Swedish Massage

by Valerie Gladstone — August 20, 2007

After giving me one of the best massages of my life, Roland Davis relaxed for a moment in my living room before going on to his next client, to tell me a little about his background. It was almost 9pm, and he had worked on me for over an hour, managing to loosen every tight muscle in my back. No easy task as I spend too much of my life in front of a computer.

Since most of his clients have day jobs, he sees them at night, driving his car the length and breadth of the city, with his 60lb table safely tucked in the trunk. It seems in New York, you not only can get every kind of food delivered, but you can also get the best of Swedish massages. Even though I was dying to collapse on my bed to revel in relaxation, I also wanted to find out what had led a handsome, 6'6" Harvard graduate to the world of massage.

"It all started when I was 20," Davis says. "An osteopathic doctor had recommended I get a massage. I'd never even given or had a back rub. I grew up in a WASP family where there was very little touching. The massage was a revelation. The woman worked very deeply, getting at all my tension. And she was also very funny. The sensation was amazing. All I knew afterward was that I wanted to learn to do what she did. I decided to take time off from college to study massage at the Swedish Institute. It combined everything I loved, working with people and working with my hands."

At the Institute, he learned all about anatomy and physiology, and practiced both Swedish and Shiatsu massage techniques. "I like Swedish better," he explains," because you can use aromatic creams and lotions. Also most Asian massage is done on the floor, and at my height, leaning over or crouching got pretty uncomfortable."

To do massage well, Davis says takes more than knowledge of the body; it requires empathy and intuition about people. "You're not just working with tissues," he says, "you're working on a kinetic, intangible level. I call it being able to feel the 'ahhhhhh.' It's very meditative work."

Thankfully, he is not one to tout massage as the answer to everything but he does believe the resulting release of tension from massage probably leads to a healthier body. "Anything that supports your well-being will indirectly fight off diseases," he says. "A client even told me it helped her lose weight because she made better food choices when she was having massages and didn't crave sugar."

Athletes who have massages before events greatly improve their performance and are far less prone to injury. "I think it's because you become more in tune with your body and more comfortable in your own skin," he says. "I remember it even worked on my voice when I studied opera. My teacher would remark on how much more resonant my voice was at times when I'd just had a massage."

What is the most important aspect of massage? "I think it's as a gift you give yourself," Davis says. "Most people never do that. And they don't know how to slow down and turn off their cell phones and Blackberries. It's good to have one person spend a quiet hour with you, just trying to relax you and improve your physical condition."

After he arrives home these days, he may do one last massage on his wife, who just had a baby girl a month ago. "She's a massage therapist too," he says, "and we often give each other massages but right now she needs them a lot more than I do. I love making people feel better."

Davis charges about $140 an hour and can be reached at 917.428.7123.