“I am here because a friend told me this would be good for me,” Harvey told me at our first meeting. “I don’t know what you do, but if it works to keep the stress down, fine.”
At 80 years of age, Harvey maintained a slim and trim physical appearance with a regular personal training regimen. Despite his physical health, personal challenges at home brought a wall of emotional stress, which colored everything in his life.
Massage Therapy is a well-known and well-documented remedy for inducing relaxation and reducing mental stress. In particular, traditional Thai massage with its slow meditative and rhythmic compressions, yoga-like stretches, and passive joint movements seemed to be an ideal tool for someone like Harvey.
Part of Harvey’s secret to youthful appearance was his discipline with himself. At 80, he still went to work every day, running his successful business. On a daily basis, he was committed to maintaining optimal health in his physical body. He watched what he ate, and remained open to new health trends and ideas, willing to incorporate them into his life.
Harvey was still wearing his business suit and relayed to me that 타이마사지 he was here on his lunch break and that he only had exactly one hour. “No problem”, I assured him. This confirmed my decision to go ahead with Thai massage.
Traditionally, the Thai massage recipient remains fully clothed as long as the clothing provides for a full range of motion. In addition, no oils are used, so there is no need to take a shower afterward to wash the oils off the hair and the skin.
As his business trousers looked loose enough, I asked Harvey to remove his shoes and jacket only. As he looked a little puzzled, I told him that he will not even have a crease in his pants. And not only will he feel relaxed, but also energized and ready for the rest of the day.
After a brief conversation, our Thai massage session began with my careful examination of tightness and weakness throughout the whole body. I thoroughly worked through and tested all major muscle groups and joints for any irregularity. Harvey’s body was stiff with many holding patterns, or areas of chronic tension, especially around the hips, and the chest.
“Do you stretch?” I asked while working on his Hamstrings. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” Harvey responded. “Do you stretch regularly?” I repeated my question. “Are you asking if I am stressed?” Harvey couldn’t hear my softly-posed inquiry. But he answered the real question I had in mind. I smiled and proceeded in silence.
In yoga and in Thai massage, the hips are believed to hold a lot of emotions. For this reason, innumerable techniques have been developed over the centuries of Thai massage practice to release the hip muscles and joints.