Just Relax and Recover

I think it's pretty apparent to both my casual and regular readers that I'm a little neurotic. I am anxious, prone to attacks of acute panic, and can be downright paranoid. I cannot sit still (which is why I stand up at work), put the hyper into Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and my mind races like a lab rat on meth without my Ritalin. I grind my teeth, continuously struggle to "give up" smoking, and compulsively google things while watching tv. I relax when I'm pounding miles outside or jumping 3 feet in the air in kickboxing. It's the only time my mind goes blank.

So today was an interesting afternoon at the shrink followed by an awesome medical massage. I spent a 45 minute hour talking about how my calendar is being destroyed by my gym's inability to stick to a given group fitness schedule. After getting my white girl problems all out in the open, I headed down the street to Manhattan Total Health.

My friend Amanda sent me an AmazonLocal link last September for a one hour massage and chiropractor consultation at Manhattan Total Health for $30. Yes, $30. I bought the deal and told myself I could only go after I went to thirty Equinox classes. It took a while but by the end of December, I had hit thirty. Now I'm just on a roll. I finally scheduled my massage for today, which works out well because of my two weekend runs.

This was the best hour of my life, minus that Sunday morning a few weeks ago. Actually let me revise that - this was the best hour of my life where I didn't have to do anything besides roll over once and lift each arm. Julio, my very talented and licensed massage therapist, took my tired legs and got out knots I didn't even know I had in them. Like the muscles on either sides of my shins - sweet Jesus. He also massaged the tension out of my jaw. No wonder I frequently have a headache. The poor man had to keep telling me to "just relax" and I finally explained to him that relaxing for me is punishing exercise. Lying still and breathing deeply takes effort. Unfortunately I forgot to take my early afternoon Ritalin making the situation worse.

Manhattan Total Health takes insurance for certain cases and there's a possibility that you can get a massage for the cost of your copay. They're checking my insurance coverage for me and if I'm covered, you bet I'll be going back. I'm not getting any compensation for writing about them, but I thought I'd share the love (especially since I didn't go to the gym today and have nothing else to report.)