As I worked on her body, I noticed her jaw clenching and unclenching, so I saved the last fifteen minutes of the massage for some extra luscious neck attention, cranio sacral extension and lots of juicy mooshing(yes that is a highly scientific professional term) of all the TMJ attachments and muscles.. As I slid my hands almost imperceptibly out from under her head and wished her a good evening, she said four words that made my day:

‘You are the antidote’, breathed out in a long sigh of blissful relief.

Sophie says I should put it on my business cards.

I’m thinking, T-shirt.

A recent rear-ending(no actual trains involved) had whiplashed her neck, so I set to work on her unhappy, gluey scalenes(muscles on the front of the neck, to either side of the windpipe). I did some good work on the right, got some loosening and melting happening and then switched over to her left. As I started in, sudden nausea hit me, hard. Chills and that urgent ‘oh shit, if I don’t get down on the floor right away I’m gonna upchuck banana’ feeling. Luckily, she’s a friend and fellow therapist, so I ‘fessed what was up and went to my hands and knees on the floor.

It passed quickly, but the moment I started in on her neck again-GRUH!-Back on the floor.

So… We moved on to her legs. No problem. The nausea episode was over.

Phewph. Our conclusion: She needs to go see her chiropractor(she’s been procrastinating) and I need to work on being a little less empathic.

She(the doctor) apparently thinks that breast reduction surgery and sleep drugs are the answer for my client’s back pain and stress-related insomnia!

Gaaaaah! I’d like to do a little accupressure on her hermetically entrenched pea brain.

}———–>o< ----------{

My prescription is a change of doctors. Unfortunately, that means she has to change her insurance first-to one that allows her to see a different doctor.

How bassackwords is that!

Go see my dear friend Sharon at her beautiful new garden studio in Shoreline. She’s the best of the best-just being in her sweet, grounded presence recharges my energy cells, fills me with love and courage and soothes my often anxious tummy.

She’ll help you revamp your rumpled, forlorn corporeal temple with her excellent nutrition therapy, delicious massage and amazing acupuncture skilz.

Love yourself, Go!

It’s amazing how tightly people hold on with their muscles, without even realising they’re doing it. And completely awesome to feel them let go, relaxing into your hands and melting away the stress.

Love that shit.

Hmmm… Maybe I should add a flattery category.

Hee. As I was giving him said fabulous massage he said(after apologizing for snorting himself awake) next time he was going to book me for the last appointment of the evening, so he could go home and go to sleep after.

I think it was a compliment. Or at least I decided to take it that way, though perhaps the pup was being saucy. He’d never had a massage before and seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

I told him I wasn’t(married), but I tended to date people who give as well as they get.

No matter how much fun your brain is having.

There’s nothing like a well-informed, heartfelt massage compliment to restore my sadly sagging sack of confidence.

One of my clients was a self-admittedly extremely picky massage therapist(compliments always carry a little extra weight from a fellow professional). She was surprised to hear I’d graduated from Brenneke. She said I gave massage like an Utting grad. Huh? She clarified, my approach was very specific to the muscles and I was very present in my touch.

It’s all your fault, Svadesh! I took your awesome Art of Deep Tissue Massage and now I’m all Uttingified.

Oh well, she also said it was the best massage she’d had in a long time and they’re all Cortiva now anyway.