Do you know all the massage and bodywork services your therapist offers? Or do you book the same service you’ve been getting the past five years without thinking twice? Have you been going to your massage therapist since your very first massage, but never knew they offered hot stone massage, aromatherapy, or had an esthetics license and include facials and body wraps in their repertoire?
This is the perfect time of year to start exploring. Take this opportunity to see what else your massage therapist or bodyworker offers. Visit their website and check out their services. See something intriguing? Add it to your next appointment. When I realized decades ago that my massage therapist not only delivered amazing Swedish massage, but was also trained in shiatsu, jin shin jyutsu, and energy medicine, I knew I had found my therapist for life!
Want to try a service your therapist doesn’t offer? See if they can recommend someone with the specialty you’re interested in. If they don’t have someone to refer you to, go to www.MassageTherapy.com and search for a therapist with the training you seek, be it Rolfing, Therapeutic Touch, or any of the 350 types of massage and bodywork that exist.
Or maybe a spa visit is in your future? Follow the lead of author Lisa Bakewell, who writes in this issue about her recent spa experience exploring treatments she’d never tried before. Your massage therapist might have some recommendations for you on nearby spas and what kinds of modalities might be fun and beneficial for you to try.
The point is, just enjoy the journey of exploration. There are so many options, so many patches of fabric in this bodywork tapestry, that it behooves you to try as many as you can. Expanding your bodywork vocabulary will not only prove therapeutic, but will open the door to even more healthy discovery.