A couple times a year I will slip a disc and have to go for a massage to get it popped back. I used to go to Vladimir for this, and he did a good job and cracked everything back into shape. However, it was always the same, and I got bored - and I always went for therapy rather than relaxation and stress relief. A few months ago, I found out that my friend Evi is a professional masseuse. I have been going regularly ever since. But unlike Vladimir, I go for the stress relief and a gift to myself. Evi works with Swedish massage, which tanks god is a whole lot different than my mother's so-called "Swedish meatballs," meatballs covered and cooked in Welsch's grape jelly (in which I once lost a tooth). When she first placed her hands on my back, they were so warm, I asked her if she had first put her hands in the oven. But she explained it was reiki, similar to prananadi. Reiki is one of the more widely known forms of energy healing. Energy Healing involves direct application of Chi for the purpose of strengthening the client's energy system (aura). Chi is the term used by the Chinese mystics and martial artists for the underlying force the Universe is made of. The energy manages its own flow to and within the recipient. It draws through the healer exactly that amount of energy which the recipient needs. All this happens without direct conscious intervention by the healer. While the candles, nice music and good smelling oils provoke a spiritual and soft first impression, Evi is not afraid to bear down really hard to get the knots out, and at the end of the hour I felt completely wrung out, but also very relaxed and bouncy. I wish I could go every day. I certainly deserve it ;-) She is working on building up her private practice, so if you are interested, check out her facebook group.