Ahh, the Need for a Massage

One of the best parts about writing a book featuring a massage therapist as the heroine, is I had to have a massage “for research.”

In January (thank you Montecito Heights Spa)

in February (thank you, Hotel del Coronado Spa)

and in March (thank you, Coldwater Creek Spa).

I’d had massages before of course, here in California but also in China, Hungary, Nicaragua and most recently in Mexico.

It’s been my treat when I’ve finished a manuscript–all that sitting at the computer causes the muscles to get very sore and a massage can loosen up and ease the knots.

While a massage may sound like a decadent activity for pampered women, in reality it has medicinal purposes and can be a life saver for some professions.

One writer friend has a regularly scheduled massage each month. She needs it to keep up the long hours at her computer.

One of our friends is a music conductor and all that conducting has wreaked havoc in his upper back. He required a regular massage so he could perform his job.

What does a massage accomplish?

Massage enables the fluids in the body to move more easily. It breaks up the fibers that can cause a lack of suppleness in muscle.

It can help relax a tired body and rejuvenate a sore one. Many professional athletes travel with their own personal massage therapists.

I’ve appreciated every massage I’ve had (well, the Hungarian one was a little tense), but I never thought about it from the point of view of the massage therapist until I wrote Bridging Two Hearts.

In the interest of that research, I approached the three spas and asked for a therapist who would describe what they were feeling and thinking as they worked on my body–usually my upper back and shoulders.

A massage therapist is there to serve the client–but they don’t usually talk much, generally playing quiet soothing music in a dim room. But all three were willing to talk about their job, often using analogies to help me better perceive what they were feeling.

The women understood how the body functions and the way muscles work. When I asked them to describe what their fingers felt while working out a knot, their spoke of a hardness that seemed to be hollow. The more they pushed and rubbed, the more the “hollowness” moved until it would just smooth out to flat muscles and the client’s knot would disappear.

What does it feel like through the therapist’s fingers?

One therapist described it like this:

“I’m working, “layer by layer—softening up the muscle like tenderizing meat. It’s like gristle in steak. You kind of push your way through it and it feels like you’re pressing on something. And then you feel it kind of go and your finger can go in a little deeper. You feel yourself being able to get deeper, deeper, deeper and then you’re at the core, almost touching the bone.”

“You listen to the client’s breathing, making sure you’re in tune with them and what they’re feeling. . . if they start to tense up, you need to back off.”

This particular therapist got into massage therapy after an injury. She believes her experience helps her better serve her clients.

“Knowing pain, knowing how my own body feels and then being able to put myself into their position, makes me empathetic toward people. I almost feel how other people are feeling when they get distracted from pain.”

I always request extra work on my back and upper shoulders during a massage, to counterbalance the writing stressors. That never surprises the therapists who’ve helped me. “Women tend to carry tension in their upper shoulders and back,” one therapist explained.

Interestingly, my husband also sits at a computer all day long, but the one time he has a massage, he didn’t feel much different.

“What about your upper back?” I could believe it.

“No problem.”

Well, that settled that problem. I’m the only one who needs a massage in this household!