Everything feels so much better tonight. Even the still stiff and sore parts are more just squeezed and manipulated than anything. I went three full months without a massage, which probably doesn't sound like long to those of you who grew up in normal bodies. Let me tell ya', my chronically ill body doesn't cotton to going long periods between forcible relaxation events. It's less like a body and more like a rat colony in a trench coat. Eventually it's going to turn on itself and there will be biting. But now, as I struggle to stay awake, with all my muscles squeezed into submission, I am so glad I finally got in to see one of my massage therapists.
I wasn't sure how I would react to lying face down on the table. I hadn't even practiced once at home. Surprisingly, first time prone since the surgery went very well. No pain, no need to shift around and ask for extra padding. The therapist was raving about how good things looked on my arms, and on the parts of the scars she could see on my rib cage. (I didn't flash the front at her. Not only is that against the rules, but I also didn't feel like disrespecting her that way.) She said she could really see improvement, where there was less edema and even less inflammation around my wedding rings. She said she noticed before how puffy my ring finger looked when we were talking about me heading into surgery, and now it looks great.
Once she got going, she did amazing work. She has a real instinct for finding the parts that need attention, and knowing exactly how deep to go with it. She was very dainty around the post surgery parts, being very careful not to set my recovery backwards. I left there feeling better than I have in ages. I made multiple appointments before I left, and I'm all booked up through August. I'm not missing out on regular body work again if I can help it.
I've had a lot of days in my recent life where I couldn't do jack because I did things the day before and was completely out of energy. I was sort of there today, but in a very different frame of mind. Yes, I was sleepy, but more because I was relaxed for the first time in weeks, not just because I worked so hard yesterday. I want so much to go back for another massage right away. I have to remind myself that all those tissues need to drain and heal and whatever else they do after a good squeeze.
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