For the last 12 months i've been treating myself to regular myotherapy massages. I always come away with the same feeling of brain-exhaustion feeling as i have after a psychotherapy session.
This has led me to realise that there are many different kinds of intelligence. Not just the measurable, celebrated academic and 'performative' intelligence we've been taught to so value.
Through massage my brain has learned to rewire my nervous system responses to stress and relearn how it responds physically. I no longer hold years of accumulated tension in my shoulders, hips and neck. The sessions have become more a matter of a top up, or just ironing out any niggles from the week.
I work from home, thankfully. I was denied for SSDI after a grueling two year application process. I ran out of time, couldn’t keep living with my mom, and was dying to come back home to California to be near my daughter. Today was one of those flare-up days where I basically have to keep massaging any part of myself I can reach. I was sitting there working (I have a desk that rolls over my bed, so I can sit in all the wacky positions that look uncomfortable but actually feel better for me) and feeling so exhausted. My muscles are all sore - as if I spent a week at the gym. I slept on my hour-long lunch break because I was so tired. All I could think was I wish I could be massaged constantly!
#Fibromyalgia #Flareup #Musclepain #Massage
What do you intend to do to care for yourself today? Last night I’d planned on putting on makeup today but I woke up in a full-body pain flare. Fortunately, I’ve got a hot tub that helps to soothe the pain. However, when I went out to turn it on I figured out that the pool pump is not working. Hence, I couldn’t turn it on. So, I thought of my next best option: a hot bath with essential oils. Then I remembered my massage therapist friend who would possibly let me go to her house for a massage. Well, now I may not put on my makeup. But (and there’s always a big “but” lying around!), my bathtub is filled and I’m waiting for the temperature to cool a little. I’ll take a bath, put on some lipstick, and head out to the country to my friend’s house to get a massage. Today I am grateful that I have a bathtub, a tube of lipstick and my friend, Connie. I’m thankful I checked myself into rehab for a month to learn to manage chronic pain. There are people who love us, we can look at alternative options for everything, and God is always for us and never against us. All praise goes to Jesus, my best Friend who loves me immensely.
February 2019, I walked into Cortiva Institute unsure and unconfident in myself wanting to learn massage. What possessed me to begin the journey at that time is beyond me. I am sure it started as another impulsive thing for me to do. Having complex PTSD you tend to do something impulsively as a way of finding relief from a stressful feeling. PTSD and impulsivity seem to be a married couple and always coexist together. I know it well.
I have had a long history which started as a young child dealing with emotional, verbal, and at times physical abuse. Not that it was done to me directly, as a child I endured the visual and auditory effects of it. I was conditioned very young with hyper vigilance and anxiety and panic at times. Abandonment fears occurred a little later when my parents divorced. Flash forward about 40 years and I am sitting in a class environment at 45 years old questioning did I make the right choice.
The first three weeks were the scariest times and the most rewarding times all in one moment. Being bullied in grammar school it was hard for me to adjust to “making friends”. “ Were they looking at me? Did they think I was too old to be here? Was I too fat to learn massage? Was I too ugly? Are they gonna make fun of how I stand? Will they watch me massage and laugh at me? I have to strip and wear underwear on a table with these people???? They have to touch me too??? Will they make fun of my hair? My skin discolorations? Will they see how fat my legs are? How ugly my feet are? Touch my face??? No they can’t touch my face I have PCOS and excessive hair growth, they will feel that I shave my face? Oh my God I am so ashamed and so embarrassed, I can’t do this!!”
Yes, that’s just some of the thoughts that raced through my head every day the first three weeks. Was it exhausting to just read? Imagine how my head felt and my body felt every single day with a squirrel spinning around non stop in my mind. The whole time those thoughts raced I had a smile on my face and communicated to everyone in my class like it was amazing to be there. High functioning anxiety is another issue I have. I work hard at hiding my invisible scars, and I find that even more exhausting.
By the fifth week at massage school I had my first major emotional release on the table. It was then that I learned how massage had a great affect on the mental and emotional side to trauma in the body. The body holds onto emotional trauma deep within on the cellular level, “muscle memory”. I didn’t understand it until I was gracefully touched by massage hands. The feelings of warmth, nurture, and pure compassionate healing energy overwhelmed my mind and body and I released like a waterfall all the deep heaviness I had carried for so many years.
Flash forward November 2019, I have 6 more months to go to become a licensed massage therapist. My vision has grown to continue my education in trauma touch therapy in 2020. Massage is an amazing way to aide transformation.
More than two-thirds of adults have suffered from a type of back problem and pain, from moderate to severe, at a certain point in their lives. Overweight and older people are most exposed to the risk of suffering from a type of back pain. Sedentary and desk-bound lifestyles can make the condition even worse. Half of the people who experience such a pain in their lower back spend most of their days sitting at their desks, a typical side effect of our indolent modern lives.
However, even if you are not overweight or do not sit at your desk for a long time every day, you might anyway suffer from back pain. Professional athletes, such as weight lifters, and people with manual and physically hard labors may suffer from a type of pain in their lower back due to strains, muscle tension, and inappropriate movements.
in this article you learn how to treat back pain with massage. #BackPain #Massage
stepabovemassage.com/how-massage-therapy-helps-back-pain
You may be a Fibromyalgia sufferer or one of your relatives is involved in this painful disease. How much do you know about it? How do you or the relatives cope with the side-effects of Fibromyalgia? Have you ever tried complementary therapies for relief like Fibromyalgia massage or other actions? Do you know the benefits of Fibromyalgia massage?
This is a useful guide for patients and their relatives to get rid of the side-effects of Fibromyalgia. Even if you ‘re a massage therapist or a massage student you can get essential information about your clients here. #Fibromyalgia #Massage
stepabovemassage.com/how-massage-helps-fibromyalgia-patients
That is all
I regularly get muscle knots—usually in my back but sometimes in my arms or legs. When I get the knots massaged and the knots release, I get a baseball-sized lump over the place the knot was. It feels pretty sore but almost a good sore, like it’s achy but feels a lot better than it did before. The swelling usually subsides within 24 hours but the spot stays achy for a few days. I’m wondering if this is related to fibromyalgia.
I just had my first swedish massage and a few hours later I'm in terrible pain. I expected some soreness, but now I'm actually afraid the message has made things worse. What's your experience been with massages?
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