Bellagio poolside pre-massage
Whenever I stay at the Bellagio, I have a massage with Jeff.
Okay, this has only happened once because I’ve only stayed at the Bellagio once. Yet, once is enough when it’s an amazingly memorable experience.
Before I headed to Vegas and I imagine to shut down my whining, my personal trainer suggested I get a massage on my trip. Over the last few months, my exercise regimen has been a core-strengthening, cardio-building, yoga-balancing, walking-around frenzy. A massage would be a physical treat for my hard-working body.
I love a good massage and I realize I haven’t had one in either 6 months or a year. I don’t exactly remember. I partially feel restorative yoga is a self-massage and I do that quarterly. And my yoga practice, in general, has the benefit of stretching muscles for tension relief. Yet, as my massage therapist Jeff always says, “sometimes we all need someone else’s healing hands to provide a release.”
I lucked out on getting Jeff! The Bellagio spa is huge. I asked for a male therapist. Someone once told me they request males for a massage because their hands are bigger. So, I go with that. I wanted a deep tissue muscle massage. My session was less about pampering and more about paying attention to my sore muscles. Jeff specialized in athletic treatments. He describes himself as a geek about kinesthetics.
After a friendly banter back to the room, Jeff conducted a quick assessment. I told him I have a lot of issues with my shoulders and my knees. He started on my shoulders. Or more specifically my neck. He had this way of reading my body. He asked me about my neck injury. I told him about my yoga accident 15 years ago where I landed on my neck. He told me that scar tissue had developed around the blah blah -he had all the bodily terms but I was being lulled into serenity. He kneaded that area and weirdly a muscle (I would have called it a gland) in front of my neck to alleviate tightness. It wasn’t painful. I am always aware of my tight shoulders so his work was more rubbing them down. Literally, he was pushing them out of cringe-mode and away from my ears. He worked them hard and they rewarded me with going deliciously limp for awhile.
When Jeff was working on my legs, that was painful… agonizingly so. My legs, especially with all my FitBit walking, are stumps of strength. They continue to perform without a constant need to complain. I do get the occasional knee ache, shin splint, foot throb but nothing in comparison to their demanding schedule. I expect them to carry me around wherever, whenever and for however long I want. And they mostly do! Jeff surmised the problems in the knees on both sides. He told me how I need to be aware of stretching and exercising in such a way not to overextend them. He called my calves ‘rock hard’ and not in a good way. He explained how tight they were knotted. He pummeled and squeezed my leg muscles to help them relax. And I gripped the side of the bed with my hands to get through it. I need to do better at stretching my leg muscles. They don’t always tell me when they are overloaded with stress and I don’t want to do damage to them through neglect.
My session with Jeff was physically and intellectually stimulating. I learned a lot about my body. It was also philosophical too. I don’t usually like talking during a therapy session. I’ve quit going to a specific chiropractor and a massage therapist after they became too familiar. My sessions turned into their opportunity to unburden their life. I didn’t want their negative baggage especially on my dime. I am a licensed social worker from the State of Indiana and some people flock to my helping nature.
Jeff told me he has a symmetry life philosophy. He continually works at his body-mind-spirit connection. He was in a bike accident where he was dragged under a truck. He said it took him years to come back from that traumatic incident: pain killers, anti-depressants and booze. A massage therapist helped him get ‘unstuck‘ and now Jeff is committed to helping others have a similar experience. He got off the drugs and the booze. He prioritized being a better person to his kids, his ex-wife and his friends. And he now lives his life to be aligned with his body. Jeff was fantastic and fascinating. I left re-energized not only bodily but mentally and spiritually. I need to prioritize better choices so I don’t get stuck in knots.
If you are in Vegas, go see Jeff at the Bellagio! He has healing hands.