Massage

MAXINE COHEN It was finally time for me to try the Spa and Fitness Club at South Coast Plaza. I'd wanted to go there for years because I'd heard great things about it but I never seemed to make it happen. So my daughters got together during the holidays and gave me a gift certificate. That was the push I needed. I made an appointment for a massage and facial, anticipating a day of rest and relaxation, thinking of nothing related to work or the things I had to get done.

If you’ve never experienced a hot basalt stone massage, you’re missing out. The heat from smooth stones melts away tension and stress. It just doesn’t get any better than that at Nurture Your Nature in Costa Mesa. Owners Dana Twigg and Shelly Lee Bravo work together in lovely little two-room sanctuary on East 17th Street, offering a blend of therapeutic hot stone massage, deep tissue and Swedish massage. They work wonders to alleviate aches, pains and just about anything else.

The Resort at Pelican Hill has seen a steady demand for coed rub downs since Newport Beach lifted a decades-long ban on couple’s massage at local resort hotels last month. “Couple’s massage is one of the most popular treatments now,” said Kasia Mays, spa director for the Resort at Pelican Hill, which opened in November in Newport Coast. Mays estimates that 12% to 15% of the clientele at Pelican Hill’s new 23,000-square-foot spa are requesting couple’s spa treatments.

MEALS AND MASSAGE IN ONE HAPPY PACKAGE Pop quiz: Would you rather spend some quality time at the spa, get a relaxing facial or go out for a delectable dinner? That might be a tough decision to make. So Spa Gregorie's in Newport Beach has hooked up with five local restaurants to present a "Spa Date" deal. The $150 package, made available this month, is a one-hour spa treatment, plus a $15 gift certificate for dinner. The restaurants -- Bandera, Roy's, The Riverboat, Tommy Bahama and Tutto Mare -- provide the dining experience and Gregorie's supplies a massage or facial for both him and her. Be warned: do not attempt the massage and the meal at the same time.

SHE IS: A teacher of the healing arts. A FAMILY AFFAIR Uscimaya (Maya) Apsaras, 33, teaches massage at California College of Physical Arts in Huntington Beach. Born in Malaysia, Apsaras recalls being introduced to the healing arts early on. "My godmother was known for her healing abilities and from the age of 5 until the age of 10, she was very responsible for teaching me about healing," Apsaras said. "I learned everything from cooking and herbal preparations to massage using homemade oils with special herbs and spices added.

Super-powered female icons Wonder Woman and Supergirl are inspiring for more than their ability to fly and fight crime. They also have fantastic hair. SAS Shampoo & Style owner Monica Ruggieri knows that a great hairstyle is more than an expression of vanity. Great hair has the ability to transform a woman's attitude and sense of confidence. "When you've had your hair done, it makes you feel better all day long," Ruggieri said Monday while standing in the all-new blow-dry salon on East 17th Street.

Greg Risling NEWPORT BEACH -- A 39-year-old Costa Mesa man who ran a popular hair salon pleaded guilty recently to charges he fondled one of his female customers during a massage. Robert Keith Cryan was sentenced last month to three months in county jail and three years of probation for sexual battery and failure to obtain a massage license. Cryan must also register as a sex offender under state law. Cryan owned the NYC Salon on Harbor Boulevard, where he was arrested last August when a 22-year-old woman said Cryan inappropriately touched her after she received a haircut.

Applicants sought for city commissions The Costa Mesa City Council seeks letters of interest from residents interested in serving on the Planning and Parks and Recreation commissions. Terms for all existing members now serving on the commissions will expire in March. Members serve two-year, non-staggered terms. The five-member Planning Commission has the power to decide or make recommendations to the council on issues relating to the city's future growth and development.

One afternoon last spring, instead of poring over a book in the campus library, University of San Francisco student Erika Myszynski found herself knocking on the door of what claimed to be a massage parlor in San Francisco’s Tenderloin slums. The woman who answered the door was wearing a lab coat that scarcely concealed lingerie underneath. She opened the door a crack and anxiously shooed Myszynski away, despite the fact that she visited during normal business hours. Walking away, Myszynski realized that she got a firsthand glimpse of something that was, at the very least, a likely prostitution operation, and perhaps something even worse.

Super-powered female icons Wonder Woman and Supergirl are inspiring for more than their ability to fly and fight crime. They also have fantastic hair. SAS Shampoo & Style owner Monica Ruggieri knows that a great hairstyle is more than an expression of vanity. Great hair has the ability to transform a woman's attitude and sense of confidence. "When you've had your hair done, it makes you feel better all day long," Ruggieri said Monday while standing in the all-new blow-dry salon on East 17th Street.

Newport Beach boutique salon and spa Ergonique on Tuesday night will celebrate the grand opening of a new "CosMed" concept in the Corona del Mar Plaza, according to a news release. The spa, at 978 Avocado Ave., offers both cosmetic and medical treatments, including Botox, liposuction, body treatments, massage and manicure. "Our goal was to create a chic, luxurious retreat where discriminating people can come to relax and socialize, while receiving the most advanced spa treatments custom tailored to address their particular needs," said DeAnn Mix, the company's chief executive.

Massage Envy, a national membership-based massage therapy franchise, opened a 2,650 square-foot location in Newport Beach last week, according to a news release. The franchise in Westcliff Plaza at 1052 Irvine Ave. has 11 treatment rooms, and day and night hours. "Most people will get a massage while on vacation or when visiting a spa, but one massage won't solve the problem of today's active lifestyles," said owner Stephen Karson in a prepared statement. "Regular treatment can reduce stress, increase circulation, lower blood pressure, help manage pain or recover from injuries, and much more.

COSTA MESA — Seven massage parlors all within one business complex were accused of being fronts for prostitution and served search warrants Friday by police, prosecutors and immigration officials. "From the layman's perspective, it appears to be a commercial brothel," said Lt. Mark Manley. The businesses are bundled into a small facility at 440 Fair Drive, where there are also three marijuana dispensaries and a pizza parlor. The massage parlors served warrants Friday are Relax Zone, Super Day Spa Massage, Angel Massage, Fantastic Spa, Rainbow Spa, A1 Oriental Massage Inc. and Visage Spa. The complex is about 50 yards from the College Park neighborhood, and within half a mile of schools, the civic center and the Orange County Fairgrounds.

The Costa Mesa City Council is scheduled to vote today on a moratorium banning new massage businesses from setting up shop and any existing studios from expanding. If approved, the move would extend the existing moratorium the City Council approved last year for another 12 months while it examines issues with illegal operations, including acts of prostitution, at some locations inside city limits. The city is looking to assess some issues it is facing with its current massage parlors and study pending state legislation that might affect its capacity to regulate new ones, said Tom Hatch, Costa Mesa assistant city manager.

Plans for a 29,000-square-foot, three-story estate with a dozen fireplaces and commanding views of Upper Newport Bay come with a $95-million price tag. Real estate broker Mark Whitehead believes that if plans for 2182 Mesa Drive materialize, the home would be the largest, and one of the priciest in Orange County. “It’s a very unique property,” Whitehead said. “You can’t get this if you go to Pelican Hills — what you can’t buy in Newport Beach is land.

Authorities in Costa Mesa are asking the City Council to extend a 45-day ban on new massage parlors that went into effect in July by 10 months and 15 days, rounding it out at one year. An ever-increasing concentration of massage parlors in Costa Mesa and an influx in applications for new permits has made it too difficult for the city’s police department to guard against parlors that serve as fronts for prostitution, according to police. In addition, a law (Senate Bill 731)

Before Costa Mesa’s City Council extended the citywide moratorium on new massage licenses to a full year Tuesday night, several massage business owners spoke out against the ban. Kathy Flippin, whose massage practice Dynamic Touch is new in town, said that she signed a two-year lease on her office space with the idea of expanding to meet growing demand. Now that growth has been prohibited, she says it could become harder to pay the bills. Flippin and her staff do a lot of specialty massage for pregnant women, post-surgery patients and the elderly.