The sacred touch.

Spa or small clinic? Masseur or massage therapist? There is a difference.

If you think a massage is just about squeezing some muscles, then you need to read this.

For me, a masseur or masseuse is someone working in a Spa, taking client after client, whether they are tired, or in a bad place. They smile, and they serve you. That is what you pay. Music, humidity, sometimes lack of proper oxygen that makes you "relaxed"- but not in a good way-, lights and plants and smells. And a worker slaving over bodies, day in and day out, with one day off every 6 days, being paid very little, being instructed to be service-minded, quiet, and smiling, even if they hate massaging after a while. The client is king and this is what you pay.

The privilege to be a customer and be pampered and it feels great. Good for you to do something for yourself. But know what you buy.

A massage therapist is someone who studied techniques to bring relief, and fix things, and usually, they have an education, and they have their own place or a room in a clinic, and they refuse to get in the massage mills. They try to keep their strength in order to give vitality and energy, and not steal it. They look at each case with attention and genuinely still care. They will guide you and tell you what to do. These places need support. Especially after Covid, where everything was closed, and not all had the luxury to have another job ( I did, so this is not for me).

Massaging is an art and a skill, not something you learn online. It takes a good hand, energy, good intentions, care, and knowledge. It is a ritual as old as time.

The touch, is sacred.