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I’m reading Bill Bryson’s The Body: A Guide for Occupants and early on he discusses the idea that every single thing we know and experience of the world is brought to us by our senses. Our brains interpret the input and conjure our reality, doing its best to highlight the necessary (and potentially life-threatening) stimuli and filter out the background noise. After massaging a client who tells me that they weren’t even aware of some or most of the tension they were carrying, I like to say that we’d lose our minds if we had to be aware of everything our senses picked up at all times.
My body produces an overabundance of earwax (our bodies are at the same time gross and magnificent), which occasionally creates a blockage, and recently I spent a week feeling like my right ear was deep underwater. I felt the pressure of the blockage, I felt my attention strained to hear conversation, and I heard the incessant whine of tinnitus that I can usually tune out effortlessly. Naturally, I got a bit crabby and exhausted.
When I went to see my doctor, she informed me my left side also had significant blockage, though it hadn’t perceptibly affected my hearing yet. I scheduled a cleaning and went home to do a daily oil treatment to soften the cerumen (does it sound less gross if the terminology is more medical?). The day before my cleaning, the treatment worked well enough to grant me intermittent hearing on the right side again, along with a rush of relief from the constant pressure.
The cleaning was way less gross than I was imagining, and the nurse was lovely and I felt no judgment at all (except from a few errant, negative thoughts of my own). She relieved the right side first, and with the blockage out I was finally aware of the pressure on the left, which had been completely drowned out. After both sides were cleaned, I was sent off with advice on frequency for oil treatments, and warned that if I felt dizzy after 24 hours I should see my doctor.
The last bit of sensory input I was missing was the adjustment of my inner ear. I had to adapt to the pressure change by moving in a way that didn’t upset my balance, which our bodies can do automatically (especially if shifting our weight is a part of our work life, as in massage therapy). I had given two massages with the blockage, and I felt drained and nauseated afterward, which I thought had something to do with my stomach although I had eaten properly.
Then I remembered The Body, and something Bryson had written about motion sickness being interpreted by the brain as poisoning. I remembered the headache and weird stomach sensation that I would get when I read in the backseat of the car on long trips, how similar it felt when I was lying down after each of the two sessions, and how I was so distracted by my muffled hearing that I couldn’t connect with quieter body sensations. Of course massaging and balancing my weight left me a little woozy with my eardrum being pressed on by compacted wax.
One thing a meditative body scan can give me, if I have the energy for such a thing when I’m feeling unwell, is a chance to identify and categorize the louder sensory inputs and go looking for the quieter ones. They all contribute to a picture of our body’s current state, a moment in our neverending journey in pursuit of homeostasis, and can give us clues on how to help our bodies. The best way I can set myself up for success in this is to practice meditation when I feel fine.
Announcements
I am mostly cat sitting in the neighbourhood this month, so I will still be taking massage appointments on my usual schedule. I will, however, be unavailable the following dates:
- Thursday, October 30th to Sunday, November 1st
As life has only gotten more chaotic and expensive recently, I would like to announce that I will be maintaining my current rates into 2026. Packages and permanent discounts will also be unchanged. I am still looking for new massage clients, and I aim to offer new services (such as meditation coaching) in the new year. (I am already happy to bring meditation into your massage session at no extra charge.)
It’s your last day to book with my September promo code! Schedule your next session before midnight, October 1st to ease your way into autumn and spooky season.
