1st Massage of 2006

I made an appointment at Elements Spa for today as body was still aching. Jeannie was not available, and the receptionist recommended Rachael instead as I wanted something more deep tissue. Well, I don't really fancy deep tissue that much, unless it is needed, like on my shoulders and upper back. They tend to be very tense, either due to me always on the pc or it is just me :p

The Tui Na massage was a mistake (I had it once before at Body Contours and my arms swelled up like a balloon...okay, I'm exaggerating, but Tui Na and I don't get along). I didn't realize Rachael was doing Tui Na until after the session. I just thought it was awfully painful, plus it was hard for me to communicate to Rachael (I think she is from China) that it is too painful as my mandarin is not fantastic. At the end of the session, she asked me if I like the massage, I said it was too painful. Her reply: Pain is good, you will feel better tomorrow. Those relaxing massage is nice and soothing, but will not rid you of the ache and tension. (*Faint*)

True, which is why I usually tell them I prefer a mixture. More pressure on where it is needed i.e. upper back and shoulders, but less pressure for the rest of the body. And I communicated all that to the receptionist when I made the appointment, and I said that too before the start of the treatment.

Well, I just hope my arms will not swell again tomorrow. I totally panicked the last time, and I actually asked some other therapists if that is normal. Happened that I was at the Body & Wellness Festival then, so I could ask. One said it was because of the hard pressure on the blood flow system in both directions, so the blood/whatever got stuck in the middle, causing the swollenness. Another said it will go down in a few days, so not to worry.

For those who do not know, there are different styles to the different massages. If I recall correctly, Chinese massage tends to stroke downwards, towards the feet. Swedish massage (the more soothing and relaxing one) tends to end towards the heart, so the strokes will always go towards the heart area.

Anyway, I will definitely not have Rachael for my massages in future. I better stick to Jeannie or Cecelia. Don't get me wrong, Rachael is good if you like hard massages, but it is just not for me. I'm chicken when it comes to pain. My threshold is very low :p