My muscles thank you, Brian

For Christmas this year, Brian got me two gift certificates for massages from a local R.M.T, Michael Kirby. His office looks like a hippie yoga hang out - yes, I even spotted a big lava lamp in the corner, next to the incense. Michael's a real nice guy; very warm and light in his energy. When you think of a massage, most people think, "I can just lay there in bliss" and then suddenly the hour has flown by and you're booted out the door into the bitterness of the cold snow falling into your jacket as you try to zip up with jelly-hands. In actual fact, I think you can get a lot more out of a massage if you keep your mind in the present and work with it. Michael's only instruction for me at the beginning of my session was to keep with my breath; try to breath into the space he's working on and try to release and relax that space with every exhale. This is not a new concept for me as I do it all the time in my yoga practise, but to do this in a massage is such a treat! It's like getting an extra hour for free! and your breath can be as slow as the red bubbles in that lava lamp. Nothing was too painful, I never held my breath, and I found that time actually slowed down. It's like a meditation massage, I guess, except that your body is getting massaged, not your noggin. So, thank you, Brian, for such an amazing gift. It was lovely... and my muscles still feel all goopy.(Thanks to Woodlands Massage for the photo.)