One of the things on my bucket list was to get a Thai massage. Through the course of my time here, we talked about it a lot, but now we are on our last days in Chiang Mai, so today was the day.
I have had massages before. I am no stranger to the concept, but I was warned this is different than the massages most Americans are used to.
Earlier we returned again to Worot market. That is a dangerous place for my wallet, and yes, I did buy more. One thing caught my eye when MJ was looking for massage tools. It was a set of Thai massage tools that looked like chisels and a mallet.
I am also no stranger to physical therapy, and my friends at Team Iowa flew into my mind when I saw this evil set of devices. They would certainly not hesitate to use them.
So, I bought a set and now here we are at a Thai massage parlor. The first thing they do is to bathe your feet. I don’t know why. I am sure there is spiritual significance, and also a calming significance, but I got a foot bath and the guy didn’t run screaming.
Or, perhaps that was the reason for the foot bath. He did not want to pass out from sneaker stink.
MJ was very clear to tell them I now have an artificial hip, and they needed to be careful around the hip and not pop it out of place.
That would be appreciated. Leaving the hip joint located instead of dis. The fact there was need for them to be told that makes me a little nervous, but whatever.
We went upstairs to a shared room that was curtained off between the tables and were instructed to change into scrubs. I was glad about that simply because I did not want anyone to run away screaming for any reason today. Unless I could film it. The lighting did not encourage filming.
They start with your feet. All kinds of pressure points, energy lines, whatever school you believe in, are in the feet, so that is logical.
The rest of the massage is essentially stretching, pulling at joints and pressure to make you stretch further, or that is what it felt like to me.
They climb on your back; wrap you up in a pretzel shape (I was more a limp breadstick than pretzel, but he gave it his all).
So much care and caution was taken to explain my hip issue, when he pulled on my ankle and it cracked like a whip… I remembered I had metal in the ankle too.
No, nothing was broken, disconnected or damaged, but it was surprising and hurt for a while afterwards.
And it put me on guard for the rest of the massage, which did not help with relaxation.
But, overall it was a positive experience. I could tell when I was fighting him and tried to relax. He could tell where I needed to release and was patient with me.
I will admit, that is probably the most physical contact I have had in years. Don’t tell my husband.
Leave a Reply