I am often surprised when someone tells me they have never had a massage. The benefits of massage are widely known, even in medical circles. So what would stop someone from trying one?
I think there are several reasons. The biggest one is that many of us have a hard time being really good to ourselves. It takes a lot of self-love to accept that we need to ask for help. It requires us to put ourselves first, set aside time and money and actually make the appointment. Our lives can be crazy and everything in the outside world screams for our attention. It can make everything else seem more important than taking care of ourselves.
I am reminded of something I was told in a first aid class. The most important person in a crisis situation is not the one bleeding the most, or crying the loudest – it’s you. If you are not OK, you cannot help anyone else. Think about that. In your life, you are no good to anyone – not your family, friends or work situations – if you are not doing well.
We have to open ourselves to receive that help. I can’t tell you how many clients I have had who cannot lay down for 60 minutes, quietly, and receive care. They chatter and gossip and occasionally try to take a phone call. Sometimes they have to be instructed/reminded how to receive the energy they are being given. I have been guilty of that myself at certain times. It’s another way of avoiding what we are feeling and not letting the healing energy soak in. It’s like saying to someone that you are starving, and then you refuse the food they offer you.
There are so many ways to receive energy and healing and be sweet to ourselves. Massage is a wonderful way to show how much you really love yourself. Can you allow yourself to do that?
