Wanderlust

I'm faithful to my girlfriend and happily so, but when it comes to everything else, all bets are off.  We were talking shopping in my marketing class last week and the teacher asked if I have a favorite bike shop.  I said I had about ten.  Yeah, when it comes to buying things, I'm kind of a ho.  I admit it.

Which might explain why I have an ever growing team of body workers for every occasion.  I've got acupuncturists, chiropractors, and the list of LMT's in my virtual rolodex reads like--well the little black book of someone really slutty.  But each person has their own distinct style--it's like listening to great music that's all in the same genre, but the artists are distinct. My friend Colleen, whom I've known since grade school (grade school!) recently got her massage license. So when she encouraged me to sample the goods, how could I say no?

This morning I left early enough so I wouldn't have to rush and rode out to her office in St Johns.  The building had an industrial feel that was immediately forgotten as I walked into her office.  The low light, soft music, warm temperature and decorative fabrics hanging on the walls put me into a state of calm I hadn't felt in weeks. Yeah, this was a good idea.

We discussed my current issues and she asked me to stand against the wall while she looked at my posture.  Her head tilted left and then right--and then she said something about my illium being out of wack.  I had no idea what she was talking about, but the tone was familiar.  It's the tone Carrie gets before she sticks acupuncture needles in my back--the one that says, 'man, we got a lot of work to do, better get started...'

I opted for a combination of deep tissue and Swedish massage so we could work on my problem areas, but I could also 'bliss out' as Colleen likes to say.  So in the first half of the hour, I learned about points of origin, as she dug in to certain areas and held them until the muscles grudgingly released a bit.  I also got a firm lecture to communicate if the pressure got too intense.  Colleen is not of the 'no pain no gain' school of thinking, for which I was grateful.  She asked about my stretching habits (non-existent since I quit yoga) and my water intake (sporadic).  I felt like I'd come to class without doing my homework and resolved to do better.

After she smoothed my thighs into something more like muscles and less like tanned leather, she switched to Swedish style.  Mere relaxation turned to bliss and I sunk lower into the heated table.  I did *not* drool into the face cradle--but it was a near thing.

When all was said and done, I felt amazing--and stupid for once again letting so much time go by without a good massage.  It feels like an indulgent treat, but really it's more like a physical/mental necessary reset. I need to find a way to integrate it more regularly into my life.

If you're feeling stressed out and need a little relief, I highly recommend dropping her a line: colleen [at] ruhanibodyworks [dot] com or contact me for her number.