I never used to take self-care seriously as it was initially promoted to me as a fad, a trend, the next cool bandwagon to jump on. It was never talked about as something of importance, it was often discouraged as anyone seen participating in it, were perceived as lazy time wasters. As a result, whenever my friend would invite me to the Spa with her I wasn't very enthusiastic about it.
I still went, as I wanted to hang out with her, but I'd never initiate this as an activity for us to do. She always liked to get massages and exfoliation baths, while I enjoyed the bathing pools and saunas. I didn't utilize the other services as I thought it to be a waste of money. I could do my nails and feet in a nail salon; I exfoliate at home and I prefer to soak in baths that I put together. Massages never did anything for me so I didn't bother with them. The few times I gave them a try I was often disappointed as both Spas and Massage Parlours would leave me feeling "beat up" and worse than before. I learned to live with the aches and pains as the tension was never relieved so I didn't see the point in getting massages regularly.
I was maintaining until my left shoulder started throbbing in excruciating pain. It felt like my shoulder was physically separating from my body. As if it had been bluntly cut by a saw-blade and was now falling away from my neck. The worst part is it would happen suddenly and randomly. It would start out as a minor pull, then that discomfort quickly grew to a painful knot.
It always happened while I wasn't doing anything strenuous. While I was sitting at my desk at work, in my car, on the couch, anywhere and time where I was sitting still it happened. On the off chance, it happened during a workout, my shoulders would tighten up and squeeze together. It would slowly loosen once I stretched. No longer being able to endure this, I reached out to my friend Johnny and asked if he had any openings. He scheduled me in for Sunday; and although I didn't believe in what massages could do, I didn't know what else to do.