I start with him face down on my table. He wants me to focus on his shoulders and his legs. I start with a general plan, but in reality, the details only come when I get to those parts of his body.

His shoulders, and everything about him really, are big. Thick, Islander muscles on a tall but stocky frame. Think "Samoan lite". It's amazing, trying to lift any one muscle. His calves are the size of footballs, and I have to work each one with both hands, kneading back and forth.

This man makes me work. He doesn't know it. I climb onto the table, kneeling to press my soft fists into his calf muscles. Finally, the deep pressure he has been wanting.

Turn over, Big Guy, and we'll work on those quads, those also-enormous quads that require the two-fisted approach. Deep tissue techniques, deep pressure, deep release.

The pièce de résistance : shoulders. My hands slide firmly under his back, and I pull them toward me. Upward pressure, then lift and pinch the muscles. Three passes. He's asleep. I'm sweating profusely. I feel the perspiration dripping slowly down the center of my back as I center my energy. His head is heavy in my hands. I run my fingers through his hair, shaking out the last of the hard work, the last of the worry.