The latest trend in massages doesn’t involve cactus or snail facials or even cleavers. It seems the hottest practice heating up the massage table lately in some spas involves snakes.
A spa in Poughkeepsie, New York, places boa constrictors on the body and allows them to slither all over, wrapping themselves around a client’s neck, feet and torso.
"Just enjoy them and feel them," a masseuse specializing in snake massages named Serpentessa said to a client undergoing the snake massage, according to CBS 2 NY.
"They tone and stimulate the vagus nerve in our body, and that releases endorphins and oxytocin. Those are the feel-good nerves," Serpentessa, who works at the Dreaming Goddess spa, told CBS 2.
The vagus nerve is one of the cranial nerves that connects the brain to the body.
But how safe is this kind of massage with a snake like a boa constrictor? Serpentessa said it depends.
“There are no guarantees with a wild animal,” she said. “You’re the one who’s going to choose whether it’s safe for you or not. So no one has ever been hurt by one of my boa constrictors.”
She has four of them and charges $300 for an hour and 15 minute massage.
Serpentessa also told CBS 2 that people usually come to her for a couple different reasons: healing, empowerment or to conquer a fear of snakes.
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