Massage Therapy & Healing Blog

by: Stephanie Shrum, LMT & NCBTMB Approved Continuing Education Provider

 

From time to time, I’d like to offer recommendations for local businesses as part of my blog that serve as inspiration for the post. In this post, I’d like to recommend a dish at a local restaurant called the Loft Brasserie in Ashland, Oregon. This rich and sumptuous dish is the Dungeness Crab Macaroni Gratin made with white truffle oil. Since the truffle flavor is so magnificent, I suggest ordering it without crab so that the truffle flavor can be truly savored. Divine! Please continue on read the unique story of a most unusual compliment and what truffles, truffle pigs, and massage therapists have in common… 

 

 

A few months ago, I received an unusual, yet flattering compliment. I was working with a client and focused in on an area that felt particularly distressed. The moment I touched the spot, she proclaimed, “You are like a truffle pig for [finding the source of] pain!” I smiled. I loved hearing this, because not only do I appreciate truffles as food connoisseur, but this also meant that I was serving her as a massage therapist and bodyworker. Let me explain a little bit further what a ‘truffle pig’ is and why I actually enjoyed being compared to one.

 

What are Truffles and Truffle Pigs?

Truffles are rare mushrooms bursting with rich flavor. It only takes a tiny amount of truffles to affect the entire flavor of a dish. Truffles are quite challenging to find, which is why they are so precious. They grow underground and even when the soil is delicately brushed away, they can easily be missed unless one is expertly trained to recognize them. Known for their unique snouts, pigs have a potent sense of smell that helps them to search for food in the earth. Pigs happen to be instinctively attracted to the scent of truffles. For centuries, specially trained pigs have been used by people to harvest truffles.

 

What does massage therapy and bodywork have to do with ‘Truffle Pigs?’

The roots of pain or misalignment in the body can often be buried like truffles under the earth and can be a challenge to detect. An adhesion pattern or grain-sized trigger point in the body can also have a deep affect on multiple groups of muscles, creating pervasive tension or pain in the body, similar to the way in which a pinch of truffle in a dish profoundly impacts the flavor.

Also, like a pig is able to root out truffles with their snouts, as a massage therapist, I’m able to find buried areas of tension in your body with my hands. I’m instinctively drawn to sources of pain in the body, and because bodywork is my passion, I want to find the roots of pain and help to create lasting change in your body. As a massage therapist and bodyworker, I act similar to a truffle pig as I hunt for areas of tension in the body. I scrupulously clear away the ‘soil,’ unraveling the holding patterns around the pain source so that the tissue can be liberated and healing can take place.

 

I will happily accept the ‘compliment’ of being compared to a truffle pig anytime, because although unusual, it means I’m able to serve you in your healing and create a change in your body that will have a lasting impact on your life and wellbeing.

 

 

Stephanie Shrum is a Licensed Massage Therapist and Bodyworker in Ashland, OR

 

 

Disclaimer

Information on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes only.  It is not intended to be any substitute for any medical advice.  If you suspect or have a medical condition, you should consult with your health care practitioner.  The information provided is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.