How I Fell in Love With Thai Yoga Massage
Photo courtesy of Weekly Snaps
It’s true. I’m the kind of person who is willing to try almost anything once. I’ll take the dare over the truth, and I’m naturally curious about things. So it’s no surprise that I was willing to give Thai Yoga Massage a try. But I had no idea Courtney’s mindful touch would be the final piece to complete my healing process.
Over the last two years, I’ve worked through a childhood trauma that I’d hidden from myself for many, many years. And though I’d been supported by in my recovery by several amazing women, I still had a piece of the sadness lingering within me like a seed planted so many years ago that nothing else I tried could quite reach it. Like the cells of my body remembered the trauma and reacted in ways to my current environment that no longer served me. None of the rational, emotional, psychological or fitness work could reach the sadness and heal it.
But Courtney, my massage therapist did.
During my first session, I had no idea what to expect. I was open to whatever the experience held for me. Courtney was reassuring and spent time talking with me about what my goals were for Thai Yoga Massage. After listing a few physical ailments that could be improved upon, I gave her the more important one: Peace. Yes, I was looking to find a place within myself where I felt at home, where I could relax. I wanted to feel at peace with myself.
For the 90 minutes that followed, Courtney gently – and sometimes more intensely, worked her healing magic on every part of my body. I felt like a sponge, and she was wringing out the fascia, the connective tissue, that still held on to the trauma that my heart, mind and soul had already released. As she worked, she moved my body for me. She asked nothing in return. I held my thoughts on one thing: letting go of what no longer served me.
As the massage ended, Courtney sweetly laid a blanket on top of my body – a body that in many ways no longer felt like mine. It felt lighter and free. When I finally stood to leave the session, a glimmer of hope flashed as I wondered: Was the seed of sadness gone? Would it return?
The effects of the massage continued to show up for me over the next week. Within 2 days of my first massage, I called Courtney to bump up my next appointment by a week. The sadness, while not completely gone, was shrinking. My physical ailments were either minimized or eliminated. But best of all, I felt open. I had all this space within me to be filled this time with good things: joy, contentment, and a sense of being myself that I’d never had before. And so, empty as a dry sponge, I soaked in all the goodness I could find.
Today, I’ll have my 4th session with Courtney. If you’re even the least bit curious about Thai Yoga Massage, I say go for it! What difference will it make for you? Without it, you’ll never know.