Clients will feel immediately at home on entering the tranquil Ache Busters massage clinic in the quiet Caisleán Riada estate in Coosan. I was greeted on arrival by Gyongyi Karasz, who set up Ache Busters in June last year, and masssage therapist John Picard, with whom she teamed up as her business expanded.
The unique idea behind Ache Busters is ‘Five Senses Therapy’, where massage, sounds, colour, aromatherapy, and little treats such as a nice cup of tea combine to treat the person in their entirety.
A native of Hungary who moved to Ireland in 2004, Gyongyi specialises in holistic massage and Brandon Raynor’s bodywork, and is also studying orthopaedic and sports massage. John is a former Army officer and Irish Red Cross aid worker, who first became interested in healing in the early 90s, studying Shiatsu and later going on to specialise in aromatherapy massage, sports massage, and reiki.
One of the most remarkable things about Ache Busters is that there is absolutely no hurry - clients are alloted a two-hour session, so there is plenty of time for Gyongyi or John to take case histories, get to know their clients, and determine what they most need from the massage.
John began my full-body massage with an informal chat to see what I was hoping to get out of the treatment. “I always ask people: how would you like to feel when you leave here?” he explained. He then took a case history to find out a little about my lifestyle and to highlight any concerns I had. As someone who spends a large chunk of my days sitting in front of a computer, it was no surprise that my back, neck, and shoulders were most in need of some TLC.
John began with a relaxing back massage, which combined with the soft relaxing music and fragrant essential oils really helped me to unwind. He continued by working on easing the tension out of problem areas, very attentively checking in with me every so often to make sure he wasn’t hurting my poor tense muscles. I could feel the knots in my neck and shoulders in particular loosen and relax, including ones I didn’t know I had; as John explained, sometimes people don’t know just how much tension they are carrying around until it is gone.
As he worked on my legs, arms, and feet, John also pointed out any areas I might need to keep an eye on, such as a muscle tightness in one of my legs which may have been caused a minor sports injury or prolonged periods of driving.
The massage was completed with some more work on my neck and shoulders to make sure the knots were well and truly gone, and a head massage which almost put me to sleep. With plenty of time to relax before I had to leave, I could really see the benefit of the extra time alloted to each client. I left feeling a whole lot lighter and about ten times more serene and relaxed than when I arrived.
Ache Busters takes the art of massge to a new level, incorporating different massage techniques and engaging the senses, while tailoring the treatment to the individual’s needs.
As Gyongi explained, in her native Hungary, massage is much more commonplace.
“Our mission is to reintroduce the magic and power of human touch, which can be missing. Massage should not be a luxury, it should be part of everyday life.”
With this in mind, she is running massage workshops to encourage people to use massage at home. The first part of the course takes place on Saturday March 10 from 10am-6pm, with the second module on Saturday March 17.
Ache Busters is located at Caisleán Riada, Coosan Road, Athlone. Tel (089 ) 4133884, or visit www.achebusters.ie for further information or to book your appointment.
