Recovering from a 'Relaxing' Massage

Well, I finally used last year's Mother's Day gift certificate to the local spa. I know - it's already Mother's Day again, but I'm quite a procrastinator, and therefore, had to use it right before it expired. The gift certificate was for a manicure, a facial and makeup session and a 30 minute massage. The manicure was very nice, and the facial was wonderful. I don't know how much stuff she put on my face, but it was quite nice and I still feel all glow-y, even hours later. She also 'oxygenated' my face, which evidently is the new thing in keeping skin younger looking. I guess I need to breathe more if I want to stay young-looking.

However, the massage was another story. A few weeks ago, our firm held a health fair and brought in some massage therapists to give mini-massages. Of course, I took full advantage of this and sat down in the chair for my mini-massage. The therapist could not get my shoulders to relax. I was all knotty. She eventually gave up. But I feel stress in my shoulders and neck, so I was not surprised at being all knotted up at work.

Today, the massage therapist was going to give me a 30 minute massage and we discussed how I wanted to proceed, where I needed a massage the most. I decided that a neck and shoulder massage would feel so good, so she started in. She, too, could not get my shoulders to relax. She was absolutely amazed at how tight they were, and I believe a little frustrated. We did the massage, we did 'movements,' but at the end of the 30 minutes, my shoulders were only a little looser than before.

Now, however, my neck and upper back are soooo sore! I feel like I need another massage. I've tried heat, Advil, Dr. Pepper, with only minimal improvement. I'm sure that I need to work on my posture, my stress level, and my ergonomics while at the computer, and those factors would loosen my shoulders and neck up some. So I'm going to go lay on the Swiss ball and try to recover from my massage.