Located in a super cute mews near London Fields, MASAJ is the ultimate urban retreat, designed to feel a million miles away from city. MASAJ is one of many creative and wellness businesses that have set up shop in the Gossamer City Project, which is made up of shipping containers – perhaps not the obvious choice for a relaxing massage but these have been designed so well that you forget all about the outside world once you’re in.
MASAJ is set up to combat the negative effects of city living – knotty shoulders from hunching over a laptop on a cool sofa in an even cooler “work space”, we’re looking at you. It’s a massage studio for our time, with the slogan ‘come as you are’, even if you’ve not sugared your legs in two months (GUILTY!) or are on your period. Natural oils are all blended on site and there’s CBD oil and turmeric shots amongst the products for sale, all of which are made by small local producers. They also have good green creds, with all form filling done on iPads. In fact it’s completely paper-free and uses only refillable chemical free cleaning products.
There are only five massages on the menu and being the tense stiff balls that we are, we opted for No 2, the full body massage, which is designed to release tension, loosen muscle fibres and improve circulation. We asked for strong pressure and we got one hour of intense poking (that’s our personal preference for massage as we like to feel energised and loose rather than relaxed – gluttons for punishment some might say!) And it’s one of the best massages we’ve had in London and at £70 for a hour it’s not too spenny either. We also like that MASAJ stay open late so you can easily fit it in after work.
The Gossamer City Project, 58 Gossamer Gardens, The Oval, London E2 9FN
masaj.me