"C" is for Compression

In December, John received a gift certificate at his company's Christmas party, which he generously gave to me for a prenatal massage at the Skin Care Institute and Medical Spa here in Tulsa.  I told myself I could have a massage every time I hit a month marker for my pregnancy.  I'm not in any pain at all, but these past few months have been the longest months of my entire life.  I've tried not to complain, except to John and my mom, but I've quickly discovered I am not one of those people who enjoys waddling around with extra weight, acne, or any of the other glorious side effects of pregnancy.  I know that bringing baby Tully into this world will be amazing, and I will love him more than life itself, but I'm pretty sure there's no rule that says I have to like this whole process.  Am I wrong?  Maybe, but I'm sure there are other moms and moms-to-be out there who feel the same way.  Unfortunately, the only moms talking to me are the ones who either don't mind or really enjoy pregnancy, and everyone else seems to think this is going by really fast.  News flash: it's not.  Oh well...back to the story on my "reward" for successfully completing 7 months of nurturing little Tully in my belly.

Paul, my Ukrainian masseuse, started out with some serious pressure on my toe joints and heels, followed up with some vigorous shaking and major thumb work on my calves.  The craziness proceeded all the way up to my neck and shoulders, where he found my tension knot on my left shoulder that I hadn't even mentioned.  Brownie points for Paul.  I guess I'm used to the relaxation-type massages with long, slow movements, where I tell the masseuse multiple times throughout the session that they can, in fact, push harder.  I've never had a massage where I've been on the brink of pain but still felt relaxed.

On the downside, I did have to listen to some some pretty far out stories about his energy healing for one client with gangrene and another who wanted to be the #1 ranked 800m runner instead of #8.  According to Paul, after several massage and energy sessions, the gangrene was healed, and the runner did move up to #1.  Wikipedia says the world record holders for 800m from the last 30 years have been from Kenya, Denmark, and the UK, so maybe a) I misunderstood due to Paul's accent or b) he has no idea what he's talking about.  Either way, I'm going back for an 8-month massage, and I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you the same stories, if you want to visit him too.

Update: 8-month prenatal massage.

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