Rubbed The Right Way

The Magic + Power Of Human Touch

Photo by yury kirillov on Unsplash

I had my first professional massage in at least seven years yesterday afternoon.

Seven. Years. Maybe even a decade.

And it was one of the best massages I’ve ever had.

I walked in thinking, “This will be nice and relaxing.” I walked out thinking, “Holy moly! I really needed that.”

Although I’d never met my masseur before, we share mutual friends, so I immediately felt safe and secure in his capable hands. My Spidey sense told me he was going to be my kind of masseur, and the fact that he was easy on the eyes felt like a bonus. It was as if the Universe had decided I needed to make up for some lost time.

We started with me face down on the table, getting to know each other and talking about the power of human touch. About how starved most of us are for it, especially after years of isolation, endless screen time, and living in our heads instead of in our bodies so much.

Human touch isn’t just a luxury or a nice-to-have. It’s a language. A body language.

Older than words and more primal than logic, our nervous systems understand human touch instinctively, even when our minds have forgotten how much we need it.

Then we spent the rest of the hour in silence. Mostly.

Just him, methodically working every inch of me.

I’m 6’4”, and so is my new friend, which meant he had no trouble reaching all my achy muscles, hidden beneath my current “winter coat” of chub.

There’s something oddly comforting, and quietly vulnerable, about being massaged by a man who appreciates and understands the needs of those of us with bigger bellies and bodies.

His hands were magical. “Oh my gawd” was said several times. Out loud. With feeling.

And here’s the thing: it wasn’t just physical. It never is. A really good massage does something sneaky. It slips past my intellect, my defenses, my inner monologue, and reminds me that I am a spiritual being first and a physical body second.

A good massage blurs the lines between body and soul. It softens me. It quiets the noise. It brings me back into alignment with who and what I am.

This morning, I feel like I’ve been run over by a freight train. Emotionally, physically, and yes, even spiritually. Which, in my book, is the clearest possible sign of a successful massage. I guess I was holding onto way more than I realized.

I talk (and think) a lot about self-care as if it’s all baths and candles and productivity hacks. But human touch lives in a different category altogether. It’s primal. Regulating. Healing. It reminds my body that it’s safe, that it’s seen, that it exists in a world with other kind-hearted human beings.

Yesterday wasn’t just a massage. It was a reset.

A reminder that the most powerful therapy doesn’t always come in the form of words, insights, or breakthroughs. Sometimes it comes in the form of strong hands, steady pressure, and sixty minutes of human touch.

Keep calm and reach out and touch somebody’s body (with consent)!
Clint 🌈✌️

COLLIDE PRESS is a reader-supported publication.
Please consider becoming a Paid Subscriber or Patron.

BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY

• 02-07 = Dee Rees (1977- ) = American filmmaker 🌈

• 02-07 = Suzy Eddie Izzard (1962- ) = British comedian and actor 🌈

• 02-07 = Mark Tewksbury (1968- ) = Canadian swimmer and activist 🌈

---

MAN CRUSH(ES) OF THE DAY

MARK TEWKSBURY

“I knew I had all kinds of work to do and I left no stone unturned. But on the day I actually got to the Olympics there was this incredible, overwhelming, feeling that someone has to win this race and why not me?”
Mark Tewksbury