Megan Spence
Megan’s humor, empathy, and deep kindness keeps her regulars coming back for more. Nobody creates a safe space like her!
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SELF-CARE ROUTINE - OTHER THAN MASSAGE?
Sleep! There are so many amazing tools -- exercise, stretching, self-massage, therapy, mindfulness -- but the thing that makes the biggest difference for me between feeling great and feeling like a decrepit shell of myself is sleep, hands down.
WHAT KIND OF CLIENT MAKES YOU REALLY EXCITED TO GIVE A MASSAGE?
I get excited about many kinds of clients! I love prenatal and postpartum massage because I feel like these are times in life when energy is so blatantly diverted to someone else, and it's nice to just give parents a moment for themselves. Caregivers in general! Honestly anyone who's going through it, whatever "it" may be who really needs some care? I'm so glad they are there. A maybe surprising type of client that I'm always excited to work with is people who have not historically liked or felt drawn to massage but feel like they need or want to try it for some reason. When I was a kid, I hated having my shoulders rubbed, and I can still be very sensitive when I get massages. So even though I obviously think massage can be amazing and transformative, I find the discomfort and/or awkwardness some folks feel about it deeply relatable, and I am always excited to help them feel as safe and comfortable as possible both on the table and in their own skin. I've had clients who are nervous about getting a massage because they don't like their arms to be touched, or their legs, neck, etc., or who are uncomfortable when massage is too light or too deep, and I love saying, "OK, let's not do the thing you hate -- massage can exist around whatever parameters you set." It sounds obvious, but I don't think everyone knows this, and sadly, I don't think it's as true everywhere as it is at Melt. I've even had clients come in who say they don't like to be touched at all but have a pain that needs to be addressed. I really enjoy troubleshooting how to make touch feel safe and soothing for these folks, because we all deserve safety, and we all deserve to have a little more ease in our bodies and in our lives.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GO TO MASSAGE SCHOOL?
I was a nonprofit fundraiser, and I was stressed, and I felt like I was in my head all the time and not in my body. I wanted to do something more physical, and I wanted to help people in a more hands-on way.
WHAT WAS THE WORST MASSAGE YOU EVER GAVE?
I went through a period of profound grief a few years ago. There's a way in which massage is the best job in the world in that situation because it kind of opens you up to a sea of compassion for the human experience, and it is nice to shift your focus to someone else and turn off your own stuff. But I had some really bad days where I felt like I had to keep moving or I would fall apart. I would cry if I attempted mindfulness exercises on my own time, and I wasn't able to slow down and be as present as I would like at work. I had a client on one of those bad days who had pretty extensive neuropathy and really needed a specific type of slow work, and I am not sure if it was the literal worst massage I've ever done, but it was definitely the one where I felt the biggest disconnect between what the client needed and what I could offer, and it felt bad to me, so I'm thinking it probably wasn't great on the receiving end. Luckily, I had a continuing ed class on the books the next week that was all about slowing down. It was a much-needed reset and gave me good and necessary tools to fall back on if life gets that full tilt again, but whew. The human experience, amirite?
WHAT WAS THE LAST REALLY GREAT BOOK YOU READ?
Most recent great book I read was Tove Jansson's Notes from an Island. I love her Moomin books so much, and this was a non-fiction book of short, sweet reflections imbued with her lovely spirit. My favorite book I've read this whole year is Helm by Sarah Hall. It's a novel from different perspectives about an anthropomorphized wind (!!), and the chapters from Helm's perspective are my absolute favorite.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE HALLOWEEN COSTUME YOU EVER WORE?
Probably Medusa back when I had masses of long hair and enjoyed putting a bunch of snakes in it. That said, at the very moment that I am answering the question, my child is squealing and clapping her lil tween hands at the caduceus I just completed for her Hermes Halloween costume. As with so many things for so many parents, I'm naturally inclined to put more effort into my daughter than into myself (for better or worse), so the costumes I'm most proud of have been hers. She was an excellent Wonder Woman when she was 4 and has had some other great costumes over the years, but I think Maleficent at age 6 was the most elaborate between the swoopy robe and the horns and make up. I even made Diablo the bird, which I was so proud of since I'm not really a sculptor type. Tragedy struck when she accidentally knocked the bird over and smashed its face the night before Halloween, and I felt like an absolute superhero when I somehow repaired it by morning despite it requiring several layers of things that needed to dry before the next could be applied. I'm still not sure how it all worked out for old Diablo, but what a rush! It was a great costume.
Favorite superhero?
Me when I fixed that friggin bird! LOL
