So apparently the old rule about lifting from your knees and
not from your back applies to both boxes AND babies. I must have missed that memo. Or maybe I was too busy chasing Owen and
scooping him up in the face of any number of dangers, to remember.
But like many moms before me, and many yet to be – I’ve been
accidentally sacrificing my body in service of my kiddo. The running shoes collecting dust in the
corner. The yoga mat tucked away in a
far crevice of the closet. The sweet and
salty instead of the green and lean. The
desperately unpolished and unkempt toe nails I swore I’d never have. And the lower back neglected in lieu of
picking up Owen any which way.
Now, I know this doesn’t have to be the case, but life gets
busy. And if it ain’t broke – you don’t
have to fix it. But when it does break….brace
yourself. Literally if you must,
figuratively if you will. We all know
that maintenance is key if you want to stay healthy. It’s all important and equal only in
significance to its sister word, that other dreaded cure-all: moderation. I should have been living in line with these
words, but instead - it took a major slow down to quicken my understanding.
I threw out my lower back.
And any other time I might have welcomed the break from the 9-5 to
recoup. But motherhood offers no such
respite. We don’t get time off. We lay on the ground in our PJ’s next to the
toy box and keep Sesame Street on repeat and pray to heal quickly. But sometimes rather than simply blessing us
to heal, God blesses us with the inspiration needed to know HOW to heal. Maybe that’s so we can help others who might
need similar healing along our path later.
Or maybe it’s so we learn patience?
Or maybe it’s to allow someone else the ability to use their talents in our
service. God works in ironically simple
yet mysterious ways.
A friend on Facebook responded to my “wo-is-me” status
update about my back. She told me about
a massage school not far from my in-law’s house. They offer $30 hour long relaxation
massages. Yes please! Answer to prayer part one: inspiration from a
friend. Thanks Jani!
So I went online and looked up more about the school and
what they had to offer. I opted to pay
$60 for a medical massage with a professional, rather than the $30 relaxation
massage with a student. I had issues the
likes of which a little relaxing rubbing wasn’t going to solve. I needed specific help or I was considering
setting up long term camp next to Owen’s toy box. I looked at the pictures of the masseuses,
prayed about who might be able to help me best and felt like Stephania was the
right choice. Answer to prayer part two:
inspiration from the Spirit.
Donned in yoga pants and a baggy T-shirt, I arrived at the
massage school. I filled out the
questionnaire that asked if I had any concerns and where my pain was
located. I circled the lower back and
added three exclamation points. That
should do it.
Then I waited for a few minutes. Stephania came out to the waiting room. Dark hair, excellent posture, warm smile,
late 30’s, and an Italian accent. She
had that calm voice and eye contact equal only in serenity to a yoga
instructor. I was in good hands. Only at that point, I didn’t know just how
good. (That sounds weird - so let's be clear that I mean that totally professionally. lol)
On our walk back to the room, I mentioned that I’d been
having low back pain which I thought was caused by lifting my son
improperly. She looked at me and smiled
slightly, “Ah yes, I saw thees on your sign in sheet. But don’t worry, we can fix thees.”
Whew! Rock thees.
Once in the room, I figured I’d get the “dress down to your
comfort level” instruction and then have a moment alone to do so. But before she said anything, she sized me
up. Head to toe. I’m pretty sure she saw into my soul. Or at least into my bone and muscular structure. Even in my baggy T-shirt and yoga pants she
looked me up and down once and concluded, “your right shoulder is lower than
your left, your pelvis is twisted, and your shoulders are hooked forward. Your back is hurting because of your pelvis.” I looked down in disbelief that all that was
apparent from one glance. Did I really
look like a troll? Good thing I was there.
So down to my skivvies, I got under the sheet on the massage
table. I had no idea what to
expect. But if she already knew exactly
the problem in the first 30 seconds I figured I had little to worry about. And besides, there was an instrumental CD of
whales talking on in the background.
Naked and listening to whales. Not
exactly the treatment I initially thought I’d seek for my back – but it was
worth a shot.
She came back in the room and explained that she works on
the muscles, because the muscles (as they tense and relax) pull the bones. So if she can get the muscles to work
properly, the bones should align as they ought and I would be balanced. She proceeded to work on my pelvis
first. She rubbed with her forearm up my
outer thigh and managed to pin point a knot-like painful spot. Then she pushed. Uh….ooooOOOUCH!
“Tell me when the pain changes,” she said. It was crazy.
The pain would start out sharp, then the spot would start to twitch,
then the pain would dull slightly, and then she’d push again on the spot and
the pain would release and it would instantly relax that specific spot as well
as other parts of my body too.
We continued this spot treatment all over my body. I kept laughing in disbelief. She’d point out something slightly tweaked or
turned the wrong way or my hooked shoulders, then she’d do the pushing
treatment and “poof!” my muscles relaxed and realigned. Most awkward though was probably the spot in
my groin on my upper most inner thigh.
But at that point in my treatment – I was convinced this woman was a
miracle worker and she could have said I needed to join in chorus with the
whale CD while eating dirt and I’d have done it. Ok, well maybe not dirt. But you get the idea.
Ahhh. Relief. The pain wasn’t completely gone, but I could
move. I could bend. I could be mom again. Answer to prayer part three: The healing
power of a talented individual.
I thanked her for her help, and proceeded to the front to
pay.
But here’s the clincher.
As I’m leaving, the receptionist up front asked how I liked my
massage. “It was GREAT!” I offered
emphatically. To which she responded:
“Yeah, she’s really talented. She used
to work on horses.”
Excuse me? What am I
supposed to take from that? haha
Whatever, I thought.
Lucky horses. Lucky me. But most of all - I want to know how she DID
that!! (fixed my pain, not massaged horses)
So, my back is still tender, and I have to be very careful
that I pick up Owen with proper form, but thank goodness for the talents of the
horse whisperer massage therapist who listens to whales.
And thank goodness for God, who taught me that when one does
not lift from her knees…she must fall to her knees and ask for help. And further, that He might not heal me
instantly, but rather bless me with the means of learning HOW to heal through
the help of others.
Both prayer and Stephania work.
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