Ful Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Post
Session #2 of my Rolfing experience at Balance Massage (Twitter) began with a surprise when I walked into the lobby. The front lobby had been remodeled! And I don't mean a new shelf and some silk flowers. I mean brand new walls where there were no walls, refinished walls, new carpet, the works. Looked great:
Lu greeted me and I went to change into my Rolfing outfit (Hanes tee and Target shorts) in the bathroom. They hand you a key and you walk out of the main lobby down a tiny little hallway outdoors. Lu later told me I could have just changed my clothes in the Rolfing room. (smacks forehead) Well I got a good shot of my arm flamingo impersonation skill:
Lu asked me how my body felt during the week after Session #1. For the first 3 days after, I noticed my mood was elevated. She said this could be from increased blood flow, but its not typically a direct benefit from Rolfing. I also said the first few days after the Rolfing treatment, my legs and body felt like they had a bounce to them, like I could run if I wanted to. I used to run daily, but stopped in 2004 after a mysterious hip/leg injury that, to this day, has not been diagnosed. She took copious notes and I made her show them to me.
Lu asked me how my body felt. My back and shoulders hurt. So instead of doing the standard Session #2, she altered it for me to include treatments normally performed in Session #6. When you have back and shoulder pain, you think you know where you need to be touched for relief (that sounds dirty) but Lu would touch an unexpected back and shoulder part and it would be shocking in its 'good" pain. Clearly when I winced and proclaimed "Merry Christmas" repeatedly, she'd found a spot that was related to the pain. I made her let me take a picture of this one particular treatment I like to call "Christmas in the back."
When working on my back she had me on my stomach and then sat me up for more treatments. I am frowning because I know the end of this will come soon. And it feels sooo good.
Then she moved to my feet and. She did a few feet and toe thingies, then moved to the part of the legs below my knees. Your feet, she explained, are controlled by these muscles. The long muscles in your leg are like long strings that push and pull to make your feet move. "Like a marionette?" I asked. Yes, she replied.
THIS was Christmas:
As was this:
She taught me a foot exercise to do on my own, using her own tattooed legs and feet. You sit up against a wall on a floor and roll your toes and feet up and down. She watched me do it, and fixed what I was doing wrong until I got it right.
Lu took me outside and taught me how to walk. Seriously. She made me lean forward (unexpected) and this causes you to walk on the balls of your feet naturally. Like, its effortless! When I walk normally, I dig my heels into the ground.. pound pound pound. Awful. No balls. This is light and springy and all about your feet balls. It took a few attempts until I was able to a cartoonish version of it. Over time, she says I will get it.
