Should I Try?
I was laying on the massage table, enjoying the pain relief that the massage therapist was providing me in my session when she asked me a question, “Have you ever considered lymph drainage massage?” I had never heard of such a thing and asked, “Why do you ask? Do you do that?” The massage therapist could not give me a straight answer, “No, I don’t do that kind of work, but for some reason, it popped in my head for you”. I then asked, “What is it? How is it different than what you do?” Again, she avoided giving me any specifics and recommended I look it up.
When I got home, I decided to look up this new massage technique, lymph drainage massage. I did not find a lot of information other than training for massage therapists. I couldn’t get a clear idea of why this might be something for me to try or find beneficial. So, I put the thought aside, dismissing the idea of trying the suggestion from my massage therapist.
The very next day, a person I had hired to do some work at my home started up a conversation. She learned that I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and had been trying various holistic techniques to feel better. She asked me, “Have you ever considered lymph drainage massage?” I did a double-take when she asked this question. She continued, “My mom does this kind of work. She has been helping another person with hypothyroidism. You might want to talk with her.” Wow, that was weird… the same suggestion 2 days in a row. But I still had not received what I considered a good explanation or reason for me to try this technique. My logical brain wanted to know why! Again, I dismissed the idea of seeking out a lymph drainage massage practitioner, but I had a specific referral.
Two weeks later, I was at a fun gathering with friends. I had worked with some of these ladies when I practiced my own long-distance healing techniques, but they really knew very little about me. I had never seen their faces; all of our work was over the phone. It was a neat opportunity to see each other in person and enjoy each other’s company. One by one I met these amazing ladies. And then the question came again, “Have you ever considered lymph drainage massage?” In fact, 3 different ladies at this event asked this question, none knowing the other said it. Again, no one could give me a specific reason to try this technique. How could I ignore so many people making the exact same suggestion? How could I ignore the random places where I got the exact same suggestion?
I decided to look up the referral that I was given and schedule an appointment. I was still very skeptical, but I felt nudged by some outside source to just trust the process.
When I showed up for the appointment, the lymph drainage massage therapist had a machine called a LymphStar that did most of the work instead of a manual massage. She explained that she could do it manually like many people do, but the machine was 10 times more effective and quicker. It was very Star Trek looking to me. It consisted of a small box connected to wires that were then connected to clear wands, that she was stroking across my skin. She started to explain the process, “If the wands glide smoothly across your skin, lymph is moving. If the wand is a little ‘sticky’ and doesn’t glide as smoothly, the lymph is constricted or getting clogged. Finally, if the wand gets stuck or stops and doesn’t glide at all, the lymph is totally blocked in that location.” I felt nothing as she was doing the process.
While the therapist was doing her work, I started to ask her questions, “What can I expect to change from this session?” Again, I got vague answers, “Well, that varies from person to person and depends on what is going on inside of them. The lymph is an important system in your body that has many functions. Many things can go wrong when lymph is not functioning well.” My logical mind still did not have the answers it was seeking, even from the practitioner herself!
I have to admit, I walked out of the session still very skeptical. The practitioner warned me it could take a few days to feel any effects and it might also take a few more sessions to notice a significant change. She had only covered a small portion of my body since the machine indicated that I had a lot of blocks and clogs.
As I got into my car, even though I scheduled another appointment, I was determined to call this practitioner back and cancel. I was going over in my mind what I was going to say. As I was driving down the highway on my way home, I noticed a specific license plate. My eyes seem to zero in on license plates that spell words and have interesting pattern. What I noticed was a plate ending in 777. Now that may not have a special meaning to just anyone, but I had recently been sharing repeating numbers with a girlfriend and looking up the ‘angel number’ meaning. I couldn’t remember what 777 meant, so I just made a mental note to look it up when I got home. I turned off the main highway and onto the main road headed to my home. To my surprise, there was another car, yes, a totally different car, that had a license plate ending in 777. The car seemed to be going annoyingly slow as if to taunt me and make me notice that I was seeing 777 again.
When I got home, the first thing I did was google ‘777 angel number’. The starting sentence said, “you are on the right path”. Whoa! Was that a message for me? Was that a response to the doubt of going to the lymph drainage massage again? I decided that I had witnessed too many coincidences on the path to trying this new practice to not see it through for a few visits.
It took 3 visits to the lymph drainage massage practitioner, but after that 3rd session, something magical happened. I got my sense of smell back. You see, I had not been able to smell anything for at least 8 years. The smells came in strong and powerful… lavender, laundry soap, essential oils, the smell of food cooking… all the things I had been missing came crashing in. The massage therapist had no definitive explanation other than it could have been clogged lymph blocking the smell receptors. The other thing that happened was I got huge relief from a left arm and shoulder that the chiropractor thought was a rotator cuff issue. The massage therapist indicated that the lymph was super clogged in that area and spent a whole hour session working on just that arm. The arm felt lighter, I could now rotate it in ways I had not been able to in years, and more importantly, tremendous pain was relieved.
Should I try it? I am glad I did. I learned a few things from this experience. First, the universe has many magical ways of guiding us to the solutions we are longing for if we only take the time to notice and trust those nudges. Second, even if my logical brain is not satisfied with a reason to try something, it doesn’t mean that it can’t help. Next time, I will ‘try it’ a little quicker.
Kelly Robbins draws upon extensive life coaching and energy work experience to help people identify thoughts, beliefs, traumas, trapped emotions, and stuck feelings which no longer serve them to bring wellness to people’s careers, relationships, physical body, mental health, spiritual health, and even their pets! To learn more about Kelly, click here.