Massage for Mother’s Day is a powerful gift

Mother’s Day is Sunday. Many moms will receive gift certificates for massage from their loved ones.

This has me thinking, what are we really giving our mothers (or wives, girlfriends, sisters, etc.) when we treat them to a massage?

For some, it’s the idea of “pampering” as an acknowledgement for all that these amazing women have done for us and for others. And this is fine. We all deserve to be “pampered” from time to time, to feel as though someone else is in charge and taking care of us.

However, I think “pampering” doesn’t fully describe the power of receiving a massage. It sometimes brings to my mind a child being indulged by his grandparents with every whim and desire, or a king passively sitting on his throne in complete luxury and being tended to by his servants.

This is not my idea of the power of massage.

Massage can be luxurious and indulgent. It also has the power to be healing, nurturing and grounding. It can help you feel connected to your body, so you can approach your life off of the massage table with more focus and clarity. You are not passive when you receive a massage – even if you fall asleep! Your brain is actively integrating the physical sensations it receives. Your heart rate actively decreases. Your immune system actively improves. These are all good things.

I’ve been reading Bluebird: Women and the New Psychology of Happiness by Ariel Gore. One quote by a woman in this book has stayed with me:

“I think we are intrinsically maternal beings. And we like to be mothered. I think we like caring for and being cared for. Happiness comes when we are balanced in both roles.”

I feel this myself, and I think it’s one of the reasons I love what I do. I feel I am doing my life’s work when nurturing my clients with massage. And I need the nurturing that comes with regular massage (or yoga, or meditation, or gardening, or whatever it may be).

One client, who is a mother, told me recently that her regular massages have “helped me a lot to remember that I have a body and am not only a problem solver/ errand doer/ taxi driver.” (Wow, what an honor to be part of that for her.) Massage can be part of a path for finding our core self, for feeling in our skin, and for reminding us to be in the present moment.

This is what you are giving when you give the gift of massage.

Happy Mother’s Day.

PS: email me at massage@groundingtree.com or call 503-481-9138 if you would like to order a last-minute massage gift certificate for Mother’s Day.