Couples learn how to open communication with touch

This Valentine’s Day, valley couples will have another way to celebrate.

“Roses fade and a fancy restaurant dinner is only a memory after the evening is over,” said Tiffany Richards-Thibodeaux, Owner of The Back Rub Company. “But a massage has lasting benefits.”

Richards-Thibodeaux is hosting the Couples Massage Workshop to acquaint couples with the ancient therapeutic art. The three-hour workshop will be offered Feb. 10 and 11.

“Most people carry their stress in the neck, back and shoulders so these are the areas we will be working on,” Richards-Thibodeaux said.

Couples should wear loose, comfortable clothing. In addition to demonstrating and explaining traditional massage techniques, Richards-Thibodeaux and an assistant will provide an overview of reflexology.

“In reflexology, the feet symbolize the past, the hands and the present and the ears represent the future,” Richards-Thibodeaux said. Participants will be taught what body parts correspond to areas on the feet, hands and ears so they can massage accordingly. Richards-Thibodeaux often uses reflexology techniques to alleviate the symptoms of kidney and bladder infections.

“I’ve always been prone to kidney infections, so now when I feel one coming on, I massage the reflexology point on my feet that corresponds to the kidneys,” Richards-Thibodeaux said. “It starts to work right away.”

While massage has therapeutic and health value, the technique is also about intimacy and communication between two people, Richards-Thibodeaux said.

“We are teaching ‘couple skills’ in the workshop,” she said. “Massaging each other is not intended as a lead-in to sex. It’s about moving communication with each other to a new level.”

Richards-Thibodeaux and her husband, Aaron, often meet after a busy day in their massage room for a 30-minute break, she said.

“When we’re giving each other a massage, the barriers comes down and we’re able to talk about all sorts of things. It’s a way to relate on a level other than physical intimacy,” she said. “We have some great conversations.”

After watching family members struggle with arthritis and related health problems, Richards-Thibodeaux decided on a career in the holistic arts.

“My grandfather used to do the dishes every night because the only time he got relief from his arthritis pain was to have his hands in the hot water,” she said. “I knew there had to be a way to release healing powers holistically.”

In 2003, Richards-Thibodeaux went on a nationwide tour with Cirque du Soleil as a massage therapist. Catering to athletes and gymnasts “was hard work,” she recalled. The muscular acrobats “needed deep-tissue massage after the end of a long day of performance. It got pretty tiring.”

These days, Richards-Thibodeaux does on-site chair and traditional massage work at corporations and private venues around the Valley.

The couples workshop, a first for Richards-Thibodeaux, is designed to be intimate, with attendance limited to six couples per session. Depending on the response, a third sessions may be added. The $75 fee covers an overview of massage techniques, hands-on demonstration and plenty of time to practice strokes in a non-threatening atmosphere.

Therapeutic massage stimulates blood flow, releases toxins and reduces stress.

“It’s also a good way to be comfortable in your own body,” Richards-Thibodeaux said.