Me, Massage, and Meaning
Last week was graduation for 10 students of the Dayton School of Medical Massage. I attended because I have assisted four of them in small ways to become licensed massage therapists.
My own graduation from the same program was six and one half years ago. Thinking about the big changes in my life has been very enjoyable. Almost everything about my “encore” career has been positive. The daily routine, the learning required, new friends, and meaningful work are much more than expected or deserved in retirement.
Each day at 10 am, I begin a 75-90 minute full-body massage of a client who has likely become a friend. As I have shared often, without this bit of daily routine, I would likely spend at least half the day drinking coffee and catching up on the news.
Over the years of massage study and practice, I have learned many new things that were not part of my 17 years of previous education. Largely, this has been learning the workings of our human bodies, especially muscles. In the process, I have grown to respect my own body, aspire to good health, and utilize the power of human touch to help others physically and emotionally.
About 200 different people have come my way in the course of giving 3500 massages. Not everyone has become a regular client, but most have been with me long enough to become friends. We have shared a lot about ourselves in the professional safety of the massage. I am usually struck by the significance of this particular person in my life as some new dimension of the human experience is revealed that I have never before encountered.
The people I have come to know through massage are usually ones who have had different life experiences from myself and those with whom I worked over four decades in higher education. As one who seeks meaning and purpose in almost everything, I have found both in massage therapy and every bit as much as in my previous career.
Massage provides healing for some, stress relief for others, and intimate human interaction for all. Not everyone needs or wants all of this from massage. But those who seek massage therapy as part of their health and well-being certainly do.
Each of my clients is expecting something from my touch. We discover together whether and how this can be achieved. While the actual massage is remarkably similar from one session to the next, the benefits reported vary considerably.
Massage does indeed heal. Sometimes a muscle is relaxed and frees painful pressure on a nerve. Sometimes a stretch enables the flexibility needed to perform a function. Sometimes the warmth of touch simply eases body and brain strain and enables a deeper relaxation.
I wish my student friends who are graduating the satisfaction of having prepared to provide a meaningful human service. Each has come to this by a very unique pathway. One is an immigrant mother of two who also works as an interpreter. Another is a young woman who wants to see the world aboard a cruise ship. She grew up in the South and insists on calling me “Mr. Dick.” The third is a talented young woman who wants to build a career locally. And the fourth is a dental hygienist who wants to assist her patients with mouth and jaw issues.
Retirement can be scary. What will happen after a long career is largely unknown. Massage therapy gave my retirement purpose and direction. I am grateful to everyone who has helped along the way and to those who trust me as their therapist.
Dick Ferguson