In my 27th year of life, I’m attempting to do 27 new things. Full list here.
Soon after I made my list, I saw a Groupon for a 60-minute Swedish massage in Chinatown. I jumped on it quickly as it was a 50% discount. Probably one of the main reasons I’ve never gotten a professional massage is because it’s just not the kind of thing I spend money on. I like learning what people spend the majority of their money on. For a lot of girls my age, it’s clothing. For some people it’s travel, concert tickets, fancy electronics, dinners out. I keep a lovely Excel spreadsheet of my finances, and the majority of my money goes to books and booze. A winning combination.
But I thought this would be a nice way to treat myself. My job is physically demanding, and this would help me relax. The place was a little bit sketchy, as the sign for it was on neon green posterboard with clip art glued onto it. But the place itself was nice. I was so nervous. I’m a private, and oftentimes shy, person, and I was freaked out by the idea of a stranger touching me. So one of my favorite parts about the massage was that she started by covering me in a towel and massaging me through the towel. It wasn’t until 5 or 10 minutes into the massage that she started to remove the towel. By that time I was comfortable.
Some parts of the massage felt incredible. I liked having my hands rubbed, and I enjoyed when she pressed points along my spine. Other parts really hurt though. I suppose it was my fault. Early on, she was massaging my neck, and it was hurting me. The masseuse asked me if it was too much pressure. Trying to be tough, I denied that it hurt, and said it was perfect. Ergo, she used that amount of pressure on the rest of me, causing me to wince in pain often, which the lady obviously couldn’t see as my head was tucked into a weird hole in the table. But something in me thought that maybe the pain was a good thing, maybe she was getting out knots or something in my muscles. I don’t know how that shit works. I thought it might be good for me.
The next day I woke up with pain all over my body. I felt like I had an intense workout at the gym the day before, and I felt stiff. Not sure if that is a common feeling the day after a massage, but I was a little thrown by it. All in all, it wasn’t a bad way to spend an hour of my time, and I think it would be better if I just spoke up and said what I wanted. Oh God, that’s too true in every aspect of my life.
Chrissy's Blog 
I had a similar massage experience! The first time I went was wonderful, but the second time the lady I had used way too much pressure and it did not feel good! I was/am too much of a people pleaser to tell her that it was too much pressure when she asked. Next time, I will be more assertive. 🙂 I hope that you have a better experience if/when you go again!