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From diet plans to exercise programs, tonics and pills, it seems that women will try anything these days to lose weight. Chikara Women Spa, a new women-only spa in Bekasi, offers a host of therapies that promise to help women shed those extra kilograms — all while enjoying a relaxing day out with friends. The spa’s “Slimmer Me” therapy provides 150 minutes of total indulgence, from head to toe, in the name of achieving a slimmer body.

The therapy starts at the extremities with a foot bath, performed in a small garden at the back of the clinic. Despite the heavy traffic in the area, in the garden you will only hear birds chirping happily away in the trees.

As you savor nature’s own orchestra, the therapist will immerse your feet into a basin of warm water. A delightful, zesty aroma wafts from the fresh lemon slices floating in the wash basin. Mia, my therapist, gently scrubbed my feet with salt crystals, before wrapping them in a warm towel.

There are five spa beds in the communal treatment room, each divided by a thin, white curtain.

“Our guests like to come to the spa with their friends,” said Inca Vidhya, the head therapist. “And they love to chat while they’re enjoying their treatments.”

Those who prefer privacy, however, can ask for one of the spa’s two VIP treatment rooms, each equipped with a jacuzzi.

My friend and I preferred the communal treatment room that allowed us to gossip while enjoying the massage. That afternoon, the treatment room was bathed in the soft, orange glow of the sun setting over the garden. We could almost believe that we were somewhere in Bali, instead of being on a busy road in Bekasi.

As I lay face down on the spa bed, my therapist climbed onto the bed next to me. There she knelt and closed her hands in front of her chest as if in prayer. Then, in one fluid motion, she waved her hands from above my head to the tips of my toes.

“She’s transferring her positive energy and opening your chakras for the treatment,” Inca said.

The therapist then climbed off the bed and started pulling and stretching my limbs.

She poured warmed oil into her palms and rubbed it into the back of my calves and my upper thighs.

“We call it ‘Slimming Oil,’ ” Inca said. “It’s a combination of soya beans and eucalyptus oil that helps to dissolve the fat beneath your skin.”

With her adept fingers, the therapist pressed firmly on the lymph nodes along my calves and thighs.

This, Inca said, was the “lymphatic drainage massage.”

“It’s designed to drive the toxins away from the healthy cells in your body and dissolve them in your sweat and urine,” she said.

Mia, my therapist, had undergone two months of intensive training by the head therapist to learn about human physical anatomy and learn the correct massage techniques. Inca, the head therapist, has over five years’ experience as a senior therapist in five-star hotels in Bali before joining Chikara early this year.

The next treatment was petrissage, a Swedish form of massage that involves a series of pinching and kneading movements along the spine, meant to release tension.

After 30 minutes of bliss, I was asked to lie on my back. The therapist then arranged a small towel on my belly button and lit a candle. I squirmed at the thought of the wax dripping all over my tummy.

“Don’t worry,” Mia said with a smile. “We use a special type of candle from Thailand for the belly therapy. It won’t drip onto your skin.”

The hollowed candle is made from reinforced beeswax with a thin fuse through the middle of it.

Mia lit the top of the candle and rested its base on my belly button. With her other hand, she gently massaged my tummy.

“The heat of the candle is absorbing the excess fat from under the skin of the belly,” she said, as I felt a soft, tingling sensation creep across my skin.

After 15 minutes, Mia blew the candle out and cut it in half. She showed me the damp, dark-colored residue inside the candle, which she said was the fat that the candle had successfully abstracted.

“There’s no instant result,” Mia said. “But, if you perform the therapy twice a month and watch your diet, you’ll start to see good results within three months.”

For the next fat-burning treatment, Mia applied a thick layer of what she called Dead Sea Mud all over my body and wrapped me in a thin, plastic sheet from the neck down. My friend and I giggled at the sight of each other — we looked like a couple of Egyptian mummies.

Our therapists then escorted us to the sauna to let the body mask do its magic. They served us glasses of iced water as we sweltered beneath the mud mask and the plastic sheets to prevent us from getting dehydrated in the sauna.

Fifteen minutes later, we appeared from the sauna totally drenched, yet feeling much lighter. After taking a long cold bath, we were given a warm, traditional concoction of kunyit asam (turmeric and tamarind) to reinvigorate the body.

“This is the end of our treatment,” Inca said. “But, the good news is, the Dead Sea Mud, absorbed by your skin, will continue to burn fat for three hours after the treatment.”

My friend and I looked at each other with amazement. With all the pampering and promised health benefits that day, we both felt that our girls’ day out had been very well spent at the spa.