02/29/2024
One more massage. That’s all that’s left of a decade-long Thai Bodywork career that started as a diversion from my routine office life working at ARCh when camp wasn’t in session.
As my bodywork business winds down, many thoughts and emotions run through my head, particularly DURING some of these final moments with my clients. I’ve worked with many of them for nearly the duration of my massage adventure. I’ve seen several get married, divorced, have kids, graduate, start businesses, retire, and move gracefully into their later years. When my mom passed a few years ago, they shared that devastation with me. And they shared my joy and excitement when Leo and I were married. For several years, when I was fully self-employed, they essentially fed me, housed me, and paid all of my bills. All of this happened in the span of 60-90 minute sessions, sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly, sometimes less often than that. At my peak, I was seeing about 25 clients a week. If I were to guess, over a thousand people have probably had a Thai massage from me at some point. That’s since dwindled down considerably with my return to working with individuals with disabilities.
Especially with this last group of about 8-10 clients, every time we came together it felt like getting together with an old friend, catching up on life while I did my best to stretch and relax away the stress and pains of the day. Sometimes, I was blessed to witness and hold space for intense physical, emotional, and spiritual releases that shook me to my core. We laughed, we cried (especially lately), sometimes we sang, sometimes we connected in complete silence. But overall - we connected as people. Something that we don’t do often enough in our tech-dependent society.
This has been hard. This has been REALLY hard. There have been a LOT of tears, most of them from me. Saying goodbye to ten friends who I’ve known for nearly a decade, all at once, really stings. But as my Aunt Joyce would say, “it’s all perfect,” and exactly as it was meant to be. It’s what I know I need to do in order to both maintain my musical dexterity, and grow in other ways (kind of like a tree - need to cut away some of the old growth for new, stronger growth to occur).
The one feeling that I have been left with for each of these final massages with my long-time clients is intense gratitude for EVERYTHING in this crazy co-created universe we call life. So, to wrap up, I’m going to say “out loud” what I’ve said in my head while giving energy at the back of the heart to end each session for the last decade.
To all of my teachers and all of the beings who have ever crossed my mat -
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.
ॐ राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम ॐ
ॐ लोका: समस्ता: सुखिनो भवन्तु लोका: समस्ता: सुखिनो भवन्तु लोका: समस्ता: सुखिनो भवन्तु ॐ
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॐ
Om Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Om
Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu Om
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om
Peace. Peace. Peace.
✌🏻 ❤️ 🌈
