11/29/2024
Check out Hillary's Blog about her first massage session at AMI with Nicole.
Nicole Harvey, our newest massage therapist, specializes in Swedish and Deep Tissue massage and brings 19 years of experience to the table. She's trained in Prenatal Massage, Medical Massage and Integrative Reflexology. Her knowledge and expertise allows her to customize her client's experience. In this blog Hillary Becker, our Office Manager, tells of her personal experience with Nicole and how helpful it was to her.
The Healing Power of Touch: A Personal Journey
I was feeling awful, like alarms were going off in my head.
The weeks leading up to that moment had been some of the most stressful of my life.
I had just started working at Alexandria Myotherapy (AMI), and it was only my second week. I was already running late—I was afraid I would be fired.
When I tried to explain my tardiness to my new boss, I broke down in tears. That morning, I had spent two hours stuck in traffic. I’d had some health issues and was mentally, physically, and emotionally stressed from demands of everyday life and parenting a young child. I kind of wanted to scream. But instead, I asked for a few hours to pull myself together.
I was worried about how my miniature emotional breakdown would be perceived, but to my surprise, my boss offered me a massage with Nicole after my shift.
Nicole is the newest therapist at AMI, but she’s been practicing massage therapy for nineteen years. I had only met her once before—though it didn’t matter much, since we often don’t meet our massage therapists before the first session. But this time was different; I was at my workplace. I was nervous, unsure of office etiquette and how I might come across to a new coworker. However, Nicole’s welcoming presence immediately put me at ease.
She prepared the room by spritzing Thieves oil into the air and spreading fresh linens on the massage table while I waited in the quiet waiting room.
When I entered, Nicole greeted me with a pen and notebook in hand. She asked if there were any specific areas I wanted to focus on or any concerns I had. I told her about the tension in my head, neck, and shoulders, and also mentioned the pain in my legs. Nicole listened carefully, then asked how I wanted to feel afterward—relaxed and ready for bed or energized. I wanted to sleep for days if I could, so I chose "relaxed."
I was booked for a Swedish/deep tissue massage, Nicole’s specialty. I’ve had many Swedish and deep tissue massages over the years, but none as memorable or healing as this one.
Nicole’s hands were warm and soothing. She applied steady, medium pressure to my muscles, pausing every so often. I was curious about these pauses—what were they for? Was she setting an intention with each one? I remained open and grateful for the experience.
I left the session feeling relaxed, but what truly surprised me was how I felt the next day. My thinking was clearer, my hips no longer tight (and I hadn’t even told her about the tightness in my hips), and my body felt neutral—no pain. I was so comfortable, I wasn’t aware of my body anymore. It was freeing.
A few days later, I told my boss how I was feeling and asked about Nicole’s technique. My boss said that by pausing during massage, the body has a chance to self-correct. When I asked Nicole, she added that she applies light pressure to the muscle during the pause to help release tension. It’s a subtle process, but it’s effective. She used an analogy to describe her technique: “When you want to teach a child something, you can yell at them, put intense pressure on them, or you can gently guide them, allowing space for self-reflection and regulation.”
I also heard the same thing from several other therapists at AMI: they see themselves as catalysts for the body’s healing process.
Through Nicole’s work, I was reminded of the importance of human touch, the benefits of which have been thoroughly researched and proven. Touch is essential to our early development (Ardiel et al., 2010) and massage therapy has been shown to significantly improve the overall quality of life. It enhances immune response (Diego et al., 2001), lowers cortisol levels, increases serotonin and dopamine (Field et al., 2005), and reduces pain (Crawford et al., 2016). I found that in just this one session, my mood improved and I felt more equipped to deal with life.
References:
Ardiel, E. L., & Rankin, C. H. (2010). The importance of touch in development. Paediatrics & Child Health, 15(3), 153–156. https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/15.3.153
Crawford, C., Boyd, C., Paat, C. F., Price, A., Xenakis, L., Yang, E., Zhang, W., & Evidence for Massage Therapy (EMT) Working Group. (2016). The impact of massage therapy on function in pain populations—A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: Part I, patients experiencing pain in the general population. Pain Medicine, 17(7), 1353–1375. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnw099
Diego, M. A., Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Shaw, K., Friedman, L., & Ironson, G. (2001). HIV Adolescents Show Improved Immune Function Following Massage Therapy. International Journal of Neuroscience, 106(1–2), 35–45. https://doi.org/10.3109/00207450109149736
Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Diego, M., Schanberg, S., & Kuhn, C. (2005). Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy. International Journal of Neuroscience, 115(10), 1397–1413. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207450590956459
