My father was a commercial printer, foreman of the print shop in our small town in Wyoming. As a young child in the 1950s I sometimes watched him, fascinated by the sights and sounds of the large cast iron Heidelberg and Kluge printing presses. His work was exacting, requiring focus and concentration, and he spent long hours standing as he set the lead type and ran the presses.
After dinner with our large and boisterous family, he would sometimes ask me to rub his feet, as he lay down on the couch to nap. Even as a child I understood that the massage I did of his feet helped to soothe and relax him. I made the connection between those long hours of standing – the physical and mental demands of the work – and the achiness in his feet. It felt good to do something that helped him feel better.
Sometimes he would fall asleep very soundly – or so my little sister and I thought – and we would gently comb his wavy salt and peppered hair, carefully putting pin curls in the longer hair on top of his head. He’d wake up, putting his hand on his head: “What the – ? !”
Years later, in the mid 1970s I picked up a copy of a little green book, written in the 1930s, entitled, “Stories the Feet Can Tell.” by Eunice Ingham. I began to share the techniques outlined in the book for massaging the feet. I practiced these skills on my family and friends, who enjoyed the benefits of the work.
In the 1980s I went to massage school and became a certified massage therapist. Throughout these many years, practicing massage with a broad range of clientele in many different settings, from health spas to hospice, hospital and homecare settings, I still value the importance of massage practiced within the family. In my work in medical settings I have on many occasions been able to encourage a family to touch their loved ones in a helpful and nurturing way.
Does massage within the family supplant the need for trained professional massage therapists? Not at all. We can encourage this most natural therapy to be part of family life. Like everyday food, it is a part of healthy, nourishing relationships. But even the well nourished individual can benefit from the broader range of skills offered by the professional. Perhaps professional massage is to family massage as gourmet food is to everyday good home cooking.
