I've been meaning to try it but just haven't got around to it yet. By the way the GIF I picked out for you is hysterical. Take my word for it. Merry Christmas!
You need to try it before you bash it. There are great massage therapists. They hit places in your body that you didn't even know needed attention. They relax muscles so you can move, they increase range of motion so you can move more easily and no one is exempt from needing a good massage. The best is to get one once a week, they are expensive and once a month is standard for most people.
Unless something goes haywire, and then it will be consistent until the malady lessens.
There are places in the world where it is recognized as such an essential health regimen that entire villages massage each other and take turns.
Sorry, you have not experienced this. It can be blissful when done correctly.
I disagree that people need to try something (or anything, or everything) before deciding whether it interests them. When it comes to certain things in life, we are intelligent enough to ascertain our likes and dislikes without experimentation. For instance, I know that I never want to get shot, get shot at, watch "professional" wrestling, go to prison, nearly drown, nearly get electrocuted, lose an eye, share my sandwiches, bathe with a man, eat Vegemite, etc. You yourself have even stated things that you have never done before and don't ever want to. ~
My cat is pretty good at it. Sometimes when I am lying on my belly he jumps up on my back and use his front paws to massage me where it is nice and soft and fleshy.
But cats are brilliant at taking care of the body and knowing what feels good, and knowing what is necessary. They instinctively know how to take care of one another and themselves. That's why they like to be pet. You are massaging them.
I don't even know what to say to people who have never had one and still bash the idea. It's like not reading a book I've read and then proceeding to tell me how lousy it was.
Never. However have always massaged and been massaged by boyfriends and now my husband. Since I was 18 or so. Feels great and makes others feel good. And when I moonlighted as an escort I was sometimes paid to give them.