Rub-A-Dub-Dub…

Rub-A-Dub-Dub…no, this is not about three men in a tub as the old nursery rhyme says….instead it is about back rubs and foot rubs and…you get the picture!

A couple months ago, I wrote a post about finding the right massage therapist.  

I have to confess, that I had never had a professional massage before I met the Captain.

And no, The Captain did not give me a massage personally…I know what you were thinking! 😉

But he did give me a membership to a Massage and Spa Salon for my Birthday…and that was many years ago. 

And here comes the confession….you knew there would be one didn’t you?

I didn’t use it for almost 7 months!  I just didn’t think I needed to have a massage.

The Captain kept telling me how it would help all that ails me….and I certainly had plenty of aches and joint pain…knee surgery etc.

I also used the approach that I did not have an hour, or half hour, to lay on a massage table and be pampered.

So I kept stalling.

Finally, I decided to go and have a massage….mainly to get the Captain to keep from asking me…”Have you used your Birthday Massages yet?” 

The first time I went…I was asked what kind of massage did I want.

Well, I didn’t know…remember, I had not had anything but perhaps a brief neck rub from a co-worker in an effort to relieve a headache.  I still had the headache when her inexperienced hands were done….(sorry Laura) and I had rubbed my own feet, which always made them feel like they had never been walked on….hahaha!

So, I said just give me an overall massage…..and then she asked at what pressure?  Again, I didn’t know so I said medium pressure.  I mean you can’t go wrong with medium anything can you?

Forgive the look of this massage table…..this was after my massage, so the sheets are not hospital perfect as they were when I entered the room. ;(

And before she left the softly lit room with background music (that reminded me of an Oriental tea room… because it consisted of flutes and other “soothing” and “relaxing” meditation music),… she told me to take off whatever clothes made me feel comfortable.

I thought that was cool.

I certainly wasn’t looking forward to disrobing, even though the Captain had assured me that I would remain completely covered at all times, with the sheet and thin blanket on the massage table.

My question of how then, would the massage therapist be able to give me a massage if I was covered….was quickly answered when the therapist removed a limb…my arm or leg (not a tree limb) haha!  from under the sheet, …..while leaving the rest of me under cover.  She tucked the sheets around my arm pit so that only the limb (arm) that was being massaged was exposed. 

The bolster that is placed under your legs or ankles to relieve pressure.

She put a bolster under my legs…oh yes….to relieve any pressure one might have with laying flat and begin to massage my whole arm right up to my fingertips.

By the way…have you ever had the palm of your hand massaged? Wow! does that feel good.

I have to admit….by the time she got to my feet…I had snuggled on the heated mat of the massage table, with a big smile firmly planted on my lips… as the therapist gave me the most amazing foot massage ever!  

And I was hooked! I go about every two weeks now and I make time for that special hour…it is so worth it!

If you go to a massage therapist…you know that you can choose the kind of massage you want and what areas of your body you would like worked on. 

The choices are limitless.  If you want an hour spent on your feet…just say the word.

Massages are so beneficial to the human body…if you have swollen ankles….the therapist can literally move the fluid throughout your body so it can be eliminated through the body’s processes. 

If you have a tension knot in your upper shoulders….the therapist will work on that until it is gone and dissipated. 

Azalea, my therapist.

 Why am I telling you all this today?  Because I just got back from my massage with my favorite therapist who is always waiting for me when I come out of the room with a glass of water.

I “try out” different therapists when ever we move, and when I find one I like….I make sure my future appointments are with her.

I personally prefer a woman because…well, because I am a woman…I also have a woman dentist, woman MD, woman eye doctor…you get the picture…that way she knows what it feels like when I describe any symptom.  🙂

I took the below from the website of the massage salon the Captain and I go to…and have gone to for all our married life. It is a chain called Massage Envy.

I am not being compensated for any of what I am telling you…but if you have never had a massage, you don’t know what you are missing! 

Below are some of the advantages to getting a massage.