Meat Cleaver Massages May Be The Next Wellness Trend
No. There’s no typo in the title of this blog. Meat cleaver massages are a thing. They’re quite popular in Taiwan and they could be coming to America.
In the practice, known as daoliao — which translates literally to “knife massage” — practitioners pound stress points in your body using the sharpened edge of kitchen instruments, while soothing your energy and reading your fortune.
Practiced for over 2,000 years, the epicenter of the art is The Dao LiaoI-King Education center in Taipei where locals and foreigners can experience the ultimate relaxation, or learn the ancient technique.
So here are the details of how it works. Guests are wrapped in towels and robes before the practitioners start pounding their bodies, targeting pressure points. Videos of people being “chopped” have surfaced on YouTube and it is a total trip to watch! Honestly, I can’t see how a person could relax while this is being done. I’m sure it’s something you have to get used to.
While daoliao looks scary, people swear by it. The masseuse is not allowed to massage if they’re in a bad mood, so there’s an upside! They claim the knives have healing powers.
The knives are always “recharged” by placing them near meteorites before being used on a client. Before being massaged, clients must hold “cosmos” sticks to balance their energy, before having their karma washed via the knives. Afterward, the practitioners will also read your fortune.
It seems like a cool experience but again, I think the massage part would be something you’d have to get used to. Someone coming at ya with a hatchet doesn’t seem like it would be the most relaxing thing.
It’s a trip to watch! Here’s some video of a woman trying it out. I don’t relax well and my mom is always telling me I need to get a massage. Sadly, I don’t relax much even then! I’d be up for trying this if and when it comes to the United States. It’s wild for sure!
