“The conversation between your fingers and someone else’s skin. This is the most important discussion you will ever have.” — Iain Thomas
Whether it’s a romantic relationship, a friendship, a parent-child relationship, or any other kind of relationship, a heartfelt massage given with dedication can help strengthen mutual trust and create an atmosphere of peace and calm. Thus, massage can become an excellent way to spend quality time with someone dear, through communication beyond words. Over time, this good habit could reduce the stress of daily life, fostering positive thinking, kindness, goodwill, optimism, the power to forgive, inner peace, empathy, and overall well-being.
Let me now share with you an Oriental parable that illustrates the power of massage, as experienced by both the receiver and the masseur.
Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Fatima, who was constantly harassed by her mother-in-law. Unable to bear the situation any longer, she decided to visit a healer to buy poison, intending to rid herself of her mother-in-law.
After a brief reflection, the healer offered her a very fragrant potion, explaining that it should be applied daily to the skin through massage, and that in six weeks, the old woman would die.
Fatima followed the healer’s instructions, massaging her mother-in-law daily with this potion. Little by little, the old woman’s malicious character began to dissipate, and a bond of affection and sympathy even started to develop between the two women.
Fatima soon began to regret her intention to kill her mother-in-law, and she became worried. She returned to the healer to beg him for the antidote to the poison. The wise healer smiled and explained that there was no antidote because, in fact, it was just a simple blend of aromatic oils for massage, and that had been the best remedy for her situation.
Through this parable, we can see the profoundly beneficial effects of harmonizing a relationship between two people through massage. The body and mind relax, tensions ease, the ego is set aside, allowing for deeper communication at the soul level, where there is no room for malice, envy, resentment, or other negative feelings.
