The Magic of Massage
I am a firm believer that massage should not be seen only as a luxury experience. It should be seen as a necessary part of mind-body-soul care. Anyone who's been searching for a way to justify the expense, please read on. I'm hoping to give you all the support you need.
The other night I celebrated my sister's 30th birthday by getting myself a 90 minute massage. I know. I give the best presents. In my defense, I bought a massage coupon to give to my sister as well. And she wasn't in town at the time, so it's not like I ditched her to get pampered.
I should also add that I didn't spend the 90 minutes in a luxury spa-like setting. I went for this massage because I needed help getting rid of a number of pain issues and the massage therapist I go to knows her stuff.
I stumbled on Emily and her signature Dream State Massage style at the beginning of this year. She was offering a new client coupon and the description of her signature style was too good to pass up. At the time, I was dealing with terrible muscle pain in my neck. I'd first tried to solve the problem at a chain massage company because of their low "new client" offer. I may as well have handed my cat the money and let him walk on my neck for all the good that did. So I was desperately in need of someone who knew what they were doing and would make me feel less guilty about spending money on another "luxury" experience.
That first massage with Emily was 90 minutes. Her style incorporates everything she's learned, including standard massage and reiki techniques. She spoke with me about my specific pain issues, as well as my expectations of a massage experience. I asked some questions during the massage, which she answered in a way that was both interesting and educational. It was great to hear why she was doing certain types of treatment for each issue I'd mentioned. She even asked me to confirm things she was finding as she went along, causing me to realize issues I may have been taking for granted. Needless to say, I left this experience feeling much more relief than I had after the chain disaster.
Now, after consistently feeling way better after my visits, I think Emily might be a little bit magical. If she makes a suggestion of at-home practices, I pretty much do what she says. Because of this, it would be easy for me to just turn this entry into one long, glowing review. However, that's not the only point I want to make. Emily's amazing. You should go see her if you're near Champaign, IL. But let's move on to the other purpose of this entry.
It occurred to me during this last massage that my body reacts to the pressure of those techniques similarly to the way I react to pressure in life. Let me try to explain the thought.
During a massage, if I have a tender area that is being addressed, that area will sometimes resist the pressure of the massage. It will tense up, protecting the sore spot. Or it will twitch, also a defense mechanism of an area that seemingly would prefer not to be poked at or rubbed on.
On the other hand, sometimes I will notice myself trying to breathe into the area of focus. I try to will those muscles to relax so that the massage can reach maximum benefit. Even if the massage causes some pain, I consciously try to breathe into it and trust that a little pain now will mean a lot of relief later. Despite my best intentions to do this, I still find myself tensing up by instinct and the letting go requires concentration and effort.
This is how I tend to go through life. I will protect the tender areas, tensing up if someone pokes at them or tries too hard to get at them. I will sometimes employ a giggle or twitch away from these same approaches, preferring not to show that those are tender spots if I can help it.
Then there are the times when I am actively trying to allow relief to come, even if it has to come from something that at first feels like an irritant. I will try to breathe into those moments, willing myself to trust more. To focus on the promise of healing. But still the defenses will sometimes beat me to the punch. They'll be there without me noticing because they have become a part of me. So I have to tune in, pay attention to my entire self and recognize when they've crept in. Then I can decide to give them the day off in favor of making actual progress toward improvement.
So, there's your argument. Massage helps you learn how to live life more aware and with more trust in the process of healing. It helps you recognize the ways in which maybe you get in your own way without noticing it. I've seen too much evidence of how emotions and stress affect my physical health and vice versa to believe that working to heal one area won't end up improving the other. I hope my thoughts help you think about different connections in your life. I recommend trying out the theories in your own massage experience as soon as possible. Feel free to show this argument to significant others if needed.
Buying them a coupon might not hurt either.
:)
The other night I celebrated my sister's 30th birthday by getting myself a 90 minute massage. I know. I give the best presents. In my defense, I bought a massage coupon to give to my sister as well. And she wasn't in town at the time, so it's not like I ditched her to get pampered.
I should also add that I didn't spend the 90 minutes in a luxury spa-like setting. I went for this massage because I needed help getting rid of a number of pain issues and the massage therapist I go to knows her stuff.
I stumbled on Emily and her signature Dream State Massage style at the beginning of this year. She was offering a new client coupon and the description of her signature style was too good to pass up. At the time, I was dealing with terrible muscle pain in my neck. I'd first tried to solve the problem at a chain massage company because of their low "new client" offer. I may as well have handed my cat the money and let him walk on my neck for all the good that did. So I was desperately in need of someone who knew what they were doing and would make me feel less guilty about spending money on another "luxury" experience.
That first massage with Emily was 90 minutes. Her style incorporates everything she's learned, including standard massage and reiki techniques. She spoke with me about my specific pain issues, as well as my expectations of a massage experience. I asked some questions during the massage, which she answered in a way that was both interesting and educational. It was great to hear why she was doing certain types of treatment for each issue I'd mentioned. She even asked me to confirm things she was finding as she went along, causing me to realize issues I may have been taking for granted. Needless to say, I left this experience feeling much more relief than I had after the chain disaster.
Now, after consistently feeling way better after my visits, I think Emily might be a little bit magical. If she makes a suggestion of at-home practices, I pretty much do what she says. Because of this, it would be easy for me to just turn this entry into one long, glowing review. However, that's not the only point I want to make. Emily's amazing. You should go see her if you're near Champaign, IL. But let's move on to the other purpose of this entry.
It occurred to me during this last massage that my body reacts to the pressure of those techniques similarly to the way I react to pressure in life. Let me try to explain the thought.
During a massage, if I have a tender area that is being addressed, that area will sometimes resist the pressure of the massage. It will tense up, protecting the sore spot. Or it will twitch, also a defense mechanism of an area that seemingly would prefer not to be poked at or rubbed on.
On the other hand, sometimes I will notice myself trying to breathe into the area of focus. I try to will those muscles to relax so that the massage can reach maximum benefit. Even if the massage causes some pain, I consciously try to breathe into it and trust that a little pain now will mean a lot of relief later. Despite my best intentions to do this, I still find myself tensing up by instinct and the letting go requires concentration and effort.
This is how I tend to go through life. I will protect the tender areas, tensing up if someone pokes at them or tries too hard to get at them. I will sometimes employ a giggle or twitch away from these same approaches, preferring not to show that those are tender spots if I can help it.
Then there are the times when I am actively trying to allow relief to come, even if it has to come from something that at first feels like an irritant. I will try to breathe into those moments, willing myself to trust more. To focus on the promise of healing. But still the defenses will sometimes beat me to the punch. They'll be there without me noticing because they have become a part of me. So I have to tune in, pay attention to my entire self and recognize when they've crept in. Then I can decide to give them the day off in favor of making actual progress toward improvement.
So, there's your argument. Massage helps you learn how to live life more aware and with more trust in the process of healing. It helps you recognize the ways in which maybe you get in your own way without noticing it. I've seen too much evidence of how emotions and stress affect my physical health and vice versa to believe that working to heal one area won't end up improving the other. I hope my thoughts help you think about different connections in your life. I recommend trying out the theories in your own massage experience as soon as possible. Feel free to show this argument to significant others if needed.
Buying them a coupon might not hurt either.
:)
very wise. I gave you your first massages when you were 2 or so. I'll send you a bill soon! Keep up the healing!
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