For many, many years now, I’ve had regular back and shoulder massages. It started years ago, long before Christopher was ill, when I was having a stressful time at work and was getting a string of migraines. One of the women at work recommended Fiona, as a very competent masseuse. She’s got really strong thumbs to dig out the knots in my back, which really seems to make a difference, so I’ve been seeing her regularly ever since. To start with, I found that monthly treatments were enough to keep the tension headaches and migraines under some sort of control. Then, when Christopher was very ill and my stress levels were going through the roof, I increased the frequency to fortnightly.
More recently, now that things are more settled again, I’ve moved to having a back, neck, shoulder and scalp massage every three weeks on average. More often than that, and I don’t really get much extra benefit. Leave a longer gap between massages, and my back and shoulders get full of knots and I’m pretty much guaranteed a run of splitting headaches. Due to the Christmas break, it’s been four weeks since I last had a treatment, and I was really regretting not having booked an appointment for last week. My shoulders were one solid knot, my scalp felt like it was wearing a swimming cap two sizes too small, and the headaches were back.
I finally had the massage this evening, and feel so much more relaxed as a result. My back, neck and shoulders all feel much more mobile, and I seem to have temples once again instead of knots. But there is a downside. I can’t say that I’m a believer in aromatherapy, or indeed any other “complementary” therapy. But there is no denying that the strongly-scented massage oil she uses has a very soporific effect. So much of it gets absorbed by my skin that even having a shower after the massage doesn’t negate the effect. I think it must be a combination of being so physically relaxed during the massage itself, plus the scent of the essential oils – lavender, camomile and sandalwood I think were in this evening’s concoction. Whatever it is, it certainly knocks me out. By 8:30pm I was yawning like mad, and by 9:30pm I was barely able to keep my eyes open! I’ll sleep very well indeed tonight….
