A Place To Relax With A Special Touch

By Shannon Hicks

When Irene Mardal started her massage business nine years ago it was called Take Ten. The idea was to get people to take ten minutes out of their day for a massage. She charged $10, and worked out of a storefront on Greenwood Avenue in Bethel.

A few years ago Mrs Mardal noticed the world was more stressful for more people, each with their own reasons. By October 2002 she changed the name of her business –– which was offering much more than chair massages by then –– to Take Time Relaxation Center.

Mrs Mardal has also expanded the business. In May she opened a second location, fully open to the public, at The Homesteads at Newtown, at 166 Mt Pleasant Road. The Newtown location is open by appointment only, while the Bethel location is open regularly and even accepts walk-ins for chair massage. Twelve employees work in the Bethel location.

Both locations offer seated (chair) massage, therapeutic massage, facials, and hot stone therapy. Each of these offerings are available in varying time lengths: Chair massage can run from 10 to 20 minutes and costs $12 to $24, therapeutic massage from 30 to 90 minutes ($40–$100), facials are offered at 30- and 60-minute increments ($45 and $75), and stone therapy is available for 60 or 90 minutes ($90 and $120).

Therapeutic massage includes relaxation (otherwise called Swedish massage, which offers general muscle relief), sports (done before or after an event, for stretching and toning), medical (as a follow-up to physical therapy for injuries or surgery), reiki (a healing energy that works to promote balance), cranial-sacral (a gentle, noninvasive technique that balances the cranium, spine, and sacrum), myofacial (or deep tissue) release, trigger point/acupressure (using muscle release techniques based on meridian theory), reflexology (acupressure on the feet to balance the entire body), aromatherapy, hot stone therapy (heated river rocks used to increase massage benefits), and any combination of the above.

Take Time also offers classes. November’s lineup alone includes offerings in meditation, “Simplify & Organize the Holidays,” practical feng shui, and applied kinesiology. Group meditation circles, open to all ages, are held regularly. Classes and circles are $15 each.

Mindful and guided meditation is also offered, as are personal yoga sessions (iyangar, restorative and hatha). Take Time also offers foot spas that are heavenly. The Newtown location has a HydroTherapy Spa Whirlpool for feet. Clients place their feet into a bath of warm water, and underwater jets begin whirling the water within the bath area. Mrs Mardal then adds aromatherapy bath salts to the water, which helps to soften the skin and adds to the multisensory experience. The foot spa includes the whirlpool aromatherapy soak and foot and calf massage.

“I’m very much into incorporating all senses,” she explained. “Touch, scent, warmth… it’s all there.”

It is also important to Mrs Mardal to keep things as natural as possible. Her creams, oils, lotions, and salts are all as chemical-free as possible. The Bethel Take Time location will soon have an aromatherapy station, where clients will be assisted in making their own bath salts, massage and bath oils, creams, soaps, liquids, and more.

Coming soon to the Newtown location will be the option of building your own spa package. Clients will be able to design their own day packages.

“What we’re hoping to set up are personal packages, which will be the only package of its kind in the area,” Mrs Mardal said. “That’s something I’m looking forward to.”

The spa area at The Homesteads has been sponge painted in soft green, and the windows are dressed in light violet curtains. Soft music or calming sounds are always in the background, and the feeling of being in a calm yet refreshing place greets visitors every time they enter Take Time. The soft voice of Irene Mardal belies the gentle strength of her hands and fingers, which are well trained to find and unwind a body’s stress points.

“People need to take time for themselves,” Mrs Mardal said recently. “I’ve noticed more underlying stress in the world, especially since 9/11. Pagers and cell phones have made all of us so available, so we’re always on call.

Not Having Time Takes     A Toll

“I’ve noticed over the last ten years an acceleration of stress levels,” she continued. “When you don’t have any down time it really takes a toll.”

Irene Mardal severely hurt her back about 14 years ago. It was during a year of weekly appointments with a chiropractor and massage therapist that she began to see the benefits of massage. She also began thinking massage therapy might be something she could do, so she looked into it. It turned out, she says, “massage was a perfect fit for me.”

She attended and graduated from Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy in Westport. She also continues to take seminars and reads the work of Dr Herbert Benson, a researcher and author who is associated The Mind Body Institute and Harvard Medical School and wrote the best-selling The Relaxation Response.

Mrs Mardal is a reiki master. She incorporates reiki –– a Tibetan Buddhist healing art –– into her massage work and can also teach the art to others. She is also a co-director, along with feng shui consultant Roxanne Slaughter, of Connecticut Holistic Health Association, located in Danbury. She is the mother of two children –– Christina, 19, and Timmy, 17.

Massage is much more than a luxury item, she notes.

“It’s a necessity at this point,” says Mrs Mardal. “Whether it’s kids with ADD, seniors with Alzheimer’s, or another [hardship], all of these things can be positively affected with massage and relaxation.”

The benefits of massage begin with a client’s comfort, which includes the option of being clothed, partially clothed, or nude under a sheet during a massage. Most elderly patients prefer to stay fully clothed, and many first-time clients are unsure of what is expected of them. Mrs Mardal gently explains the options, and leaves the room for a few minutes when patients decide to undress. Chair massage is always done fully clothed.

The American Massage Therapy Association says that physical benefits include the relief of stress and an aid to relaxation, relief of muscle tension and stiffness, an alleviation of discomfort during pregnancy. Massage fosters faster healing of strained muscles and sprained ligaments, reduces pain and swelling, and reduces formation of excessive scar tissue. It also provides greater joint flexibility and range of motion, enhances athletic performance, and treats injuries caused during sports or work, and promotes deeper and easier breathing, among other things.

Mentally, AMTA says, massage fosters peace of mind, helps relieve mental stress, fosters a feeling of well-being, and increases an awareness of the mind-body connection.

It also satisfies the needs for caring, nurturing touch.

“It’s a basic human need to be touched,” Mrs Mardal says. “I got so much out of my massage education. Touching is so important.

“I’ve seen so many people benefit from massage. We’re teaching people how to reduce stress and relax, and I like doing that.”

“After nine years of doing this I’m still, every time I walk into this location as well as the one in Bethel, very happy and thankful. I love what I do.”

To make an appointment at Take Time in Newtown or Bethel, call the Bethel location at 792-2456. The Bethel location, at 130 Greenwood Avenue, is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm (Wednesday and Thursday until 8), and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. Additional information is available at www.TakeTimeCenter.com.