Kocoon Spa is listed in Louis Vuitton City Guide 2014! You can order your copy on Amazon or find it in all the Louis Vuitton flagship stores. Just ordered mine! ;) These guides will serve as doors for discovering the best that the cities has to offer. And Kocoon Spa is in it!! 

Can Eating Chocolate Help You Lose Weight?

Eating chocolate before and after your meals is the newest weight-loss tactic. But is it too good to be true?

Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight. If the title of the new weight-loss book from neuroscientist Will Clower, Ph.D., isn't enough to grab your attention, its promise might: Eat chocolate 20 minutes before and five minutes after lunch and dinner to cut your appetite by up to 50 percent.

Um, what? This set off our "this has got to be too good to be true" alarm, so we did some digging to find out if the chocolate diet really holds any weight.

MORE: How Chocolate Can Help you Lose Weight

It turns out, the sweet stuff can fight sugar spikes. In one study from the University of L'Aquila in Italy, people who ate a candy bar's worth of dark chocolate once a day for 15 days in a row decreased their potential for insulin resistance by almost 50 percent.

While researchers credit flavonoids for reducing insulin resistance, weight-loss specialist and board-certified internist Sue Decotiis, M.D., notes that dark chocolate also contains healthy fats, which slow the absorption of sugar into the blood stream. That helps prevent the dreaded insulin spike, which is famed for shuttling sugar straight into your fat cells. "Insulin spikes turn off your body's fat-burning mechanisms and make you hungry again several hours later," she says. Over time, they can also lead to insulin resistance and diabetes.

MORE: Health Benefits of Chocolate

Meanwhile, Swiss scientists have found that dark chocolate reduces the metabolic effects of stress, and University of Copenhagen researchers have shown that dark chocolate curbs cravings for sweet, salty, and fatty foods alike.

And that brings us to the fine print: This only works if you reach for dark chocolate (i.e., types that are made up of at least 70 percent cacao). "White and milk chocolate has a lot of added sugar and contains milk (also a type of sugar), while dark chocolate has less added sugar, contains monounsaturated fatty acids, and has a bittersweet taste that reduces the amount you eat," says Decotiis.

Plus, while it's hard not to take chocolate's weight-loss benefits as an excuse to pound chocolate bars like they're going out of style, Clower says each helping should be no bigger than the end of your thumb. Eat more than that, and not only could you overload on sugar and fat, but you could also ruin your dinner, says Decotiis.

The Balinese Massage

New treatment at Kocoon spa: Kocoon's Balinese Massage

Balinese massage is an approach to massage developed in the Indonesian province of Bali, with influence from the traditional medicine systems of India, China, and Southeast Asia.

Balinese massage techniques include acupressure, skin rolling and flicking, firm and gentle stroking, percussion, and application of essential oils.

Balinese massage is a good treatment to choose if you want to experience a variety of massage techniques, need some help to relax, or if you're feeling a bit low. A relaxation massage with attitude, this treatment will help you feel calm, but it will boost your circulation and target knotted tissue to address physical issues as well.

Balinese Massage Origins

The Balinese Massage, as one of Balinese healing treatments inspired  by classical Hindu medical science based on Ayurvedic texts. Over a thousand years ago, merchant ships regularly traveled through the Spice Islands – modern day Indonesia. Hindus from India brought healing massage techniques and oil massage as well as herbal treatments. Buddhists from China brought acupressure techniques. Western writings and modern documentation on Balinese traditional  medicine was pioneered by a Dutch medic, Doctor Wolfgang Weck, back in 1930, with his prominent book entitled “Heikunde und Volkstum auf Bali”. Anthropologist Dr R Goris wrote The Balinese Medical Literature. These notable figures investigated the detail and complications of Balinese traditional medicine, especially on theories, diagnosis, medicinal ingredients, and methods of concoction.

Today, Balinese massage consists of several massage therapy techniques that the people of Bali have adopted from different cultures. Bali massage was originally the more painful healing massage technique. As tourism grew, foreigners began to request more relaxing massages.

What is Balinese massage good for?

Balinese massage techniques work to soothe damaged tissue, and relieve strained muscles and joint pain. The boost to your circulation will help reduce stress and rebalance your body, and the aromatic oils can also boost your mood. As this massage targets deeper layers of muscle, and boosts circulation, Balinese massage is useful for sports injuries.

As with all spa treatments, you should tell your therapist if you have any medical conditions or are taking medication.

What to expect from a Balinese massage

Balinese massage is usually performed on a massage couch, but can also be performed on a floor mattress. Aromatherapy forms an important part of a Balinese massage. The use of scented massage oil can be very therapeutic, with the aroma of the essential oils soothing your mind. The massage oil also helps massage strokes become fluid and free of friction, which makes for a more comfortable treatment.

Expect the therapist to use quite deep pressure during the massage, in order to work on deep, knotted tissue and muscle damage. Your therapist will also use long, gentle strokes and kneading to relieve tension and improve circulation in the muscles closer to the surface of the skin. Sessions usually last about an hour.

You will feel all kinds of wonderful after a Balinese massage: relaxed, refreshed, re-energized. You will probably smell fantastic after all those essential oils, too. If you have the chance to lie down afterwards, take it. Soak in the wonderful feelings of relaxation and realignment for as long as you can.

Different types of Balinese massage

Bali is just one of hundreds of islands that make up Indonesia. Many of these islands have evolved their own special kind of Indonesian massage. All of the massages fuse ancient traditions and practices into treatments that will help your body to heal physically and spiritually, and leave you feeling wonderful. Here are a few examples:

• Sasak massage
• Lombok massage
• Urat massage
• Balinese Boreh ( a massage created by rice farmers to ease pain using a preparation of a paste of ground spices)
• Javanese Lulur Ritual (traditionally performed on brides in preparation to marriage).

Contraindications:

• People who suffer from cervical problems or articular problems
• If it is the first massage you receive maybe choose another type
• Not recommended for pregnant women

Time: 60 min

Price: At The Opposite House: 600rmb / At Taiyue Suites: 485rmb

Review by Cityweekend magazine:

"You might not be able to book a trip to Bali this winter, but we heartily recommend the next best thing: a traditional Balinese massage at Kocoon Spa."

Spa Review: Kocoon Spa

Bali Beautiful

The version offered by Kocoon Spa features a body oil composed of an intoxicating mix of lavender, rose, mandarin orange and neroli. The 60-minute treatment (RMB600/60 minutes at Opposite House; RMB485 at Taiyue Suites) is somewhat similar to a Thai massage, but much less aggressive.

There are some gentle stretches, but nothing too challenging. Our therapist’s hands were smooth, using the fist to roll into the tissues of the muscle. You leave feeling relaxed and smelling faintly of spiced cloves, a scent that stayed with us throughout the day, making us feel a tad bit closer to the beautiful beaches of Bali. Read the review.