Case Study: Client A, Session 2

I have decided to do an experiment with a client of mine. She is going to receive one massage on a monthly basis and write about her thoughts and emotions surrounding her experiences. My aim is to explore the mind-body connection and how massage impacts a person's overall well-being. This is not a scientific endeavor, but rather a journey that offers insight into how massage therapy can play an integral part in an individual's personal wellness program.


Client A writes about Session 2:

"One month might be too long between massages for me in the beginning of this experiment. My shoulders, neck, hips and lower back were pretty askew by today. I 
was not great about exercising or stretching between massages, which certainly did not make matters better. I came in a bit dehydrated and stressed from work. It took me about a half an hour to let the internal stress dissipate. I’m making up for the dehydration now. I am always amazed how drinking tons of water after a massage makes the results stick longer. 

Usually, I like to think of a massage like a painting: you work on all the different parts equally and before you know it, you have made an image that is balanced. However, it is incredibly powerful to have a concentrated massage on a problem area once in a while. I have held lots of tension in my neck since I was a kid, especially after I was the passenger in a fairly horrible car crash when I was just shy of 16 (if you’re wondering, no, I did not hop in a car on my 16th birthday to learn how to drive after that). Kate worked a lot on my neck and shoulders today. It seemed like 12 years of stress, injury and hunching over books and computers started to melt away. 

I noticed a tingling feeling many times during this massage, as if little pulses of painless electricity were emanating from certain points.* During one of these pulses, the image of a very warmly lit wooden house at dusk came into my mind. I watched a man and myself holding hands in the woods, looking at this very cozy scene. After that, my mind seemed to melt away with my body."

*Tula Note: Client A is describing the direct effects of Connective Tissue and Trigger Point Therapy.