You go to the beach and are immediately taunted by women calling to you, ‘Massage, you want massage?’ Maybe you decide to surrender to their invitation and lie on a blanket on the sand or recline on a sun bed under an umbrella. You relax as her strong hands begin to glide over your skin. You shudder to think of the lack of hygiene on the beach. Another scenario is you walk into a beautiful spa, delight in the exotic scent of an aromatherapy burner and soothing background music. After making your choice a lovely smiling girl appears beckoning you to follow her to a treatment room. You undress and lay on the massage bed ready for her skilful hands to stroke you. The therapist has told you her name, which you probably won’t remember, but it doesn’t matter. You have surrendered your body to this stranger, trusting her warm touch to make you feel good.
Some of the therapists come from a family history of masseuses. Massage oil runs in their veins or they have been taught by their friends. Others working in the more exclusive spas have received training at the spa and a minority of these with the trustworthy hands have attended a school and now proudly possess a certificate. These qualified therapists are in high demand and work in the five star hotel spas or even work abroad.
There is a huge demand from numerous countries for experienced, qualified therapists to work in spas overseas or on cruise ships. The Middle East is one of the more popular destinations for experienced therapists. Indonesian therapists have become the most popular recruits because of their gracious attitude and reasonable English skills. Filipinos and Thais are also much sought after abroad. Although the Filipinos have very good English they lack the gracious attitude and the Thais, although gracious have difficulty with English pronunciation. Thus the Indonesians are usually the first choice.
In early 2002 I went to Chiang Mai, to take an advanced Thai massage course and was surprised to find the northern city abundant with Thai massage schools and foreigners were flocking to study massage.
When I returned to Bali after my study holiday in Thailand I discussed the numerous Thai massage schools and their popularity with tourists with Jeannine Carroll, the director of Jamu Spas. “You know we could open a school in Bali and teach Balinese massage to the tourists. There’s nowhere to learn Balinese massage” I suggested. Jeannine loved the idea but added that we would need to make a standard routine for Balinese massage because everybody is doing their own style in Bali. I decided to research Balinese massage and try to establish a standard.
Jeannine started looking for a location for the school while I set off on a journey around Bali trying out massages and interviewing Balinese healers throughout the island. I went to Tenganan, a Bali Aga village, thinking that I would find original Balinese massage here, but was very surprised to discover that no-one in the village performed massage. I met their balian who told me that massage wasn’t a part of their culture.
After many massages, I realized that there was no set standard for Balinese massage but I did discover that several masseuses were in fact using similar techniques. This gave me hope. Next I tried out many traditional Javanese massages as a comparison. I also studied the history of massage in Indonesia in general, finding its roots came from India and China.
I met Santika, from Bangli, who comes from a long line of healers and has worked as a therapist in a large hotel spa in Ubud. I told him about my research and my hunt for the real Balinese massage. He went back to his village and spoke with his father and grandmother telling them of my quest for what had become my “holy grail”. Santika gathered some useful information on Balinese massage from his family and we worked together to create a sequence of techniques that was to become a standard for Balinese massage.
However fate played a cruel hand. The terrorist bombings in Kuta also caused the death of the tourist and spa industry. Our plans to open a massage school had to be put on hold and I went to Thailand to work for the next two years until the economy recovered.
In 2003, the Thai Ministry of Health imposed spa standards which demanded a minimum level of certification in Thai massage. Thailand became the forerunner in South East Asia to set out standard requirements for spas and therapists. In 2005, Jeannine asked me to return and to set up Jamu Spa School, the first spa school which lead the way in setting the standards that I knew would soon become necessary. In the last five years, several other spa schools have opened their doors to locals and foreigners wishing to learn Balinese massage and traditional treatments or take a three month spa therapist course.
I recently interviewed Jeannine to get the scoop on what’s been happening at Jamu Spa School. The school now offers CIBTAC certification, the highest standard of aesthetics and spa treatments in the world, in traditional massage, facials, waxing, anatomy and physiology, as well as Indonesian certification, which is recognized in 22 countries. Their most popular courses are a one month Balinese treatments course in massage, body scrubs, traditional facials and cream-bath and a one month massage therapy course including aromatherapy, warm stone, traditional Thai and reflexology. Last year 240 students from Indonesia and abroad received certificates in one of these courses.
The school also offers a three month course in professional spa therapist training covering the theoretical and practical aspects of treatments. At the end of the course, students have the option of a one week internship at Jamu Spa. Last year the course had 120 graduates, of which 20% were Indonesian; the overseas graduates were mostly from Japan with some from Europe and the US.
Jamu School provides visa sponsorship and helps overseas students find nearby accommodation during their studies. In addition, they provide scholarships for students from poorer areas of Bali, Kupang and Flores for the three month course, covering tuition, accommodation and meals. After graduating, Jamu then assists in finding them a job in Bali or overseas. Jamu has become a popular recruiter for therapists abroad
sending out their “Jamu girls” to act as ambassadors of Bali.
I also interviewed Penny Ellis of Bali International Spa Accreditation in Sanur for her input on the spa school business. BISA offers five options of one month courses with an Indonesian certificate, which are very popular. They include: Ayurvedic, traditional spa treatments, international spa treatments, aesthetics and their own unique Bali BISA Spice Islands course focusing on treatments for couples. Like Jamu, BISA also run a three month course for the spa therapist aspiring to five star standards, resulting in an Indonesian education certificate that is recognized in 22 countries. They also offer nine one week courses, plus programs for train the trainer, spa manager and owner. At the end of training BISA assists in finding jobs for therapists overseas. BISA is working with the organization ROLE, a yayasan providing education for impoverished and disadvantaged Balinese people, on a train the trainer program to provide spa training and give women the skills to secure work. Most of BISA’s students are foreigners but they do offer a 30% discount to Indonesians and KITAS holders.
I interviewed Erika Dewi, a member of the executive committee of the Bali Spa & Wellness Association regarding certification for therapists. Two years ago, BSWA managed the Indonesian portion of a European grant for CIBTAC training which also included Thailand, Malaysia and The Philippines. In Bali, fifty therapists received subsidized training and certification in anatomy, physiology and Swedish massage. Each of these 50 therapists passed on this knowledge to 20 other therapists.
As more people have become more concerned that many therapists are working without any form of regulated body and recognised certification, the Indonesian Ministries of Education and Tourism have made a drive for certification competence for therapists. In 2009, they subsidised the test fee in Bali and this year they are focussing on smaller islands such as Lombok, Irian Jaya and Kupang. Furthermore, in 2011, a free trade agreement within Asia is planned which is expected to improve the work opportunities for spa therapists in other Asian countries.
Another recent government program, Lembaga Sertifikas Profesi COHESPA, helps experienced therapists who may have been working in spas for many years without qualifications, to train for the BNSP national certificate from Jakarta, recognized by some Asian countries. The modules for certification include manicure, pedicure, traditional facial, massage, lulur and boreh. Also available are modules for supervisor level, reception and management. For all courses, the certification process consists of a three day assessment incorporating written, oral and practical tests.
In Bali, BSWA is now involved with the Asia Pacific Spa Wellness Coalition to form a bridge between Asian countries to promote, protect, educate and develop the spa & wellness industry for the benefit of business and consumers alike. Thanks to the recent developments in training massage practitioners in Bali, you can now trust the warm hands that you have surrendered your body to.
