Li Xin Beauty Wellness

I love getting massages, such as the deep tissue massage I had at Healing Touch Spa and with Eva. There is one type of massage that I have always been wanting to try – back-stepping massage also known as ashiatsu massage or 踩背. A number of shops offer this special massage, I decided to try it out at Li Xin Beauty Wellness.

What is Ashiatsu / Back-Stepping Massage?

Ashiatsu massage or back-stepping massage is known as 踩背 in Chinese. It is a common massage in China but rarely seen in other countries such as Singapore.

As the name suggests, this massage is carried out with feet instead of hands and arms. The weight of masseuse delivers more in-depth massage to problem areas. The benefits of back-stepping/ashiatsu massage are:

Less pain
Improves flexibility
Reduce chronic pain
Reduces stress
Long-lasting effects

My Back-Stepping Massage Experience

Li Xin Beauty Wellness is located next to Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown so it is easy to locate the shop.

You can see from the interior of Li Xin Beauty Wellness that it is a very Chinese massage parlor. I really like the moon-shaped light on the wall and the wooden oriental panel that decorates the cashier counter.

I did not make a prior appointment and just walked-in. Thankfully they were able to do the back-stepping massage which is called Stamping Back massage here. 30 minutes of Stamping Back massage costs S$30 which I think is a pretty reasonable price.

I strongly advise everyone not to go for a back-stepping massage immediately after a heavy meal. If not, you will spend the entire time wondering if you are going to throw up the food you just ate.

Li Xin Beauty Wellness has 3 levels with different rooms for different massages. All the massage therapists at Li Xin Beauty Wellness are well-trained.

My massage therapist brought me into a massage room on the 2nd floor which had a metal balancing bar attached to the ceiling. You can either change into their massage robe or wear your own clothes. I chose to wear my own clothes. The massage therapist who attended to me was a petite Chinese lady.

She asked me to lie down on the massage bed face-down and she covered my back with a clean towel. She stepped onto the massage bed and held onto the stainless steel bar on the ceiling for support. The ceiling bar also helps to support her weight especially if the customer’s weight is lighter or the customer prefers a lighter pressure.

Using her soles and heels together with her own body weight, she steps on the various meridians on my back. The pressure can be applied to a large area of the body and can reach the deep tissues of the muscles. Using rhythmic back and forth presses and kneading on the body’s meridian points, this makes the body parts that are being massaged feel warm. This increases blood circulation and stimulate the “qi” in the body which helps to burn fats and relieve fatigue.

She started on my upper back and worked down to my calves before coming back up to my neck. I didn’t know how sore my calf muscles were until she massaged them. The cracking sounds from my back were so satisfying, it helped to relive the tension that had built up.

The massage therapist suggest that I try the special 3-in-1 massage at S$50/hour. It includes Stamping Back, Ear Cleansing and Body Massage.

Conclusion about Back-Stepping Massage

I enjoyed the back-stepping massage at Li Xin Beauty Wellness. By using the masseuse’s body weight and back and forth presses and kneading, back-stepping massage helps to relieve tension in the back.

As it was my first back-stepping massage experience, I felt a little sore after the massage but refreshed as well.

Besides back-stepping massage (or Stamping Back massage), Li Xin Beauty Wellness also does Traditional Massage, Lymphatic Detox, Hot Stone Body Massage, Shoulder & Neck Massage, Ear Cleansing and Foot Reflexology.