This Psoas massage felt like a spiritual therapy session

When I walked into my massage at BODY, I didn’t know about the Psoas and how it holds on to trauma. The Psoas is a muscle on either side of the spine attached to the femur and pelvis and is associated with our body’s fight or flight response. I came in for a deep somatic experience, where the massage would focus on my body’s nervous system, but little did I know this massage would feel like a spiritual therapy session. I saw Kathy (I’ve now seen her twice), who has an innate healing gift that pairs with the talent of an expert body worker. With an open mind, and trust in BODY’s healing spa program, I entered my 80-minute massage. 

I came in with neck and hip pain, which were our areas of focus. I’m the type of client who loves to learn about what’s going on in my body from my therapist, so that I may take care of it in the best way possible in between sessions. Kathy and I were a match right away as her deep understanding of the body and nervous system not only gave me the obvious answers as to why I may experience pain but the more innocuous causes as well. I hadn’t come in for a massage in months and within that time had experienced a lot of trauma. 

Kathy helped me gain mobility back in my neck that I hadn’t had for months. The neck pain I felt was a 10, which meant her movements needed to be soft and subtle. She mentioned the inflammation being so grand that getting to the right spot was going to be a steady effort so that I wouldn’t experience much pain. Eventually, she nailed it, and while of course, one session isn’t an end-all cure-all, the ability to move my neck again sure is a start. 

When she treated my Psoas she began prompting questions that guided me through memories and asked me to share what was coming up for me. After moments of expressing my trauma, from family members passing to break-ups, a vision of my late Grandmother came up. In this vision, my grandmother told me everything was going to be okay and that she was ecstatic to see me. I had full-on tears of joy and warmth on the massage bed and it wasn’t the heated blanket. As she deepened into her work on my Psoas, my emotions released, creating space for Kathy to deepen into the work. In time, my tension cleared as well. 

To feel physical and emotional release was like melting and feeling grounded all at the same time. On days when the best of us submit to the hustle and bustle of work and commitments, this served as a reminder of what 80 minutes set aside can do for our well-being.