Follow the Beat

"A beat is a moment in the life of a groove." So says legendary jazz artist Wynton Marsalis. And like a brilliant piece of jazz, a romantic massage has its own beat, its own groove, its own life. The giver and the receiver are skin-to-skin, heartbeat-to-heartbeat, soul-to-soul.

The most important skill to cultivate in a romantic massage is the ability to listen. You must listen to each other, seriously and and with full concentration. You must listen carefully to what your partner SAYS, and you must listen intently to what your partner's BODY says. Listen with your ears and with your hands. When you can hear the beat -- softly at first, and then growing stronger -- then you can give an amazing massage.

If you have ever given or received that kind of massage, you already know that "the groove" is a sacred place, a place you can only access by following the beat.