Confessions From the Massage Table
She held onto the pillow as though it were or could be the only thing that might save her life if necessary. I didn't know why her guard was up until she and I went into the room, closed the door, and began to chat. S he -at first- told me she started bringing her own pillow as a precaution to ensure she'd get a good massage. Yet, as she spoke about her previous experiences, I paid attention to her body posture and the way she wouldn't put the pillow down - her grasp so tight that her knuckles turned white. It wasn't until the final few moments of the session that she opened up about something more personal, about the real, deeper reason why she started to bring her pillow to her sessions- something profound and emotional that, from the sound of it, she didn't tell anyone else. Her guard was never quite down during our session, and I can understand why. Over time, she learned not to trust massage therapists, and the guard went up. And while it's not my job ...