Let me massage your tiredness

After a massage, urban residents are fit again. Only the therapist is exhausted.

KOMPAS/SOELASTRI SOEKIRNO

The atmosphere at a massage therapy place in Poin Square Mall, South Jakarta, on Wednesday (17/4/2024). After Lebaran, residents queued to be massaged, but only five out of 20 massage therapists were available. Most of them were still on Eid holiday. They were forced to reject most of the guests.

When the Eid holiday is over, massage therapists actually have to work hard to serve guests who are exhausted after returning home. Customers and fortune are both difficult to refuse.

Like the previous Eid holiday season, Triariyani (36), a therapist at Majat Waras, Tanah Kusir, South Jakarta, worked beyond normal hours. How could it not be, customers keep coming in asking for a massage. He didn't even have the heart to refuse.

"Indeed, after Lebaran, there are a lot of patients coming. I even have to continuously massage them (in the room), to the point where I don't even get exposed to sunlight," said Yani, her nickname.

After a few days off, Pijat Waras reopened on April 13th, 2024 with official operating hours from 08:00 to 17:00. However, in reality, customers had already started arriving at 06:00 and continued to flow until after 17:00. As a result, throughout the day, Yani had to massage seven patients instead of her usual five. If each patient typically received an hour-long massage, Yani ended up massaging for a total of around seven hours per day.

Patients at Pijat Waras usually return from their hometown using private vehicles and feeling tired. Some complain of stiff leg muscles, feeling unwell, or catching a cold. Customers who did not go on holiday also feel exhausted from taking care of their own homes until their domestic helper returns and works again.

"Not only exhaustion, other patients also come with complaints of high cholesterol or diabetes. During the Eid al-Fitr holiday, people consume a lot of coconut milk-based foods and cakes. Therefore, the massage focuses on nerve points according to their complaints to improve blood circulation," said Yani.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

A massage therapist fell asleep in front of a store on West Bekasi Street, Rawa Bunga Subdistrict, Jatinegara, East Jakarta, on Saturday (20/4/2024). The stalls on the sidewalk and the old shops now share the same fate, with few buyers and barely able to survive.

In order to massage seven people a day, Yani also has to be healthy. For this reason, he tries to eat regularly three times a day and rest as much as possible. "When I'm sleepy, I just drink black coffee. So, it's like I have energy again. "Come on, no matter how many people you want to massage," challenged Yani, who has worked at Massage Waras for 14 years.

She likes her profession. She is happy to see people feel better after receiving her massage. In addition, she can meet and chat with many people from various backgrounds.

"My patients include doctors, female police officers, teachers, supervisors, and even vegetable sellers. I particularly enjoy massaging doctors. I can also ask them questions about my health. I don't want to lose out since the cost of doctor consultation is expensive, ha-ha-ha," she said.

Also read: Eid, Money Flows into Rangers' Pockets

Gustian (31), one of 11 therapists at Kakiku, Ciputat, is almost overwhelmed by serving patients every Eid holiday. On the second day of Eid this year, he massaged three patients. The next day the number of massage patients increased again to seven people. Even then, there are still many guests who have to be turned away. "If we are tired, we therapists will massage each other to relieve fatigue," said Gustian.

Stephanie Chandra, the owner of Kakiku, stated that there was an increase in massage service customers only after the Eid al-Fitr holiday or the return flow to Jakarta. "When the surge happens, we can serve up to 70 customers in a day," she said.

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Dani (28), one of the massage therapists at Poin Square mall, South Jakarta, Wednesday (17/4/2024), is serving guests.

KOMPAS/IGNATIUS NAWA TUNGGAL

Massage therapist and visual impairment survivor, Paulus Saring (59), has never closed his business during Eid-al-Fitr holidays since 2003 until now.

In Poin Square Mall, South Jakarta, reflexology massage places are just as crowded. Customers even have to queue. Dani Mardani, who works at Intan Therapy in Poin Square Mall, is one of the therapists who has many patients.

"Thank God, I have been able to continue working like this until now. "I just accept it, what else do I want to do," said Dani, who before becoming a therapist worked as a vehicle mechanic in Garut, West Java.

Independent therapists, such as Paulus Saring (59), also barely get a break during the Eid holiday. In 2003, he even had to close temporarily during the holiday. Suddenly, a mother came in asking for a massage. She said her head felt heavy and her body felt unwell. She had gone to several massage places but was rejected.

Paulus felt sorry and eventually took care of the mother. Since then, almost every Eid, he rarely closes down his clinic in the Pondok Aren area, South Tangerang, Banten. Even during the takbiran night, he still serves patients. And the next day, after the Eid prayer, there are patients who come again.

Body care

Massage places and beauty health care services for the upper middle class are also selling well. It happened at Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa Jakarta. Sumiati (46), a therapist at Taman Sari, said that each therapist has been trained in every skill, from facial care, body massage, waxing, to vaginal care.

In the past, when he was going to become a therapist, he was directly trained by Mooryati Soedibyo, founder of Mustika Ratu and owner of Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa. Mooryati trained in various types of massage that became the basis of Javanese Massage (pijat Jawa). This is the main service offered at Taman Sari.

"Previously, we had to learn anatomy and which points can and cannot be massaged, familiarize ourselves with 15 types of massage oil, ethics, and how to serve guests well. We learned about the body, mind, and soul," said Sumiati, who goes by the name Sumi.

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Therapists brought towels and flowers for service preparation at Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta on Friday (19/4/2024). This spa, which has a classic Javanese cultural concept, is inspired by the Taman Sari pool, a royal family bathing place in the Yogyakarta Palace.

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The therapist washed the feet with water and sprinkled rose petals at Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, on Friday (April 19th, 2024).

After finishing the course, he had to undergo a one-month trial period by applying what he had learned to fellow course participants. After graduating, he was finally deployed to serve guests at the spa. He has now been working there for 19 years. He is not just a beauty therapist, but also a trainer for new therapists.

Sumi admits that being a therapist is not easy. In addition to being physically exhausting, she also needs to be patient in serving guests even though she may be having a fight with her boyfriend or husband, for example. Not to mention if the guest is a bit fussy.

"My heart is sometimes crying, but if there are many requests from guests, I still have to say, yes ma'am, okay. Even though, in my heart, Oh God...," said Sumi.

Fortune flows

Although exhausting, working as a therapist can be a source of livelihood for Sumi. She receives a monthly salary and sometimes receives tips from clients. "I once received Rp 500,000 from a domestic guest. For foreign visitors, the tip can be higher, but in their own currency. Maybe they are too lazy to exchange it - hehehe," said Sumi, who is a management informatics graduate from Gunadarma University in Jakarta, while laughing.

So far, his income as a therapist is enough to support his family with the one child he has.

Yani from Pijat Waras also earns a decent income, especially during the Eid holiday season. If calculated per month, Yani's post-Eid income can reach Rp 7-8 million or increase by Rp 1 to Rp 2 million from normal months.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

On Friday (19/4/2024), home call therapists were massaging their clients in Pondok Kelapa, East Jakarta. Urbanites who were tired after going home for Eid al-Fitr were revitalizing their energy and taking care of themselves through reflexology massages before returning to their normal activities.

At their workplace, each therapist is allotted 45% of the payment, while the owner of Pijat Waras receives 55% of the total service fee paid by patients.

Just like Yani, Dani's income at Intan Therapy is calculated based on the number of guests serviced by the therapists. For each guest, Dani receives 50% of the service fee paid, while the remaining 50% is allocated to the owner of Intan Therapy.

When there are many guests, Dani can earn a net income of IDR 150,000. His total income per month is around IDR 2 million. It may be far from compared to Yani's income. However, he is grateful for his income. At least he can still afford to pay for food, drink, and monthly rent of IDR 400,000 for his family.

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However, according to Dani, his job as a massage therapist has been very helpful for him. He shared that when the mall was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he had to return to Garut and work in the market. His working hours started from dawn until evening with only a daily income of Rp 30,000. From there, he realized that being a massage therapist was much better than working in the market in his village.

However, he admits that the job as a massage therapist is tiring and requires strong physical energy. "Having five guests, especially if they ask for a full body and face massage, it means one guest alone takes 1.5 hours. Wow, that's really exhausting," said Dani.

Therapists scattered in big cities have an important role as a support system for urban living. It is to them that exhausted urban residents come for a massage. After being massaged, urban residents become refreshed again, leaving only the therapist exhausted.

Even so, they are always ready to massage until the tiredness of the remains of Eid disappears.