Not full body, but specific deep tissue massage.
You better bet it helps you release stuff. Man does it ever. Truly cathartic. I highly recommend it.
I was getting massage for a couple months before I moved from New Orleans. Haven't had it for two years and man do I miss it.
The best part (and most painful) is the first part. Yes, there is a lot of pain, but the resulting release is simply amazing. The differences between the first and second and third sessions were amazing. It went from everything hurting to what used to be very painful feeling extremely good.
They say that emotions and what not get stored in the muscle. I don't think that memories necessarily get stored, but definitely they are involved in circuits having to do with chronic stress, "hidden" memories, and other patterns.
You loosen up and the quality of life improves noticeably.
I would recommend getting a single person (that is, a person you go to regularly, not necessarily a person without a mate) who has skill and with whom you feel comfortable. They get to know your body. While not necessarily sexual, massage is intimate, and it's my bias to be massaged by someone I feel is a professional and an all around good person.
I have to add, that whether the first or any part is painful or not has to do with the attitude and approach of the masseur(sp?). Some people are very gentle and progress very slowly toward deeper and deeper work. Other people, like the Swedish lady who worked with me, are very direct and go straight to it, urging you to "breathe into it" and "let go" while you yell "I'll tell you anything you want to know! Dear God!!" Just kidding. Almost.
It's pretty amazing to feel yourself let go of a muscle you didn't even know you had and was in chronic stress. Kinda freaky, too.
[This message has been edited by babayada (edited November 05, 2004).]
