Free up at least two hours of my afternoon, abstain from eating for an hour prior, wear clothes that allow my full range of motion, and be prepared for a physical and psychological experience. These are instructions I was given before my first Thai massage.
The pursuit of this service was admittedly inspired by The White Lotus on HBO. The third season (which wraps up this week with its 90-minute long season finale on April 6) takes place at the eponymous hotel’s Thailand location, a wellness resort where guests receive no such guidelines upon scheduling their massages. The “sports massage” that Saxon Ratliff (played by actor Patrick Schwarzenegger) signs up for seems much different from the traditional Thai version—or at least the one that I experienced.
Ironically, my authentic wellness moment occurred in the West—the Midwest, to be exact—at a Cincinnati-based yoga school and studio serendipitously named the Lotus Yoga Temple. And while my Thai yoga massage may be more aligned with the show’s larger setting, it admittedly wouldn’t fit within the walls of the titular hotel, and it would…
