When I arrived at the home of an elderly friend I work on she was sitting in her La-Z-Boy chair, looking pitiful. I said are you feeling ok today? She said I woke up feeling horrible today. I asked if she took her meds on time and had she checked her blood pressure today. She verified that she had.

I set up the massage table and heated her hot packs. She climbed, on the table and I draped her with a towel and three hot packs. I started on her feet and then covered her feet with one of the hot packs.
As I made my way up her legs and, trunk, she started to breath deeper. By the time I asked her to,flip over she said “I think I’m going to live”. I have said, on more than one occasion, massage is the best medicine for an elderly person.

My dear  departed friend Gloria used to tell me when one gets older, our pumps and valves  don’t work as well and need a little help. That’s what massage does. It manually moves fluids and calms the nervous system as well.
There is also the fact that humans are warm blooded creatures that need the stimuli of touch. This need is organic in nature and runs very deep in our genetic programming. We like to think that because we can make choices about our lives we aren’t animals, but we are. We need our pack, our “family” in order to feel whole.  No one chooses to be lonely, widowed or outlive their children but sometimes these things happen to us. There is no medicine for loneliness other than touch. Touch registers to the brain at lightning speed. The brain recognizes that things aren’t so bad after all.
Back to my client. After her treatment she decided she was up to doing some errands. When she gets out of the car I assist her and make sure she gets into the store feeling safe and secure.  When we returned home she was happy and felt like she got some things accomplished and decided to take a nap.

I was happy she felt better and cared for and secure. If I wasn’t part of her day she probably would have survived the day but would she have had the relief I provided? Would the gloom have turned into an illness? Would the quality of life she experienced after her massage have shown up ?
Neither one of us want to know the answer to that. I left knowing we were each grateful for the other.

Valentina Boonstra