I don’t even remember when I received my first massage, because it was in the first year I was born and I’ve been spoiled with healing touch ever since. At that time in Ukraine, where I was raised, there was only one type of massage— medical. In times where MRI CT and other scans were not available, people trusted massage therapists to be diagnosed and treated. My grandmother was a nurse in a local doctors office. She incorporated massage and other holistic methods into her work and a lot of people would visit her home seeking pain relief.
As a little girl, I used to sit in the corner of the room next to the m
assage table (it was more of a bench, hard and not up to her height, nothing like our comfy, adjustable, heated and soft tables today) and watch her work hard. Now that I know different styles of massage, I would probably call her massage a very deep Swedish. But years ago, neither the modality nor the establishment mattered. She didn’t promise a cure right away. Grandmother prescribed ten sessions to be done weekly. She didn’t have to do reminders or incorporate a no-show policy, people would come and wait in line to get the treatment. I saw folks that barely made it to the table at first and were up and running months later. Flowers, candy, delicatessen, all kinds of things you couldn’t buy in the stores (in the tough USSR times) were brought to my grandmother’s home as a thank you for their pain-free living.
Grandmother didn’t have much spare time, but she would often give me a massage before I went to bed. She knew the secret spots on my hands and head that made me fall asleep within minutes. She knew how to get rid of my stomach aches, bad mood and insomnia. I learned a lot from her touch. She never taught me medical terms, trigger points or origins and insertions of muscles. I would just try to mimic her moves, feel within and give all my attention and care to the person in need.
Grandmother came to visit after I finished my massage school. I was nervous to give her my first massage, anxiously awaiting her feedback. She didn’t give me any because shortly after I started she fell asleep…
Thank you grandmother, I will continue helping people.
If you reading this and you have never had a massage – hurry up stop missing out. You may experience
- Felling relaxed and loose
- Increase in optimism and happiness
- Body awareness
- Smoother skin
- Meltdown of stressful tension
- Desire for more massage