Therapy… it’s a beautiful thing

I recently scheduled to get a massage because of an increasing, nagging, bothersome twinge.

The underside of my left forearm tingles from the elbow down to the thumb. You know that tingly “fell asleep” feeling?

At first it didn’t happen all the time, just every once in a while and I would stand in the doorway and stretch my arm/shoulder against the door jam and that seem to placate. Then the tingling increased in occurrence and intensity. And then the stretching didn’t seem help. And this tingling soon began to wake me up at 3a.m. as if I needed something else to wake me up at 3 a.m. – but that is different topic altogether.

I decided I would start with a massage, deep tissue massage. I am a big fan of massage therapy; I just haven’t had one in a while. The massage therapists seem to work miracles and loosen up the knotted fascia and smooth out – elongate those tight muscles.

When I arrived, the therapist wanted to know what the problem (my definition), the symptoms, the longevity, the severity and what probable cause could be. WOW! I thought this sounds a lot like one of my initial counseling sessions. I ask all the same questions! .

I answered his questions and he got busy. I was scheduled for an hour session and requested a full body massage if he could work that in.

I will give him credit, he did immediately begin working on the side of my pain/tingling. He however rather strategically and methodically moved around and into other surrounding “connective” areas. Well it wasn’t very long until I realized that there were so many other areas that could be contributing to my ever present tingling. His “therapy” was revealing. Revealing areas of discomfort, tightness, soreness, old bruising, fatigued muscles, some pain…yep some pain. Pain I had to breathe through. And let me tell some of this was nowhere near my left thumb. About the time I’m starting to relax and really deep breathe and regulate the breathing, he pats me on the shoulder and says “take your time, I will be right outside the door and we can schedule your next appointment.”

I thought …. Hmmm … this sounds and feels very similar to my therapy sessions. My clients come in with presenting “pain” and I ask those same questions, and we discuss the immediate concerns.   But usually there is a time of revealing (whether it is in the hour or the week in between appointments) and often, not always, but often there are contributing factors that are causing the pain. Like my tingling, there are old wounds just resurfacing.

But the beautiful thing about therapy, whether its massage or counseling, breathing through it and working it out, taking care of the mind, body and spirit …. Brings eventual HEALING! Give me a call today.