And then, by the time you hit forty, your medical file has become quite the novel.
You\u2019ve hung up your ice skates. Your tennis racket is on the verge of becoming a dust collector. Migraine, ACNES (nerve pain in the abdomen), injury after injury. Wobble, wobble. Not fun. A friend suggested shiatsu. \u201cThere\u2019s a good one in IJburg,\u201d she said.
IJburg? 020? Yeah, no thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I googled \u201cshiatsu Rotterdam\u201d and landed on shiatsurotterdam.nl. Looked professional and trustworthy. Booked an appointment online and biked to Katendrecht. I rang the bell, and a tall man with glasses opened the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo ahead and undress.\u201d
\u201cAll the way?\u201d
Almost all the way.
Okay\u2026 Trusting soul that I am, I did it. I lay down on a red mat and was decently covered with a red towel. Eyes closed, and he began. Pressing, squeezing, pulling.
\u201cIf I press here, you\u2019ll feel warmth in your groin and knee.\u201d
If you say so \u2014 I felt nothing, but tried really hard to feel something.
Soft music in the background, and we chatted now and then about this and that.
Of course, I wanted to know who was poking me and why he was doing what he was doing.
\u201cYou\u2019re breathing wrong and way too stuck in your head.\u201d
Back, legs, shoulders, toes, belly. OUCH!
The nerve causing my abdominal pain was tackled, and I nearly sank through the floor in agony.
He finished with warm hands on my forehead and a gentle \u201cthere you go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I left the place feeling wrecked.
An hour later, I broke out in a sweat \u2014 during an important meeting with a brand-new client, no less.
I kept my cool, but was tempted to drive straight to my surgeon and have that nerve cut immediately.
A day later, other parts of my body started feeling much better.
A few treatments later, the nerve pain had been reduced to a minor nuisance that flares up occasionally. No scalpel needed anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, over a year later, even the migraines are more manageable \u2014 as long as I steer clear of red wine.
Last attack was five months ago, and the intensity has eased.
My knee is much better.
Still no ice skating, but I now bike up and down the Erasmus Bridge pain-free and without gasping for air.
I do that ride regularly \u2014 about once a month for a check-up, and twice a week for kickboxing training.
Because yes, Louis also asked if I wanted to try kickboxing.
Me? A girl (uh?) with pearl earrings from Hillegersberg?
Well\u2026 why not?
You might be a hidden talent at something you\u2019ve never tried.
That part turned out to be wildly optimistic (I had my suspicions), but together with a fun, kind group of all shapes and sizes \u2014 from a 210 cm, 115 kg giant and a skinny opera singer to a 14-year-old power girl \u2014 we get thoroughly worked over by Louis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not the hands and techniques of this shiatsu king that heal you:
you\u2019re responsible for your own well-being, 24\/7.
Shiatsu supports and has made me more aware of my own body.
I can now feel how everything is connected \u2014 from crown to big toe and back.
That you can create connections, warm up places in your body with your thoughts, and more.
Bit by bit, I\u2019m growing stronger \u2014 physically and mentally.
My skates are still tucked away in grease, my tennis racket looks at me questioningly\u2026
Who knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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