Massage in Malaysia: Traditions old and new
By Graham Land
As a holder of three diplomas in massage and former practitioner of both medical (sports injuries) and wellness massage, I still find the varying practices of this ancient art and therapy among different cultures to be a fascinating subject.
Malaysia is of course no exception. Since the origins of modern massage can be traced back to India and China, Malaysia – as a crossroads for these two cultures and home to a rich native culture of its own – is by no surprise a place where one can find both traditional massage and modern spa techniques. I also admire when they mix the two up a bit.
Malaysian spa. Pic: Auswandern Malaysia (Flickr CC)
Modern wellness massage with a twist
Health spas at Malaysia’s luxury resorts naturally offer a fair bit of pampering to their clients. Check out this partial description of one treatment offered at the Andaman in Langkawi.
From the Langkawi Gazette:
Sprawling out on the massage bed, I close my eyes in anticipation of a body polish made of honey, wild ginger and lime. Asiah applies the delicious blend in a circular motion all over my body, gently rubbing off the dry skin cells from the surface. Next comes the rich blend of kencur, galangal, ground rice and sea cucumber, known among the locals as the miracle cure, gamat. Asiah wraps me into layers of warm fluffy towels, with the heat opening my pores and enabling the skin to absorb the potent ingredients. Squeezing juice out of the freshly cut aloe-vera leaves, Asiah applies the nourishing fluid into the lengths of my hair, gently massaging my scalp, and letting me slowly drift off…
The above treatment features some elements that will be familiar to most spa goers and some that are unique to Malaysia, such as the traditional blend of sea cucumber and regional varieties of ginger.
Fish spas
Other, trendier spa therapies popular in Malaysia, especially in Kuala Lumpur, include fish spas, which have also popped up around other Asian countries and in Europe. I’ve seen a few in Portugal and in just about every tourist town on Crete!
Fish spa in Kuala Lumpur. Pic: mulberry leaves (Flickr CC)
Patrons plunge their feet into tanks or pools of garra rufa or doctor fish and let the little therapists go to work on their road-weary hoofs. The doctor fish nibble away at dead skin, allowing fresh skin to grow in its place. The treatment is especially recommended for sufferers of psoriasis, eczema and other skin disorders. Contrary to popular belief, the fish may not actually eat the skin, but instead are “sawing” away at it in search of real food.
It should be noted that fish spas are not legal in some regions of certain countries, including the US and Canada, though their ban is more on a technical note since it says that all spa treatments materials must be disposed of or sanitized after use. Now it hardly seems fair to throw away all those doctor fish after each therapy session, does it? And as for sanitizing a pool of fish… not quite applicable!
Traditional Malaysian massage
Urut melayu, a traditional Malaysian method of massage based on “moving the wind”, is not as potentially rough and painful as some varieties Asian of massage can be. Good thing, since some people exit Chinese massage clinics in serious pain, though others drift out on a relaxing cloud of blissful… um… bliss. It’s a bit of a gamble if you don’t speak the local lingo. My experiences with Thai massage were mixed. It hurt, but afterwards I felt quite nice. Then I learned to do it myself and hurt others. Just kidding, I believe in being firm but gentle.
Urut melayu is a deep-tissue massage featuring long, kneading strokes and focusing on blood flow (the wind?). “Urat” in Malay means blood vessels. The treatment is meant to stimulate energy points while warming and relaxing the muscles. Professional official practitioners of urut melayu are registered with the Malaysian Ministry of Health.
Besides its relaxing effects, urut melayu has been scientifically studied and used in some hospitals, particularly for the treatment of patients who have suffered strokes. See here and here for PubMed articles on urut melayu and stroke victims.
Another traditional method of massage in Malaysia is the practice of “Sarawak Kenyah” a deep tissue treatment originating in the east of the country. Sarawak Kenya is available at some spas and wellness centers throughout Malaysia.
Foot massage by the blind, Sabah. Pic: Jeremy Eades (Wikimedia Commons)
Finally, like in Taiwan, Thailand and other Asian nations, massage is also a job often performed by the blind community. For a list of traditional blind massage centers in Malaysia see this page of the National Council for the Blind.
If you enjoyed this article and would like to find out more about travelling to Malaysia, please visit the Tourism Malaysia website
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Author Bio
Graham Land (UK)
Graham Land is a former musician and freelance writer who blogs on environmental topics for Asian Correspondent, Travel Wire Asia and greenfudge.org. He has travelled extensively and lived in the US, Asia and throughout Europe.
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Massage in Malaysia: Traditions old and new
By Graham Land AS a holder of three diplomas in massage and former practitioner of both medical (sports injuries) and wellness massage, I still find the varying practices of this ancient art and therapy among different cultures to be a fascinating subject. Malaysia is of course no exception. Since the origins of modern massage can…>
马来西亚按摩：传统与现代手法的融合
作者：格雷厄姆·兰德 我有三个按摩文凭，并曾经是一位医疗兼保健按摩师。我发现在不同的文化中，按摩疗法这门古老的艺术是一个迷人的主题。 既然现代按摩的起源可以追溯至印度和中国. 当然，马来西亚也毫无例外。马来西亚作为这两种文化的交叉点，而且自身拥有丰富多彩的本土文化，在这里传统按摩技法与现代的SPA技术并存就不足为奇了; 他们将印度和中国的按摩技巧融会贯通，巧妙结地合在一起，我对此也非常赞赏。 花样翻新的现代保健按摩 位于马来西亚豪华度假村内的健康SPA中心可为顾客提供许多的贴身护理。下面就是对于兰卡威安达曼（Langkawi Andaman）提供的一种疗法的部分描述。 摘自《兰卡威公报》（Langkawi Gazette）： 我四肢摊开懒懒地躺在按摩床上，闭上双眼，等着享受由蜂蜜、野生姜和柠檬混调而成的美体磨砂膏，主要功效是去除皮肤角质。按摩师爱莎（Asiah）用手将这种芳香馥郁的膏油在我全身上下边画圈边涂抹，还轻轻地揉搓着表层干燥的皮肤细胞。接下来是当地人称之为最有奇效的gamat疗法，就是使用富含沙姜、高良姜、米粉、海参的按摩膏。爱莎用蓬松的毛巾将我层层包裹起来，暖暖的，令我全身毛孔张开，从而让皮肤能吸收到有效的成分。她用刚切下来的芦荟叶，挤出这些起滋润保养作用的汁液，擦在我头发上并轻轻地按摩着头皮，慢慢地我便迷迷糊糊地睡着了…… 上述疗法中的有些成分，对于大多数的SPA迷都耳熟能详，有些是马来西亚独创的，如传统按摩膏中加入海参和当地各种各样的姜。 鱼疗SPA 其他更时尚的SPA在马来西亚，尤其在吉隆坡备受欢迎。其中包括在亚洲其他国家和欧洲也如雨后春笋般涌现出来的鱼疗。我曾在葡萄牙见过一些鱼疗SPA，而在希腊的克里特岛（Crete），可谓遍地开花，几乎在每个旅游小镇都有！ 顾客把脚放进装满了garra rufa（即“医生鱼”）的贮水器或水池中，这些小水疗师便马不停蹄地工作以消除双脚的疲惫。“医生鱼”会吸食人体死皮，以便重新长出新皮。特别向患有牛皮鲜、湿疹及其他皮肤病的患者力荐此种疗法。与广为流行的观点截然不同的是，这种鱼实际上并没有啃食顾客的皮肤，而是为寻找真正的食物而“扫除障碍”。 值得一提的是，在特定国家的某些地区禁止鱼疗SPA，这些国家包括美国和加拿大。不过，它们之所以禁止鱼疗，更多出于技术层面的考虑。据说，因为所有的SPA疗法材料必须在使用后处理掉或进行消毒。现在看来，每个疗程完后便将所有“医生鱼”当垃圾处理掉，看上去并非公平之举，难道不是吗？至于给整池的鱼消毒……，可行性不大！ 马来西亚的传统按摩技法 Urut melayu是一种基于“Moving the Wind”的马来西亚传统按摩法，它可能不像亚洲其他一些地方的按摩那样感觉粗糙和痛苦。不错，虽然有些人在结束中式按摩后会身轻气爽，但也有很多人在走出中式按摩诊所后会浑身酸痛。如果你不会说当地方言，那么按摩就有点像赌博。我在泰式按摩馆的经历可谓喜忧参半。当时痛得厉害，但过一会儿却身心舒爽。之后我学会了按摩并让别人难受，（只不过开个玩笑罢了），我相信按摩时要刚中带柔，柔中有力。 Urut melayu 是一种深层肌肤按摩，特点是按摩时间长、揉捏轻抚，重点是使血液流通，更加顺畅。此种疗法旨在令肌肤变暖和放松之际，刺激人体的能量点。官方认定的Urut melayu专业从业人员要在马来西亚卫生部（Malaysian Ministry of Health）注册。 除了有放松身心的功效外，urut melayu已被纳入科学研究范围，在一些医院也用于临床治疗，尤其用于治疗中风患者。请点击此处和此处链接至PubMed查阅有关urut melayu和中风患者的文章。 马来西亚的另一个传统按摩法是“砂拉越肯雅”（Sarawak Kenyah）手法。此法起源于该国东部，是一种深层肌肤疗法。在马来西亚全国各地的一些SPA中心和健康中心都能享受到“砂拉越肯雅”式的按摩。 最后，就像在台湾、泰国和亚洲其他地方一样，按摩也通常是盲人所从事的职业。欲了解马来西亚传统的盲人按摩中心的名录，请点击此处，浏览国家盲人协会（National Council for the Blind）的网页。 如果你喜欢本文并且想要了解更多关于去马来西亚旅游的知识，那么请访问马来西亚旅游网站。 ________________________ 作者简介 格雷厄姆·兰德（英国） 格雷厄姆·兰德之前是一位音乐家兼自由撰稿人，为《亚洲记者》（Asian Correspondent）、《亚洲旅行线》（Travel Wire Asia）及greenfudge.org网站撰写以环保为题的博客。他交游甚广，并在美国，亚洲及整个欧洲生活过。 Translated from: Massage in Malaysia: Traditions old and new, by…>
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