This is the second of a series of posts on healing the self through the Bodymind. To see the first, go here.
I remember clearly my very first professional massage. I was maybe thirty, and it had never occurred to me to get one before my boyfriend at the time insisted. We were visiting San Fransisco, and our funky little hotel in the Haight had its very own massage therapist. My boyfriend made the appointment for me and insisted that we take the time out from our sight-seeing for me to get worked on. He felt that relaxing would help with my asthma and I also probably had neck pain and very tight legs from all of the bicycling and hiking I’d been doing.
The therapist was a man and I felt super nervous, afraid that there might some sexual intent behind his work, but there wasn’t. I sure needed it. It got me in touch with how tight my muscles had become. It hurt to have him work into them but I realized that I needed more and went back in for a second time before we returned home. I felt so much better afterward! I can’t believe, looking back on it, that I didn’t get any more professional bodywork for another five or six years, because it probably would have made a huge difference for me.
Of course, just because I had never seen a professional doesn’t mean I had never had any massage. My friends and siblings and I used to work on each other. We didn’t really know what we were doing, but we’d pound on backs and rub shoulders and feet, and it usually helped loosen us up.
Still, the first bodywork that made a deep and lasting impression on me was actually energy work. The therapist never even touched me. My skeptical brain tried to convince me that the effects were caused by laying there for an hour and slowing down long enough to relax, but another part of me was completely sold, especially when I “saw” my third eye, which still ranks up there as one of the most mind-blowing experiences I’ve ever had. Her treatments helped a lot when I was dealing with worsening asthma while struggling with the decision to leave academia. My lungs improved, as did my state of mind. She gave me great advice, on top of it.
I have tried more energy work since then. It has sometimes really shifted me in amazing ways, revealing one more step on my path, and other times had little effect. I suspect a lot has to do with the particular therapist.
How about you? Has bodywork helped you with your personal growth? Have you tried Reiki or other forms of energy therapy? How has it helped or not?
This week I’m posting over on Vie Hebdomadaires on very different topics. Stop on over and have a look. Vie Hebdomadaires is a rotating blog, with a new person every week. It’s been a joy to follow, and see all of the different ways people talk about their lives.
I’m also participating in ROW80, a round of words in 80 days. We’re into week 2. My 3rd check-in is at annstanleywriting.wordpress.com/ROW80.
Related articles
- Touching Heaven – Bodywork and the Realm of the Incredible: A Therapist’s Viewpoint (hofholistichealingcenters.com)
- Massage as a Wellness Strategy – Partnering with Your Therapist Key to Best Results (hofholistichealingcenters.com)