Massage - Living Long and Strong with Verne and Roy

March 26, 2024

#35 Ageing Disgracefully? – Part Two, Massage Benefits and Oxytocin Boosters

Gimme some skin – huggers and huggees; hugs, kisses and oxytocin; more massage benefits; boosting oxytocin; tend and befriend; happy babies; DIY rejuvenation; lavender lies and self-care multi-tasking; paying for it

I’m a touchy-feely sort of person who starts to wither without physical contact. We’re not all like this, I know. My dad was physically affectionate; my mother not so much. He was the hugger, she the huggee. That’s what it’s like with me and Roy, too. I’m the hugger, he’s the huggee.

Gimme Some Skin

Since hearing somewhere that human beings require at least 15 hugs a day, I’ve started to demand that many from Roy. (Why it’s 15 is anyone’s guess… and probably was.) He’s sensibly acquiescing, no doubt seeing the wisdom of me filling my quota at home, rather than at the beach, the gym, the mall or the train station.

February 10, 2024

#34 Ageing Disgracefully? Part One

Ageing disgracefully; how old are you really, and does age matter?; vanity vs honesty; 3 ways to measure age; biological age markers; perceived age; psychological age; skin deep; Pitu will make you pretty!; reversing ageing: exercise, meditation and more; Human Growth Hormone promise; massage, the tender trap?

“Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64?”

The Beatles

How old are you, really? And does it matter? That’s three questions already, with more to follow.

As this new year dawned – where did the last one go? – and a landmark birthday* (musically speaking) approached, I found myself thinking again about age. How significant is the number, if at all? We all know people who are old at 35, and others who still present as physically, mentally and emotionally young into what’s generally regarded as middle to old age.

Reversing ageing — At my birthday lunch last month, taken in fairly good lighting

#12 Yoga Massage – Kirsty Stone, remedial massage therapist

What is yoga massage? Verne Maree meets remedial massage therapist Kirsty Stone and discovers its magical benefits.

Of course I am deeply fond of my husband, and I appreciate his sterling qualities and myriad skills. But alas – and this may come as a shock – he isn’t perfect.

Now that we’ve safely celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary, I must reveal that he does not do massage. Never has, never will. He won’t even give me a backrub. (Not a proper one, anyway. He says it hurts his hands.)