Try a massage that 'pandas' to your every need

We've heard rumours that a mini bamboo plantation is to be created in the capital, in order to feed the pair of pandas, Tian Tian and Yangguang, who will be landing at Edinburgh Zoo in the autumn.

So, in tribute to the hungry new arrivals from China, and their preferred diet, I decided to head to the lovely Norton House Hotel & Spa to test out their new Bamboo Sticks Massage.

Sound unusual? Well, it certainly is.

The treatment is performed with the help of two long bamboo sticks, and a few smaller, thinner pieces (we'll call them twigs).

The spa claims that this ritual can help with lymph drainage, stress relief and general muscle-strengthening.

In fact, my therapist told me that it's been particularly popular with this spa's male clientele, who feel that the sticks make for a thorough rub-down.

The first thing you notice when these canes touch your skin, however, is how silky smooth they are.

They also generate heat quickly (imagine lighting a fire, Ray Mears style), as they're rolled along the side of your calves.

The first parts of your body to be attended to are the front and sides of your legs.

Once you're lying on your back on the heated treatment bed, these are treated with the spinning stick technique.

Then it's time for a series of stretches designed to open up tight hip flexors.

My therapist placed a couple of the smaller sticks at the back of both of my knees, and used them to manipulate my legs, in order to mobilise stiff joints. This felt rather odd, like being Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds.

Once this element is over, the rest of the body - the front first, and then the back - is rolled and rubbed with the sticks, with the points of the smallest twigs being used as acupressure tools on the feet (if you're ticklish, then beware, as this technique involves "tracing" around each foot) and the face.

For the last ten minutes of this treatment, the sticks are abandoned. Instead, you're given a standard back massage, to help the massage oil (which contains a bamboo bio-extract) penetrate the epidermis and leave skin silky soft.

Aftewards, like me, you might feel a little more laid back and, indeed, panda-like. You may not love bamboo quite as much as Tian Tian and Yangguang, but almost.

Norton House Hotel & Spa, Ingliston, Edinburgh (0845 072 7468, www.handpickedhotels.co.uk)

The Bamboo Sticks Massage costs 70 for 55 minutes

This article was first published in The Scotsman, 5 March, 2011