\”Come in darlin\’, come in, they won\’t run out the gate – she\’s looking forward to her massage (aren\’t you sweety), come on through and get yourself settled down on the couch her – be quiet you dogs, be quiet and stop your barking, honestly, behave yourselves – are you ok, dear, do you need a cup of tea or a drink of water? It\’s so hot today, isn\’t it? Hasn\’t the weather been so lovely though, my chooks are just loving it, they are! And my old girl here, she\’s been so much happier since she\’s been having these lovely massages with you, so much calmer, I can see she just loves the sessions, she sleeps for ages after every one, don\’t you honey?\”
The lady took a breath, and I took my chance…
\”So she\’s been ok then?\” I asked – and straight away she was telling me all about it…
\”Oh yes, honey, she\’s been so much better – she was so stiff and sore before you started working with her, and she jumps up to go and chase the cars on the road so much easier than she did before,\” she said, as her dogs jumped around and licked us both, overcome with excitement. \”Those Green Mussel capsules – she loves them too, you know, eats them up like lollies, she does – and the massages especially seem to really calm her down as well as helping her feel better in her joints, they do, they really do, you know…\”
I was sitting there, taking notes on my computer. Her lovely old border collie dog was scooting around, anxious and restless, super excited, gee-ed up, as always. A little bundle of tension on legs. I put my hand out and she darted in to give it a lick, then went back to trying to find a ball to play with. She had a real fixation on balls, and anything that moved in fact.
\”Oh – she\’s found a ball,\” said her mum, happily. Both dogs started barking and yipping, asking for a game. \”Where did you get that, you naughty old girl, here, give it to mum, let me have it…\” She took the ball and put it up on a high shelf. \”No – you can\’t have it darlin\’, not now, you need to have your massage! Come on, hop up on the couch with Dr Edward there and have your massage…\”
We got her to hop up on the couch, and I held my hands on her for a moment. She relaxed and softened quite quickly, and after only 5 minutes or so her eyes got a bit sleepy, and her body lost some of that live wire tension and started to sink into the cushions.
\”Look at that!\” her mum exclaimed. \”She\’s relaxing already! I\’m amazed at how she gets all sleepy when you work on her, I really am, you know she never, ever relaxes like that at all, she doesn\’t, not ever, so it\’s so lovely that she does when you work with her. And I see a difference in her after each session, she goes and has a big sleep, she does, you know, and she never does that otherwise, so I know it\’s really working, what you\’re doing. She\’s such a lovely dog, she is, I had my little grandson over the other day to look after him, and she plays with him so well, she does, she\’s so gentle and lies down for him to pat her. He\’s such a dear, my little grandson, we have the best time together, I just love him to bits, I do, we\’re best mates, we have the best time feeding the chooks, throwing the ball for the dogs, reading stories…\”
I settled into the session with her dog, helping her let go fo some deeper layers of tension. She was so much more relaxed than the first couple of visits, when it was all I could to to get her to sit still, let alone accept the session. I let the wash of her mum\’s conversation flow over me. I enjoyed listening to all the stories of her life, poured out in a river of words, and occasionally I\’d reply with a word or two. Most of my attention was with her dog. After half an hour her eyes had closed entirely, and her body was heavy and fluid under my hands. I kept on working with her for a while longer…
\”Look, darlin\’, you\’ve put right to sleep, you have!\” she said. \”I love seeing her all relaxed like that, I do, it\’s so good for her, what you;re doing there with your Whole Energy Body thing that you do with her, she loves it so much, really she does -\”
I broke in, gently.
\”Right, we\’re done for today. Thanks so much for having me in to give her a session-\”
\”Oh no, thank you, honey, I just love seeing how much she relaxes, she loves it so much, she does!\” she replied.
\”She does, doesn\’t she,\” I said. \”Thanks again, and now I\’ve really got to get moving, off to the next visit. I\’ll see you in a few weeks?\”
\”Oh yes dear, I\’ll give you a ring,\” she told me, as she walked me out to the car. \”You\’ll love to have another session in a few weeks, won\’t you dear? I give Dr Edward a call, and he\’ll come around and see you again, yes he will…\”
Her voice faded as I hopped into my car and swung back onto the road, receiving a cheery wave as she kept on chatting away to her dogs. Such a lovely visit!