No-frills Massage

For the very first time yesterday, I experienced an honest-to-goodness massage. It was courtesy of a massage clinic that employs the blind.

I've been feeling stiff on my neck and shoulders over the past few weeks, and I thought a few hand strokes would bail me out of such a terrible discomfort. Being on a tight budget, I knew right away where to go.

It is a humble massage clinic, so bare with just a few plastic chairs and a couple of tiny wall-partitioned rooms with a bed in each of them. A small reception area of sorts can be found near the entrance. People who visit can choose among the following rates and services:

·  Php100 for Upper Body (Back, Head, and Arms for thirty minutes, sitting position)

·  Php100 for Lower Body (Waist, Hips, and Legs for thirty minutes, sitting position)

·  Php160 for Whole Body (For one hour, sitting position)

·  Php250 Rejuvenating Whole Body (For one hour and twenty minutes, lying position)

I chose the first in the list (if you have been reading really well, I mentioned about budget constraints) and specifically requested for a female therapist. Good thing they had one! I need not mention it, but just the same my therapist is not vision impaired. Immediately she gave me a chair, applied oil on her hands, and started massaging my back. She was merciless on the pressure, but I couldn't complain. It was what I needed really! When she got to my upper shoulder blades, she asked me if I had been too stressed out as she could feel a lot of nodules. Indeed our body has its way of telling us how it feels.

Next she worked her hands up my neck and then my head. I couldn’t care less if my hair, all tied up in a bun, fell loose. It was so good I could sleep sitting down. The last part was my arms and hands. My therapist was consistently efficient, and I should say, she even went an extra mile by going through one more quick round of back rub. Apparently she could still feel stiffness in my muscles. Darn stress!

Time was up, so I thanked my therapist for a job well done. I told her she has so much power and that I will come back again soon. Here’s one nasty catch though: I learned that out of the Php100 I had paid, only Php45 would go to the therapist. I know it sucks, so next time, I’ll tip more.