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lagilmanI have a new BFF. His name is Carlos. He's not Trini, Mistress of Pain, my last massage therapist in New Haven, but he's pretty damn good. And even better, he works a five minute walk from my apartment.
Forgive me, Carlos. It has been six months or more since my last session. No, I won't do that again. I promise.
Sign of a good tech: he told me what he was doing each step of the way, and why, and had me react to each step, talking through the process. I've had some techs who just treat the meat. Not Carlos. 90 minutes of seriously intense work, and amazingly, my shoulders and rib cage are fluid again...![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
alfreda89, I don't know what his training is, but he used warming towels and did that slow-circle-under-the-scapula thing and wow. Went from carved-of-stone to agony to easy movement. I suspect I'll be bruised in the morning but dat's okay! Apparently I was right -- I was in very bad shape, and if I hadn't gone soon I probably would ended with permanent damage. Ulp.
On the plus side, my spine's in excellent shape, and my flexibility's strong, so yay.
We also worked on the glutes -- you forget that sitting on even the best office chair every day can stress your glutes, and stretching only goes so far to reduce that. My hips and legs were fine, though. He also taught me a trick to use that deal specifically with typing (as opposed to holding/grabbing movements) that will (hopefully) keep my scapula muscles from getting so bad again. And he did something to my broken toe that actually made it stop aching.
EtA: Also? I smell of peppermint. Mmmm.
One thing that has always bemused me about massage: apparently 70% of women and almost 90% of men prefer a female tech. This... I just don't get this. When I go in for a massage, even a relaxing 'spa' one, the tech is a pair of hands, an elbow, and a voice, so far as I'm concerned. So long as they can apply the proper pressure, I don't care if they're male, female, gay, straight or an omnisexual squid. And I'm a pretty modest person with definite personal space issues, generally speaking.
Anyone want to speak to their preferences/reasons?
Forgive me, Carlos. It has been six months or more since my last session. No, I won't do that again. I promise.
Sign of a good tech: he told me what he was doing each step of the way, and why, and had me react to each step, talking through the process. I've had some techs who just treat the meat. Not Carlos. 90 minutes of seriously intense work, and amazingly, my shoulders and rib cage are fluid again...
alfreda89, I don't know what his training is, but he used warming towels and did that slow-circle-under-the-scapula thing and wow. Went from carved-of-stone to agony to easy movement. I suspect I'll be bruised in the morning but dat's okay! Apparently I was right -- I was in very bad shape, and if I hadn't gone soon I probably would ended with permanent damage. Ulp. On the plus side, my spine's in excellent shape, and my flexibility's strong, so yay.
We also worked on the glutes -- you forget that sitting on even the best office chair every day can stress your glutes, and stretching only goes so far to reduce that. My hips and legs were fine, though. He also taught me a trick to use that deal specifically with typing (as opposed to holding/grabbing movements) that will (hopefully) keep my scapula muscles from getting so bad again. And he did something to my broken toe that actually made it stop aching.
EtA: Also? I smell of peppermint. Mmmm.
One thing that has always bemused me about massage: apparently 70% of women and almost 90% of men prefer a female tech. This... I just don't get this. When I go in for a massage, even a relaxing 'spa' one, the tech is a pair of hands, an elbow, and a voice, so far as I'm concerned. So long as they can apply the proper pressure, I don't care if they're male, female, gay, straight or an omnisexual squid. And I'm a pretty modest person with definite personal space issues, generally speaking.
Anyone want to speak to their preferences/reasons?
