Cynthia Waring Matthews

Bodies Unbound
Transforming Lives Through Touch

Bodies Unbound is the story of how I left a convent, where I had gone to escape the pain of my life, and, by accident became a masseuse. Somehow God knew the way to my heart was through the sacredness of ordinary experience and the wisdom of the flesh.

I never meant to be a masseuse. If someone had asked me what I wanted to be I never would have thought of it. But I have given over 30,000 massages in the past thirty-five years, arriving at the doors of strangers with my table, sheets, and oil. I’ve massaged all kinds of people from movie stars to babies; old women dying of cancer, no breasts, men from war, no legs. I’ve massaged young girls as a present from their mothers like some initiation rite. I’ve been a present to lovers on birthdays, coming to their house with balloons tied to my bag. People have remembered every kind of emotional and physical abuse on my table, which made me remember mine. And we have shared outrageous, never before told stories that made us laugh our heads off.

I love bodies, I love every shape they come in. When I lay my hands on a body, just put them down on warm, soft flesh, I am in ecstasy. I love intimacy. I love getting to the core of things. My connection to the human dilemma and how to remove the false belief systems that sicken and constrict the body is profound. Every time my work takes a person deep into the center of her being and she remembers the beginning place of contraction and how she protected herself out of fear, I am fulfilled.

When we write personal stories we discover new meanings and new connections with our former selves. That is what happened to me through the process of finding the words to describe the moods and feelings and dilemmas of my life and those people I met along the way. Through writing this book I found my voice. I found my story. I found my Life. I offer it to you with all my heart.

“I picked up this 140 page book in the afternoon. Except for a bathroom break, I didn’t put it down until I had finished it, late at night. I thought once about dinner but the book was more important. As I read Cynthia’s story, I laughed, cried, shook my head in acknowledgement, felt judgmental and then forgiving, questioned the “ethics” of giving such accounts, then realized I had been reminded of my own shadow issues. Finally I felt deep gratitude for having been privileged to share a spiritual journey along a holy, though rock-strewn path. “Waring says “When my clients are able to relax and accept themselves and their lives, and when they feel forgiveness for all who hurt them and all the ways they hurt themselves, my massage room becomes a sacred temple. When this happens, I, too, am transformed.” “Extremely well-written and totally engaging, this book is destined to be a best seller. Not only to massage professionals, but to all who are seeking the path to inner healing, forgiveness and love.”

- Jack Thomas, Touch Therapy Times

“Through trial and error, Waring gradually uncovers the nature of healing with touch, fearless as she is about making intimate connections with other people. The psychophysical healing program she finally develops is profound, if unorthodox. Raw language replaces jargon in this gritty tale of how one woman forged a path to recovery.”

- NAPRA Review

“Over the years my paperback copy of Bodies Unbound has become dog eared, the pages soft and worn from so many readings. I’ve highlighted passages that touched me, underlined things that hit my heart, and made notes in the margins. Your book came to me during a time in my life when I needed someone to understand me. I read Bodies Unbound twice a year to remind myself and keep in touch with that part of me that needs to be touched.”

- A. Mantoya