Mmmm massage

Today I had a fantastic appointment with Brenda, my masseuse, or as I like to call her the lady who rubs me! For some unknown reason for most of the week my muscles have been tight and sore, but after a 30-minute sauna and a 75-minute massage I am now a new woman.

I am a huge fan of massage, not the frou-frou type or the kind where you are left screaming on the table, I guess I am like Goldilocks, it has to be just right.  Unfortunately Brenda has ruined me for most others, I know that when I see her I will receive a complete head to toe or rather toe to head massage (because that’s where she finishes – the ear part is my favourite, I must have been a dog in a previous life).  When I have cheated on her in the past I usually end up spending most of the 45 minutes in a game of compare and contrast, which is not relaxing.

Once my husband and I went to a spa downtown for a couples massage.  I had been teasing him earlier in the day that I had requested a man to do my massage, obviously he didn’t believe me, I can be all talk like that sometimes.  When our masseuse came down to greet us and take us to our room she introduced herself and shook my hand, I was soooo disappointed (I’m quite certain that you could have seen it on my face) she had delicate little hands, the kind that give you a facial or a manicure, not the strong massaging kind that I was hoping for.  When we got to the room, the door opened and out came Tony (yeah baby) and all of my disappointment vanished.  I flashed my husband a little smile and settled in for my massage.  It was good (although I had to change is name to Antonio in my mind, Tony his my Dad’s name), not as good as Brenda, but definitely worth the price of admission.  Earlier this year while in Hawaii; I really didn’t want to take the chance on a mediocre massage, so instead I spent my spa budget on surfing lessons!

I have learned over the years that the key to a massage is to make a day of it and stay in that zone for as long as possible, which can often take special planning.   Go for a quiet lunch afterward, read a book, have a nap, don’t shower until you have to (only if your masseuse has used pretty smelling essential oils) and absolutely no caffeine, maybe just a glass of wine instead.