Relaxation Massage in Porto

A relaxation massage in Porto should be the easiest massage to explain: warm oil, long slow strokes, and a light to medium pressure the therapist sets with you. It is the massage for the visitor whose legs remember every hill between Ribeira and the cathedral, for anyone who sits through the working week, and for anyone who has never had a massage and wants to start at the beginning. Mirra is a day spa in the centre of Porto, near Trindade metro station. Book 50, 80 or 110 minutes, on your own or for two, in the same room.

Why have your relaxation massage in Porto at Mirra

The place. We are in the Baixa, Porto’s downtown, near Trindade metro station. Opening hours: Every day, 9am–10pm. You walk in from the street, with no car and no need to plan the day around the booking.

The visit. Arrive 10 minutes early, change without hurrying, and the visit includes tea after your treatment and slippers. On 80 and 110 minutes the massage does not end on the hour, it ends when it is finished.

The room. Low light, quiet music and a table that is yours for the hour. For a couples massage, the couples room has two tables side by side and two therapists working at the same time.

The people. A team of 7 therapists, named further down this page. Before the massage starts, your therapist asks where you hold tension and how much pressure you like, and asks again while she works. If this is your first massage, say so: she explains how to lie, what stays covered and when you turn, so there is nothing to guess.

The honesty. There is no hidden package and no product to buy at the end. The duration you book is the one you get, and the price in the table on this page is the price you pay.

How the relaxation massage is done

Warming

You start face down, covered, in a room that is already warm. The therapist applies warm oil and works in long, continuous gliding strokes along the back and legs. The pressure is light. The point of these first minutes is for the body to notice that it can stop.

Releasing

Once the muscles are warm, the strokes turn to kneading and gentle friction: back, shoulders, neck, arms and legs. The pressure rises to medium, always inside what you agreed. If you want more or less, say so, and it changes at once. Nothing here is meant to hurt.

Settling

For the last minutes you turn onto your back. Slow strokes on the feet, hands, neck and head, lighter each time, and the final moments in silence. The therapist leaves the room and gives you time to get up without hurry.

This is the classic Swedish sequence: glide, knead, settle. At Mirra we call it a relaxation massage because that is what it does. In 50 minutes the whole body goes through the three phases once. In 75 and 90, the middle phase stretches, and the therapist can come back to the back or the legs a second time, as you ask.

Benefits

Studies point to a short-term effect: a single massage session reduced the anxiety felt in the moment, and a course of sessions had an effect on anxiety and mood.¹ For low-back and neck pain, reviews find short-lived relief, on evidence of low quality.² The rest is experience: you leave lighter, or simply calmer, and sleep well that night, or you do not. We promise nothing beyond that.

Afterwards

Drink water. If you can, do not run straight back to the day: the first minutes after a massage are part of it. A little oil stays on the skin, which is normal. If you would like to add the thermal circuit to your visit, ask us about the best order.

If you want firm pressure, look at the deep tissue massage. If Porto’s damp cold has got into your bones, the hot stone massage. All our massages in Porto are on one page. And if it is a gift, there is a voucher for every duration.

1. Moyer CA, Rounds J, Hannum JW. A meta-analysis of massage therapy research. Psychological Bulletin, 2004;130(1):3-18. PMID 14717648.
2. Furlan AD, Giraldo M, Baskwill A, Irvin E, Imamura M. Massage for low-back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015;(9):CD001929. PMID 26329399.