Shoda, Thai masseuse and author of the guide

The salon’s lead masseuse

Shoda is the lead masseuse at our Thai massage salon on rue de Bruxelles, between Pigalle and Place de Clichy. She is Thai, trained in Thai massage in Thailand, and has been practising for several years.

Day to day, she works in the massage rooms, and she also writes most of the articles in our guide. Her writing sounds the way she works: warm, simple and precise. She works alongside Lyn and Winnie, who also write for the guide, and a team of Thai masseuses, introduced on our Thai masseuses page.

Trained in Thai massage

Traditional Thai massage, known as Nuad Thai, rests on a few principles that Shoda brings to every session: pressure along the energy lines, thumbs and palms working slowly, assisted stretches and a rhythm that follows the breath. It teaches you to feel a body as much as to massage it.

Today she puts that training at the service of the body to body massage in Paris and the other massages on our menu. She explains how the Thai tradition compares with its neighbours in Thai vs Chinese vs Japanese massage.

Her approach to massage

Shoda’s way of working comes down to a few simple principles.

• Listening. Every guest carries tension differently. Before she begins, she watches the breath, the shoulders and the way you settle on the table, then adjusts the pressure.
• Slowness. A slow movement gives the body time to let go. Sensuality comes from presence, never from haste.
• Respect. The limits of everyone, guest and masseuse alike, are respected throughout the session.
• Hygiene. A shower before the massage, fresh linen and quality oils. These are basics, and she insists on them.
• Professionalism. Punctuality, clear explanations and prices shown openly.

A clear framework

At the salon, every massage is professional and performed by the book. An indecent request or inappropriate behaviour, or simply the masseuse’s decision whenever she judges it necessary, ends the session immediately, without refund. For Shoda, this framework is not a constraint: it is exactly what allows both the guest and the masseuse to relax. Our house rules set it out in full.

What Shoda writes about

In the guide, Shoda answers the questions guests ask most often, plainly and without innuendo:

• what the glide really is: what is body to body massage?
• how to prepare for a first visit: tips for your first body to body massage

When an article describes a practice the salon does not offer, she says so clearly. Her articles are informative, reflect her experience as a masseuse and are no substitute for medical advice.