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Goodbyes & Rocky Spines

Today I said goodbye to one of the first people I met in Vancouver, my massage therapist.

When I first arrived here, I was in the market for someone to help fix my neck/shoulder/back pain (for the record, I am convinced these are connected to my scoliosis*, mild as it is, and despite the doctor telling me I shouldn't have any pain/problems from it). She worked a 5 minute walk from the house. And I have been faithful ever since, even when she moved locations. Twenty minutes on the bus is a small price to pay for someone to fix your aches and pains (regular exercise & stretching also play key roles in my fight against muscle pain).

I've thought a fair bit about the fact that my massage therapist and I have a unique relationship. Specifically, she has a unique relationship with my body. She touches me more than anyone else in my life. She is able to fix and affect my body in ways that I am not able to. She notices changes in my body and can feel when I am stressed.

When my body doesn't do what I want it to or think it should, I often marvel that I am disconnected from the very thing I am most intimately connected with. As able-bodied as I am, I am dependent on another person for optimal functionality .

Think about that: it is my body, but someone else is required to make it function properly.

I am going to miss her. Not just for what she did for me, but for our conversations and the way that you grow to trust someone in that sort of professional and vulnerable relationship. It's almost a friendship.



*for some reason, most likely the title, I associate this song with scoliosis.

I am kicking myself for losing this album. I need to get it back.

Comments

  1. afro-chick8:17 AM

    i think my eyebrow lady and i have a similar relationship. she knows when i've plucked, when i've 'messed up' her arch.

    hah.

    also, i really like this song, his voice, and their look.

    ReplyDelete

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