One of the things taught at school is that not only is massage therapeutic, but it is an art form. I LOVE THAT!!! When using the proper body mechanics, it can look just like a dance. This goes hand in hand with what they term "beingness"... connecting with your client. Of course the person you are working on is either asleep or just has their eyes closed, so they can't see all that dancing. They even recommend that we close our eyes.
It's no secret that I have a love for GOOD music and last night was the first time we got to practice massage with lyrical music. GOOD stuff! The songs our instructor chose were perfect. Last night was the first time, I really felt like I was in that place. It's amazing how music can take me away from everything. It has such a profound effect on me. It triggers memories and deep feelings for me. The music she chose came from artists like Jack Johnson, Bob Marley, Norah Jones, and even "Amber" by 311. There were some other songs I didn't recognize and loved, so I'll be stealing those ones as well. :)
I might choose those ones and some songs from my current soundtrack in life, which are:
Damien Rice (LOVING HIM) "Dogs" and "Amie" and "Volcano" and "Cannonball" Umm... or just any of his
Imogen Heap "Goodnight and Go"
Coldplay "Spies" and "Life in Technicolor"
Keane "Sunshine"
Ophelia of the Spirits "By the Boab Tree"
The Shins "Weird Divide"
The Go Find "Bleeding Heart" and maybe "Over the Edge"
Sufjan Stevens "All the Trees of the Field"
U2 "Love and Peace or Else"
Of course Enya and some Erasure. Oh and some Sarah Mclachlan.
Edited** to add this amazing guy Sigur Ros "Samskeyti" (acoustic)
I am seriously so excited for this. Looking for suggestions for other songs. I am told that some people bring their own soundtrack. They told us that one guy brought speed metal for his session. Perhaps it relaxes him. What music relaxes you? Or inspires you? I'd love it if you share.
I'll be calling those of you that volunteered to let me practice on you soon. I think we get our tables next week. Thanks for volunteering!
I will leave you with these quotes I found about music that I really liked.
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Day Is Done
He who sings scares away his woes. ~Cervantes
(I especially like this one... haha! That's me)
Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. ~Maya Angelou, Gather Together in My Name
Were it not for music, we might in these days say, the Beautiful is dead. ~Benjamin Disraeli
Music is what feelings sound like. ~Author Unknown
There's music in the sighing of a reed;
There's music in the gushing of a rill;
There's music in all things, if men had ears:
Their earth is but an echo of the spheres.
~Lord Byron
If in the after life there is not music, we will have to import it. ~Doménico Cieri Estrada
I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality. ~H.A. Overstreet