Tag: 24

The long version:
I have been massaging professionally since 2008, but in my mind, I have been massaging since childhood. I believe that when I was young, I developed a rudimentary understanding of massage by combining my fascination with anatomy, the desire to help and heal others, and the experience of feeling my dogs' muscles when I pet them! Because of this, I consider myself to have a very intuitive feel for massage.

As I grew up, the bodywork I received laid the foundation of my massage style. Before I ever had a “Swedish” massage, I had pretty much only had deep, often brutal work- chiropractic, real Deep Tissue, and even the full ten-session Rolfing series! Needless to say, the concepts and techniques that were new to me in school were all about the flow of a session, and developing the sensitivity to adapt my style to the individual. In other words, I learned to be more gentle, patient and methodical. However, I can still go as deep as you could ever want!

In line with being a heavily tactile person, I strongly lean toward the tonal and rhythmical aspects of music. Like most people, I enjoy a story! Instead of words, though (which I don't really hear), I like a song that is narrated by the melodies, like an emotional progression of tone. Put that against a richly textured sonic landscape and I'm in heaven. And that's why Frank Zappa is my hero. Mind blown.

I believe my experience with music and how it relates to massage is very interesting. The flow of a massage session is much like a musical composition to me. Some sensations are like a bass-line, while others are like the shimmering accent of the horn section! Properly played, a massage can be an engaging sensory journey just like a good album or a movie!