Saturday, October 27, 2007

Greenville Massage

I remember when I was a kid, it seemed my mother would talk to everyone while we were in public. It used to embarass me to no end. Funny thing, I turned out just like her. The other day I was in BB & T in Greenville, SC & while I was filling out my deposit slip at the kiosk, I overheard the tellers laughing with a customer and saying jokingly that she had done all her addition correctly....this time. I laughed to myself thinking of how I'd messed up with my additions on the fly a few times. I noticed the customer had a strong foreign accent.

As the customer was leaving, she passed by me and I asked where she was from. "Russia," she said and smiled.

"You know, I only know one word in Russian," I replied playfully.

"And what word is that?" she asked.

"Vodka."

We then continued a little more small talk and before she departed, she handed me her card and said "You should stop by sometime and see me," then she walked away. I wondered as I read her card if she was flirting with me or was she wanting to gain a new client as her card said: Anna Bowen- Greenville Massage. I figured either way, I couldn't lose.

A few days later, I called her. I was surprised to see that she had a unique setup on the ceiling of her studio. There were parallel bars hanging above the massage table. They were anchored to the walls and ceiling so they wouldn't budge. "What's that for?" I asked tenatively.

"Have you heard of Ashiatsu?"

"Shiatsu, but not Ashiatsu," I said.

She explained that Ashiatsu is an ancient form of bodywork performed with both the hands and the feet. The bars above the table were to stabilize the massage therapist so they could give deep tissue massage with their feet in areas that needed it.

"Wow," I thought. I'd never even heard of it. "I guess I've lived a sheltered life."

Anna Bowen also had a glass case filled with Nikken products. I couldn't believe the selection had grown so much since I saw their catalog a decade ago. Anna is a very warm and giving person and you sense it as soon as you walk in to her studio. She sent me home with a gallon of highly filtered water which she then put it through a cool looking blender that had a cylinder of magnets that spun in the water. She said after this water has been treated like this, it's called Pi-Mag Water. I thought I don't really need it because I have well water with a very elaborate system of 6 filters including a reverse osmosis system, but I'll take it to be polite.

A couple of days later, I was talking with her on the phone while drinking some of her bewitched water and I told her it tastes great, then start telling her about my great system. She suggested that I put down a two bowls of water in front of my cat to see if she prefers my highly filtered water or her Pi-Mag water. I did. Nica sniffed them both out of curiosity, then started drinking the Pi-Mag water. I thought that maybe it was a coincidense, but my cat kept drinking for 3 minutes. She then took a break then went right back to drinking Anna's brew. Anna explained that animals can sense what is good for them.

I laughed and said, "Maybe that's why my dog and cat turn their heads quickly when I put a cup of coffee in front of their noses."

Anna gives a great massage...so great that I built a website for her at: http://www.greenville-massage.com/. She's a good person with a big heart.

Tell Anna that Glen Woodfin recommended her.