Blindfolded Massage 09/10/10

At the beginning of our massage course the instructors had mentioned a blindfolded massage, I instantly felt a little nervous about it! But thought that it would be at a latter date and I would work through the anxiety. Then one day Michelle announced that the following class would be the day!! The anxiety had worn off but unfortunately physically I was not feeling well. I woke up with pain in my neck, shoulders and back all of which made me feel exhausted and sensitive. Because I was feeling so tired Carrie and I decided it would be best if I gave the first massage so that I could wake up a little bit. Beginning the massage was the easiest part. Being able to sit down was great because I didn't have to use my spacial awareness as much, I was grounded and the table was right in front of me! Going through the head and face felt good but there was some worry of poking an eye or finger in the mouth etc. Once it was time to stand up things got a little more complicated, for a couple of reasons....one being the use of oil, it was hard to gauge the amount that was coming out of the bottle until there was too much. Also the draping and wanting to be respectful of the hand placement. It was a lot of fun to mentally visualize the individual muscles that I was working. I was fortunate that I am familiar with Carrie and her body, I think that it made me more comfortable and also easier to know where her body parts were based on "landmarks". For example: for both draping and massaging her legs, I first found her knee and was able to judge where her hips were because of my familiarity of her body length. As far as making the 1 hour time limit I think that I was only about 5 minutes over. It was great not looking at the clock and thinking about how much time had passed or was left.

Receiving the massage felt pretty much the same, except with more giggling! It was fun and light hearted. I look forward to trying another blindfolded massage again after working in clinic for a while!