Women's Editor Christen Pears experiences body massage and finds the stresses and strains of everyday life melting away.

JUST by looking at what he describes as "the languished body" Marcello Viglianco can pinpoint the tension. One look at me lying hunched up on the couch, and he can tell I have problems with my shoulders and back, and he hones in immediately.

"You feel that?" he asks, pressing his fingers into my back. I certainly do; there's a knot there the size of a golf ball. And then the massage begins. There are none of the long, sweeping strokes I've come to expect from a massage. This is focused, deep and unrelenting.

"This is not beauty massage. It's very direct. I work the general area and then the exact point," Marcello explains.

As the pressure increases, it starts to feel a bit uncomfortable but after a few minutes, the tension has melted away and he begins work on my shoulders.

Marcello was born in Brazil to Italian parents and has worked as a body therapist across the world. He moved to England eight months ago and has been based at Darlington's CACI Beauty Oasis for the last three.

"My work is holistic. I work the body, the emotions and the mind together. They're not separate."

The session concentrates on relieving the tensions that build up in the body every day, using a combination of techniques Marcello has learned over the years, including massage, reiki, reflexology, as well as ancient skills used by Tibetan monks. He also teaches his clients breathing exercises to help them avoid tension in the first place.

"Abdominal breathing is very important. It helps you relax. I teach people that when there is an emotional break they should try to breathe this way. It helps get rid of the tension in the body. I haven't done just one specialised thing. I have worked in many different countries and I am learning new things all the time. Each person is unique so I can use the best technique for them."

Most of us suffer from stress and tension on a daily basis and this can have a visible effect on the body. "If you are tense at work, for example, you might want to shout but you don't. You break the emotion and that causes tension in your body, in your neck, your shoulders. You start to hold yourself differently and it can cause problems with the muscles," explains Marcello.

Although each person's experience is unique, Marcello says he sees similarities in people from the same cultures.

"Some people are more open, like Latin people and people who live in India and Pakistan. People in England are taught to repress their emotions from an early age. It's all about conditioning and culture. The main problems are in the neck, shoulders and lumbar area. Men have a lot of problems in their chest because they are not supposed to cry while for women it is often in the back and abdominal area where they get tense when they're feeling unhappy or depressed."

Body therapy aims to induce a state of total relaxation, what Marcello describes as "the balance between the mind, the emotions and the body."

"When you are relaxed, the mind is more open, the emotions are balanced. I teach people to look for themselves, to understand themselves. People need to spend time for themselves. Most of the time you are thinking about work or your family. This is a chance to stop looking outside and look inside."

It renews and balances the body's energy, clears and opens the mind and after my session, I feel less tense, my shoulders are no longer hunched. Even my face feels more relaxed, more open.

I know that after a day or two I'll start to tighten up again and, according to Marcello, the best effects are felt after four or five session but while it lasts, the feeling is fantastic.

"People can't believe how much better they are afterwards. I have studied the energy of the body for many years and I know that this is not magic, it's science."

An hour-long body therapy session costs £35 but there is a special introductory rate of £17.50. Call CACI on (01325) 489970 for more information.