Lots of lovely comments on my last post, from people wishing I was in their neck of the woods, so they could get a massage from someone who would accept their body as it is. I'm grateful for the comments and for all the readers who came this way from Go Kaleo -- a flood of people! But you know, the problem is not that I'm not in your neck of the woods, the problem is that you're imagining the therapists who are in your neck of the woods are any different. They're not.
Of all people, massage therapists may be the ones least susceptible to the media images, to that whole bizarre photoshopped world of sixteen-year-olds posed in adult costumes. We work on real bodies. We don't get our clients from Central Casting. The line in the grocery store this morning -- those are my next five clients. Every imaginable shape and size, at every imaginable age and level of fitness. You may feel that you should look some other way, but we don't. We really don't.
So if you want a massage from someone who accepts you as you are -- and a lot of you are clearly longing for one -- then call up the nearest massage therapist and make an appointment. Do it now. The person who thinks your body is not fit to show to a therapist is not the therapist; it's you. If you're a fan of Go Kaleo, as I am, you're probably in the process of making peace with your body. And if your first impulse is to think, "well, maybe ten pounds from now" -- hold it right there. Pin that thought to the wall and watch it wriggle. That thought is the enemy; that's the thought that's keeping you from treating yourself kindly. It's that thought, and not the ten pounds, that's in your way.
Wherever you are, there's a massage therapist who will honor and cherish your body as it ought to be honored and cherished. You just need to find them. I'm betting it won't be hard: in fact, I'm betting you'll win first time out of the gate. Take the chance.
Pin that thought and watch it wriggle!
ReplyDeleteThat is my favorite sentence. I work with those with persistent pain and teach them about "thought viruses" (a term from Moseley & Butler's "Explain Pain"). Those thoughts WE come up with are most often the barriers to us improving and/or achieving what we want/need.
DeleteGreat posts Dale!
Thanks, Jason!
DeleteYes. You are amazing, Dale. I shared your previous post on my FB business and personal pages, both, because you articulate the privilege of doing our work so eloquently. And now I've read quite a lot of your blog as well :) Yes. We are everywhere (I'm in Chapel Hill, NC) and I do believe we make positive waves in the biosphere (and perhaps beyond) every time we bring an individual client down into comfort, ease, and trust. Hopefully for most that can include love and trust of self as well, and release of fear of judgment. And that, makes me happy with my work - wish everyone could get massage, all the time -
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks so much.
DeleteOh, Dale. so very, very well said. Waving from deepest southern Utah. And if you come out this way, I'd be honored to comp you a massage. All the best to you..
ReplyDeleteWow, you are off the beaten track! (I had to go look it up.) You're on. And likewise, stop in!
ReplyDeleteInspiring thoughts. Thanks for taking the time and writing it all down for us. (Krisztina, St Albans, UK)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Krisztina!
DeleteI live in the mountains of nc, very close to the stars, and I too love to look at them on dark evenings. They are perfect, especially when they fall. Unlike me. 35 baby-producing pounds heavier. Yes, fuller breast, but also ugly fat-back and that "thick" side saddle. I actually had a massage on Tuesday and tried to hold my fat in. Maybe because my therapist did talk a lot, and I felt like I was at a job interview in my birthday suit. Not a great feeling. Your blog made me feel like my pounds are a badge of honor. My tribute to carrying 3 beatiful daughters. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOh, dear. Massage therapists really need to shut up!
DeleteThey are a badge of honor. And just take the word "ugly" and scrub it out! Who sez?
I am an LMT in Brooklyn, and I reposted your last post on Facebook, because I loved it. And I agree with this post, also - and most massage therapists feel the way you do, that it is an honor that a person would trust us to the point where they lay face down, uncover their back and let us work on them. This work has a sacred element to it, because it is a sacred trust - we are not judging, we are focused on healing!
ReplyDeleteSo often, people apologize for not shaving their legs, or express self-consciousness for their bodies in other ways, either directly or by held tension I can feel, and it is true - when the person is there in front of me on the table, all am focusing on is getting into the flow and letting my hands find the muscle tension, the trigger points, and the fascial adhesions, and also which acupressure points to use, so I can help this person feel better. When I am in the zone, feeling the person's energy, following my hands, and dancing to the music, it is just about the work, which includes honoring the Soul who has laid him or herself out, vulnerable, on the table in front of me. You said it so beautifully - and really, all I can do is agree, and aspire to serve in such a heart-felt way as you do!
<3
DeleteThe importance of what we allow ourselves to think. Well written.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen!
DeleteI stopped by because of a link Karen provided ...and I am so glad I did. "Making peace with your body...", I would age my aging body, and your post made me see it in a different light. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteEasier said than done, of course :-) But so worth doing! I know too many people, who are going from decade to decade bemoaning the fact that they didn't appreciate how wonderful last decade's body was. Either this one is wonderful or none of them were, really :-)
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