., Park Slope
30-minute Tui-Na or Qi Gong massage/$35
60-minute massage/$60
LV13 Spa, 157 N. 5th St. between Bedford and Driggs, Williamsburg
30-minute Tui-Na or Qi Gong massage/$30
60-minute massage/$44
Tai Shuang Spring Resort, 820 54th St., between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, Borough Park
Thai style massage – 60 minutes (including choice of facial or oil treatment)/$25
Foot or upper body massage – 60 minutes/$28
Qi Gong Tui-Na Salon, 655 Manhattan Ave., between Bedford and Norman, Greenpoint
30 minute massage/ $26
60 minute massage/ $50
Summer Day Spa and Bodyworks, 351 Flatbush Ave. at Park Place, Park Slope
60-minute Tui-Na or Qi Gong massage/$48
Also worth looking into is Third Root Community Health Center. For you super-alterna Brokelynites out there, Third Root offers massages based on a sliding scale. With their handy worksheet, the community center calculates your monthly income by taking into account various costs such as number of dependents, child care, tuition, HIV and AIDS medications, etc. Then, with the final figure they determine the fee you’ll pay.
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Sunshine spa is fantastic. One of the best massages I ever had–very deep, hardcore muscle work–and they’re nice people too.
Actually I have found the two best are Relaxation Garden at 130 Smith St and Ocean Spa at6 295 Court St
You can also get inexpensive massages at the Greenpoint Y. (I believe you have to be a member.)
another great place to go is my house
Not one single comment about happy endings?
Maybe you should ask Justin?
I like Shanghai Stress Relief on Vanderbilt–very nice people, good massages.
I can vouch for Qi Gong Tui-Na Salon at 655 Manhattan Ave. – reasonably priced and a good massage.
Summer Day Spa is wonderful, super cheap, very clean and comfortable, and the massages are Incredible! (sorry I was thinking sunshine when I posted, I’ve never been there)
I’ve been reluctant to try some of the cheap spas because I’ve heard that exploited labor/indentured servitude is a real problem at Asian spas/massage parlors in NYC. Does anybody know if it’s possible to find out which spas have decent labor practices?
Oh man, this is exactly what I needed for my Wii Fit regimen. It’s so easy to pull a muscle once you’ve fallen out of shape.
There are going to be upwards of 100 spas in and around the 5 boroughs that will be offering $50 high end spa treatments during the week of March 8-14 all part of Deal Days presented by SpaFinder.com. It’s sort of like restaurant week, but for spas. In some cases the Deal Days price is less than half the regular price.
In order to find spas where the massage therapists aren’t exploited labor, you need to see NY State Licensed Massage Therapists. Spas should have on the wall the licenses of everyone working there. If they don’t have a license, you can bet they are being under-paid and overused, and your chances of getting injured are much higher.
Nice ghoulish article … very fitting for the season and impressively damn interesting.
massage
Tian Shun Yuan at 2220 86th St. 2FL, Brooklyn, NY 11214 is also really good with back and foot rubs. 30min/$25.00 and 60min for $45.00
their phone number is 347-275-6348.
I NEED A PHONE NUMBER FOR THE LOCATION ON 157 N 5TH AVE