I chose to give myself a healthy treat at the end of last week that would also double as a new experience, so I called for a massage appointment at a local wellness studio. Since I have never gotten one before, I didn't know what they were really like, only what other people have told me. I expected the massage to be relaxing, but I was surprised to discover that it was also a learning experience.
I have been practicing yoga at The Lotus Seed in Portland for almost two months now. Those two months have increased my flexibility, balance and offered me much stress-relief. As a runner, the gentler yoga practice complements my running discipline by stretching my muscles to facilitate proper recovery.
The instructors at The Lotus Seed yoga studio love to engage in conversation about the practice, and they spend time with me after class discussing techniques that could increase my understanding of yoga. Several teachers each independently suggested that I get a massage to relax some chronic tension in my neck and between my shoulder blades.
Amy Bennett, LMT was my masseuse. Her professionalism and knowledge about the craft exceeded my expectation. I had not know about the healing capabilities of a massage until I finally received one. Amy explained the muscles she targeted and showed me a poster of how each of the neck and back muscles are connected. I didn't expect that the massage could further my understand of the inner-workings of the body.
I learned that a massage can be more than just a method of relaxation. It can help muscles that are chronically tense, release that strain and then recover in their natural position providing better posture and muscular support to the active skeleton.
After this interaction, I will be able to take some of my new knowledge with me next time I am in the yoga studio. I will try to imagine the musculature of my body and how the connective tissue and the complex network of muscles supports me in each yoga pose or asana. I will put my mind on the muscle that is being stretched and try to visualize and feel how it is moving.
What surprised me most about the massage was how complimentary it was to my yoga practice. Yoga itself is a healing art, but learning about the body from a massage perspective, opened my eyes a little more to the complexity and inner-connectedness of the human body.
