Massage

 

What first comes to mind with massage is undressing in a private room, soothing new age music, soft lighting, the quiet voice and gentle strokes of the masseur. A big bill plus generous tip.

In Seattle, there's a different kind of no-nonsense massage available on walk-in basis. Most neighborhoods have at least one Chinese foot massage establishment. Our West Seattle has "Sunshine Foot Massage" on California Avenue, just a 5-minute walk from the house. 

Foot massage is a bit misleading, because it's actually an entire body work over on a table in an open room. Or you can request what I call "the rack," which is a seated chair massage specifically for the back. 

Many years ago I was in China for Microsoft, head-achy and jet-lagged, so I booked a massage at a hotel for a treat. Not knowing exactly what to do, I started to undress in front of the masseur. She got very upset "no, no no the cloth stay on!" I felt pretty ignorant, which is a common feeling traveling in China.

Traditional Chinese medicine is thousands of years old. The philosophy revolves around maintaining and  restoring health by opening blocked energy channels. Now, if you break your leg or (God forbid) have a heart attack, conventional western medicine to the rescue. But with the emphasis on drugs and treating after-the-fact medical conditions, it's been a dismal failure when it comes to keeping Americans healthy. We are sicker than ever.

Anyway, since the start of the pandemic, I haven't had so much as a pedicure, much less a massage.  It's sad. I decided to be brave and try our local foot massage for this annoying upper back muscle pain.

 

Not wanting to lay in a room with strangers, I choose the acupressure chair treatment by the front door. My masseuse (aka torturer) was a elderly Chinese gentleman with hands like Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

He had this uncanny ability to zero right in the most painful spots and dug in there without pity. There was a formidable language barrier, but I guess expressions of pain are universal, so he laughed and lightened up a little. Not much. I could almost hear him thinking "this is what you need."

It was intensely therapeutic, not pleasant at all, but finally releasing some of those knotted muscles and getting the circulation going again. The day after, I was so sore (lactic acid build up) I self-medicated with some leftover pain pills in the medicine cabinet. (Thank you, western medicine.)

I also had an acupuncture treatment this week, and get a second one tomorrow. But that's another tale. 

Long story short, I'm feeling much better and our multi-day heat wave has finally broken.