Karada: Beyond the usual massage

The typical massage parlor offers the usual service of pulling and kneading your worn out muscles, but one Japanese-based clinic goes beyond its service by promising to get rid of stress through body realignment and restoration of the body's natural balance.

Karada (Japanese for 'body'), which recently opened its second branch in the Philippines, boasts of its expert therapists who study the body's pressure points and stress-prone areas, offering a personalized service that caters to the customer's specific needs.

"We offer revitalization of both mind and body through AP Balance, an original technique from Japan," Karada General Manager Grace Reyes said. 

AP Balance, which involves the atlas and pelvis (hence the name), uses a careful technique of readjusting the body's atlas and pelvic bones. The idea may sound horrifying for the average person, but the entire thing (which takes just a few minutes) is nowhere near painful. As ironic as it seems, the sound of bones cracking turns into a delightful and a stress-relieving experience.

AP Balance, the clinic's most popular and signature service, is a techinque developed from the combined principles of chiropractic, seitai and judoseifuku. It aims to improve the body's pelvic alignment which results to improved posture and balance.

The Karada way of treatment involves a five-step process which ensures that the customer's specific needs are met.

Firstly, the client undergoes consultation with the therapist to determine any abnormalities in the body which include misalignments, locked spinal joints, pinched nerves, stiff muscles and poor posture. This part also includes questions about the client's lifestyle and habits which may have contributed to the body's condition.

The therapist will then make an assessment of the client's condition with a corresponding recommendation of which treatment to use to correct the problem.

Lastly, the therapist will proceed with the treatment based on the information provided by the client and the examination of the client's condition.

Expectant  mothers who are in their first trimester, intoxicated clients and those with cancer are discouraged, however, from having the treatment.

"The difference of Karada from spas is that we focus on fixing and helping other people's body condition. Spas are usually known just to relax and make people feel better while Karada  gives the maintenance, helps repair or take away pain, stress, and also improve your health," said Sidney Stelton, Karada's assistant to the president.

Aside from AP Balance, Karada also offers shiatsu or deep tissue massage, foot refloxogy and an array of body treatments suited to the client's needs and desire.

Stelton said Karada is planning to open its third branch in the Philippines at the Gateway Mall by mid-year.

Karada has branches in The New Glorietta Mall (02-553-8731) and in Greenbelt Radissons (02-843-7425).