Fate turned vicious yesterday.
I'd asked for the day off because some friends wanted to meet, but one of them gave birth unexpectedly early (it's a girl!) so that was scrapped. Why not go for a massage instead? So it was, a traditional Chinese massage.
I'd actually gone for a traditional Vietnamese massage just a few days ago at the Ho Chi Minh Association for the Blind. But it just wasn't robust enough. Same thing at another spa place a few days before at the seaside town of Mui Ne. I thought the Chinese massage would fix things.
Well, she did try. Way. Too. Hard. "Does it hurt here?" she'd ask, while digging into my back/neck/shoulder blades/base of my spine. "Yes!" I'd yelp. Then she'd just keep at it with more gusto.
"You're using too much force," I complained at one point. "It's not that," she scolded. "It's because your shoulders are unbalanced, your back's all knotted up and your waist isn't aligned!" Like a dog with a bone, she was determined to iron out all the kinks in my back, shoulders, neck, and so forth. "And you're so young!" she kept repeating. I knew it was impossible, since pain only brings more tension. I thought I was going to cry.
Interestingly, she noted that my right arm was beefier than my left. It's true! Surprisingly, hadn't noticed myself. Her work on my arms and legs was a welcome relief from the beating my back took. But that didn't last long, since apparently there're only two kinks in my four limbs.
Luckily, the ordeal lasted just for an hour. No wonder they make you pay for it before and not after. I've never felt more physically battered. It's a totally different kind of pain than stretching your limits with physical exercise. And I knew the next day, I'll feel bruised in all the places she targeted mercilessly (except no actual bruise will show). I was right. And guess what, I feel more mis-aligned now than I ever did. Can't even sit comfortably since my butt-cheeks and tail bone didn't escape the onslaught.
Technically, it's not a traditional Chinese massage - it's physiotherapy, the Chinese medicine way. Utilised for medical purposes instead of relaxation, Tui Na works to correct the patient's problems, from musculoskeletal conditions, to diseases, cancers and even minor and major headaches.
Let me just lie in bed until these unjust pains and aches go away!
