Some things clients have said after their recent massage treatments include ‘I feel like a newborn’, ‘I needed that’ and ‘That was so good’.
A massage is often spoken about as a ‘treat’, but on a deeper level it’s so much more! It can be a preventative measure for health and wellbeing and could even be described and prescribed as ‘essential’. Massage might even be a practice as essential as exercise, good nutrition, sunshine, meditation, meditative/creative pursuits, positive thinking, clean air and water.
Massage therapy shares the same ethos as many other holistic health modalities: that it’s better to catch the symptoms before they develop into stronger or more severe conditions. In this sense, it’s preventative medicine. It aims to delve into the root causes of ill health, not to quash and plaster over the cracks with antibiotics or other quick fixes. This can take longer and be more complex than popping a pill.
So when you’re feeling under par, off centre, lacking energy, emotional, stressed, fragmented, chaotic, pressured, needing a reset – as a massage therapist, I urge you to book a massage treatment before it worsens. Not convinced? Here are some more reasons why massage is an excellent treatment for holistic health.
Massage can help physically by:
- reducing muscle tension
- improving blood and lymph circulation
- reducing the production of stress hormones cortisol, norepinephrine and adrenaline
- increasing joint mobility and flexibility
- improving recovery of soft tissue injuries and scar tissue
- reducing high blood pressure and hypertension
- encouraging deeper breathing
- improving digestion, endocrine and reproductive function as the body is supported to move into parasympathetic nervous system state
Massage can help mentally by:
- reducing anxiety
- increasing the production of endorphins such as serotonin and dopamine, thereby lowering stress levels and regulating mood, mental focus, energy and motivation levels
- decreasing right frontal lobe activity and increasing activity in the left, shifting the focus to the ‘creative problem solving’ brain
Massage can help emotionally by:
- encouraging deeper breathing
- freeing pent up feelings such as grief, euphoria, anger, fear, sadness which can create blockages in our systems when held onto, and which are implicated in physical problems like heart disease, intestinal issues, headaches, insomnia & autoimmune disorders
- giving an emotional release and a sense of peace and relaxation
Massage can help spiritually by:
- Encouraging reoxygenation and energy flow in the body & mind allowing more awakening and joyful creativity to manifest
- Supporting our psyche’s desire to heal from intergenerational trauma
In its pure form, massage therapy facilitates a space for the person to be able to feel safe and at ease. When we know we’re in good hands, we are able to let go and to relax, and when we feel uninhibited and without pressure, we can naturally release tension, fears, worries and restrictions. Knowing that we are held in understanding, in empathy and compassion, enables solutions and peaceful resolutions to arise from the inner fibres of our beings.
Massage therapy is a profound resetting and is therefore the perfect treatment to help our readjustment to life after lockdown, allowing a positive and peaceful reintegration back into the world.
Eve is a seasoned practitioner with over 20 years of experience. Her firm, nurturing, intuitive style relaxes and energises, releases and realigns, reorganises and relieves tension, using a combination of acupressure, gentle stretching and joint mobilisations. Check out her schedule at triyoga here.
