The Day I Got a Chinese Massage

For nearly 2 weeks, I had a sharp pain in the upper part of my left shoulder blade. The pain was there all the time, but worsened when I turned my head. As the days passed, the minor distraction became a major mood-shifter. I was quite grumpy, and wanted to feel whole again.

Years ago, SF had taken Matt to a Chinese masseuse for pain in a similar location. Matt had told me, "He put some black tar on it and told me to keep it on for 3 days. After that, the pain was all gone!" I'm always interested in learning about and experiencing different healing techniques, so I asked him to take me there.

We rang the bell at the gate 10 minutes before lunchtime, expecting to make an appointment. A woman caring an assortment of keys, unlocked the gate on the door of the house and addressed us at the yard gate. Like many homes in Orange Walk, the yard was enclosed with cyclone fence and concrete posts, having locked access points for foot traffic and cars.

Recognizing her expression as curiosity and surprise, I guessed first that she was not accustomed to walk-ups, and then considered she may be the wife of the practitioner. I stated, "I hoped someone could help me. I have a pain in my back." and I pointed to the place it hurt. "Can you come back at 1:00?" she asked. So we did.

This time she unlocked both gates, and invited us into the first room on the right. The house was sizable. A long narrow hallway reached into the concrete structure with rooms flanking both sides. We entered the room which had a high bed to the left, a chair to the right, a desk and chair in the far right corner and a makeshift stool which had a cooler lid for a seat. There were old calendar photos of Taiwan which almost encircled the room, and a few other images hanging on the wall. Oh, and a certificate of practice with a photo of a man. I couldn't help but feel she was in someone else's space. I suppose we were too, but at her invitation, so I went with the flow.

She fiddled around at the desk, putting on gloves and moving things around. Then she asked me to sit on the cooler stool. She felt my neck and the back of my head, and began massaging specific areas. She used oils that smelled like eucalyptus and spearmint. I found great relief when she massaged the two ball shaped areas at the base of my skull. All around my neck, head, and arms she went - barely touching the spot where the pain emanated from. Yet, I was feeling better already.

Her final step in the massage was to pull my fingers and then my arms this way and that; up in the air, across my chest, behind my head. She spoke broken English, but I understood her for the most part. She told me to stay away from fried food. Then she said to put hot towels on each shoulder when I was resting. She suggested to do this while I was sitting around watching TV.

She started preparing a patch with the infamous tar, and continued with the instructions:

• If your head hurts, put the warm towel here... and here.
• If you get fever, put towel here.
• If your stomach hurts, put hot towel here.

Then she applied the patch.
She decided to add another patch on my neck.

We made small talk, then there were a few other instructions:

• No fried food.
• Wear for 3 days.
• If you shower, dry off before reapplying patch.
• Can you come back Friday?

Since we were coming Thursday, I told her we would be back then.

I left feeling great. My discomfort was gone.
I slept with the patches, but after the 2nd night, I'd had enough.
It was pulling at my hair, and felt bulky and itchy at times.
I took them off, showered and only replaced the large patch.

When we returned to the massage lady 48 hours later, I asked her to please remove the tar. At the last visit, she mentioned another patch would be put on at this visit. I told her I didn't want it, as it was uncomfortable. She acquiesced.

Then she removed the tar. When that was complete, she began massaging my face, my neck, my arms, my fingers. She did the pull up and down and around thing with my left arm and moved to my right.

For some reason, she cranked the pressure up when massaging my hegu - the pressure point between the thumb and first finger. It was really starting to hurt and I told her so. "Yes, it hurt" she said, and continued.

I started to feel lightheaded, and recognized the sensations that occur right before I pass out. I slumped over and told her I was going to "fall over." She stopped and waited, as if I would recover instantly. Of course, I did not. She went and got me a cup of warm water. I drank what I could, and breathed, and rested, and dropped my head between my legs, and tried to recover.

It was obvious that she wanted to finish. I eventually lifted my head and let her continue. She finished messing with my right arm by doing the up and down and around thing, and then she moved to my shoulders.

I didn't care what she did. She was away from my hand and I was relieved. She could poke and pull and prod on my shoulders and it would be nothing compared to the pain I just endured in my hand. I zoned out and waited for the end.

It felt like she was scratching my shoulders hard. Fine with me. Just leave my hand alone. She called Matt over to see. "Here it is coming out. But not so much on this side. Here is the problem, on this side." I heard her say to him.

She instructed:

• No fried food, but coconut oil okay
• Eat apple and beet
• Beet I think will be good for you
• Lots of vegetables
• Ginger

Later, Matt told me that she left some crazy marks on my shoulder. I couldn't see, but didn't think too much of it. Then at Rosa's, she said, it look like I got beat up. She helped me look in her mirror and sure enough, there was a long black, blue and purple mark running the length of my shoulder and one running up my neck. The spots were tender, but did not hurt like bruises hurt. I could still feel something in my shoulder blade, but it was a dull feeling; no longer a sharp pain.

I lasted the day, but was quite tired. The next day, I was even more tired. The pain in my shoulder was subsiding, but my head was getting full. I felt tired and feverish. I worried that I would have a bad sinus reaction, and managed to drag myself out of bed to squirt salt water up my nose. Then I collapsed again. Matt cared for Tetra, except for when she came for milk. We made it through the day without too much trouble. I didn't puke. Tetra behaved. Matt was patient and good.

The next day, I felt good. And the following day, even better. I couldn't bare to eat too much sugar or caffeine. My body just didn't want it. "Water. Water. Water." it said. I made dinner. Mashed sweet potato with butter and ginger, steamed carrots with honey mustard, butter and sugar, and a salad from the sweet potato leaf.

I made dinner the next night too. Although it wasn't my choice to eat pasta, I still enjoyed making it.

So, I seem to be managing even better than before, which is essential right now. We're in our final weeks of being here, and are already packing, sorting and making lists to make a smooth exit. All this thinking and action can stress a person, and a couple, so we need to be on our best behavior.

Overall, I'm glad I had the experience of the Chinese massage. It's something I'd like to try again, for the sole purpose of a cleansing. I'd be interested to try it in WA or OR too, where I might be able to ask more questions, and understand more of what's happening.