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Tao Massage has moved into a space on Bangs Avenue in Asbury Park.

Owner Vivian Taormina put most of the the finishing touches on the interior this weekend. A June 11 grand opening celebration is planned.

With the new location comes a stripped down name, just “Tao,” since the location now offers facials, a hot sauna, and an Epsom salt flotation tank services plus the Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy service Taormina is known for, a form of deep tissue massage wherein a therapist uses the feet to massage instead of the hands.

“The difference is you get a greater value of traction than hands to spread a lot of the connective tissue and you avoid the feeling of needling thumbs,” Taormina said. “It’s the best of both worlds — you get the feeling of Swedish massage and the value of a deep tissue.”

Taormina and her staff will be able to accommodate up to five clients at a time in their three therapy rooms and flotation tank. Each of the massage rooms is named after an element , “Sea”, which contains two massage tables to accommodate couples, “Sky”, and “Sand.” A fourth room, “Still,” holds the 250-gallon flotation tank.

“You literally REST in the flotation tank,” she said. “It stands for Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy.”

In the pitch black, sound-proof tank, all of the brain’s potential stimulation is removed while the person floats in a bath of 95.3 degree water, the same surface temperature of the skin. Between 800 and 1000 pounds of Epsom salt is used to achieve optimal flotation and to keep it hygienic.

“It’s like the Dead Sea in there,” Taormina said.

Tao has existed as a business since 2005, and has had Ocean Township headquarters for six years. The Bangs Avenue location is the first store front in the history of the business, she said.

The move took just over two years from start to finish, as the interior space at the location was designed and built to suit the Ashiatsu method. The bars that therapists use to steady themselves and shift their weight around as they work are held up by custom metalwork. The shelving units in the front reception area and the receptionist’s desk are made out of venetian plaster. A mural painted on the right hallway wall shows a blue sky with a deeper blue layered underneath and sand taken from the Asbury Park beach on the bottom. It draws inspiration from the names of the therapy rooms and is supposed to make those who walk by feel like they are underwater, Taormina said. A special floor treatment allows the hard wood floor to mimic the look of driftwood.

The therapeutic environment was designed by Renée Fahan, a 1972 graduate of Asbury Park High School, Taormina said.

Taormina plans to eventually open up the back courtyard area to include an outside area for relaxation and couples massages. The area is still under construction.

Tao is located at 611 Bangs Ave.  Hours of operation are tentatively Monday – Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; or by appointment. For more information and pricing, visit taomassage.com. The grand opening celebration takes place in two sessions, from 6 to 11 a.m. and 6 to 11 p.m.  on June 11.

[Above photo at right of owner Vivian Taormina in her previous location in Ocean Township by Sara Stadtmiller.]

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