Monday's Mamas Musts: Four Hand Massage

Being busy attached working mamas we need to remember to stop and take care of ourselves.  That being said there is not all the time in the world to sit back, relax and kick up our feet.  I barely have time to put moisturizer on before I'm running out the door in the morning or nursing, wearing, entertaining Little Man in the evening.  But all this can make me a very uptight and unhappy (physically) mama.  So I forced myself on vacation to go with my own mom to get a massage.  Let me tell you it was hard work!



My mom goes for massages every week as part of her physical therapy for her shoulder and back.  She recommends every chance she gets that I come with her for a massage.  I went in August with her for an hour long four handed massage.  We took Little Man who was 6 months at the time and still nursing every time he even glanced at me so it was not as relaxing as it could have been especially since he was in the next room and I could hear them talking.  I kept thinking I would have to get up and run out in my sheet to nurse my son.  No chance for relaxation when you are betting that it is going to be all over in the next 30 seconds.

This time I went with her and I felt confident enough leaving Little Man with my hubby and my father.  My hubby watches Little Man all day by himself (my hero) so I knew he'd be fine.  My mom originally thought that it was for another hour but fortunately for my sanity it was only scheduled for 30 minutes.  The room that I was in was nice and the music was relaxing.  My "relaxing" massage turned into a therapeutic deep tissue massage though because they discovered the knots in my back and shoulders from trying a not so great baby sling with a heavy toddler.

Four handed massage is when two massage therapists work on you at the same time.  They will either work on separate parts of the body at the same time (think shoulders and feet) or work together on the same part of the body (think back or legs).  What is great about four handed massage is that you get the effects of an hour massage in 30 minutes.  What takes one massage therapist an hour to do they can do in half that time.

Because my relaxing massage turned into a "this is going to be a little sore tomorrow" massage this particular massage place offered oxygen therapy as a means to quicker recovery, free of charge.  I was given a glass of oxygenated water to drink after my session.  It tasted different - but not bad.  I guess it worked because I did not feel sore the next day after my - though the 90 minutes of yoga might have had something to do with that too.  I not convinced that the next time I find an oxygen bar, I won't still shake my head and mutter, "Air is free people".  But since that water was free, it was nice to have.

So the next time you are thinking to yourself that you could really use a massage but don't have the time. Consider a four handed massage.  You can fit it in during your lunch hour or in between work and picking up your children.  Even better let your partner have some quality time with your children and treat yourself to a relaxing me moment.

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Monday's Mamas will be a chance for the working mother who identifies as natural or attached to share her story with the online community.  It can be a personal story or it can be an informational post about just how does an AP mama manage all those tasks we have to do while still caring for our children in the way we have chosen?  This is open any mama who maintains a dual lifestyle: working out of the home, returning to school or the work at home mamas (WAHMs).


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