Massage and Spa therapies
are wonderful for relaxation and pampering... and so often thought of
as a luxury afforded by only a select few.
But what most people don't
realize is just HOW MUCH body-work therapies can contribute
to the Healing of Disease and Total Well-Being... and it is
more affordable then you think.
Is Bodywork Right For Me?
Massage provides relief to people of all ages—from infants to
seniors—and from all walks of life—the competitive athlete
to the home gardener or overstressed, overworked executive. No matter
your age or what you do for a living... YOU can benefit from Massage
and Bodywork Therapy.
Treating the Body
Massage therapy addresses a variety of health conditions, the most
prevalent being stress-related tension, which, experts believe,
accounts for 80%-90% of all disease. Massage has been proven beneficial
in treating cancer-related fatigue, sleep disorders, high blood pressure,
diabetes, low back pain, immunity suppression, spinal cord injury,
autism, post-operative surgery, age-related disorders, infertility,
eating disorders, smoking and alcohol cessation, and depression, to
name just a few.
Here’s why:
Bodywork offers a drug-free, non-invasive and humanistic
approach based on the body’s natural ability to heal itself.
Massage has many physiological effects, such as:
* Decreased effects of anxiety, tension and
depression
* Reduces heart rate and blood pressure
* Promotes mental alertness, ability to focus and perform activities
better
* Increases circulation, allowing the body to pump more oxygen
and nutrients into tissues and vital organs.
* Stimulates the lymph system, the body’s natural defense,
against toxic invaders. For example, in breast cancer patients,
massage has been shown to increase the cells that fight cancer.
* Relaxes and lengthens injured and overused muscles.
* Reduces spasms and cramping.
* Increases joint flexibility.
* Reduces recovery time for strenuous workouts and eliminating
subsequent pains of the athlete at any level.
* Releases endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller. For
this reason, massage is being incorporated into treatment for
chronic illness, injury and recovery from surgery to control
and relieve pain.
* Reduces post-surgery adhesions and edema and reducing and
realigning scar tissue after healing has occurred.
* Improves range of motion and decreased discomfort for patients
with low back pain.
* Relieves pain for migraine sufferers and decreasing the need
for medication.
* Provides exercise and stretching for atrophied muscles and
reducing shortening of the muscles for those with restricted
range of motion.
* Contributes to shorter labor and reduced tearing for expectant
mothers, as well as lessening the need for medication, minimizing
depression and anxiety, and shortening hospital stays.
It’s important to note that there are some
conditions where massage is not recommended. For example, massage
is contraindicated in people with:
* Certain forms of cancer
* Phlebitis
* Some cardiac problems
* Certain skin conditions
* Infectious diseases
As your therapist, I will ask you about your specific
health conditions and determine if massage, bodywork or other therapies
are a good idea. In some cases, your doctor’s permission may
be required before providing services.
Treating the Spirit - (see article below)
Massage also provides another therapeutic component largely absent
in today’s world: therapeutic touch. In 1986, the Touch Research
Institute at the University of Miami published groundbreaking research
on the effects of massage on premature babies. The preterm babies
who received massage therapy showed 47% greater weight gain and six-day
shorter hospital stays than the infants who were not receiving massage.
But is this study evidence of what loving touch can
do spiritually, or rather what massage can do on a physiological level?
Regardless, babies are not the only benefactors.
Many adults have reported cathartic experiences on
the massage table. As a therapist carefully unwinds a client’s
stressed and tired muscles, the therapist may very well be unwinding
the taut, pent-up emotions that one doesn’t always have time
to process in the middle of the day. And the feeling of being touched
in a safe, caring, compassionate manner can be a very powerful experience,
reminding the client that she or he is not alone in the world. As
studies continue to reveal the link between kinesiology and physical
and emotional health, the effects of massage will be further documented.
"And the day came when the risk it took to
remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
- Anais Nin
"Massage
Therapy as a Path to Somatic Healing"
by Elizabeth Ward, LMT
The first thing you may be asking yourself is, “What
the heck is Somatic Therapy?” It is a term I never heard until
I enrolled in massage school. The word Soma means “body experienced
from within.” If you think about that, it isn’t too difficult
to put two and two together.
Biologists are beginning to realize that all cells in the body have
the capacity to store information in their cytoskeletons (the nervous
system of the cell). This includes information regarding memory, otherwise
known as “tissue memory”. Any physical or emotional trauma
we’ve experienced in our lives can be stored in muscle and tissue
cells. Ask yourself this: have you ever had to deal with an unpleasant
person who, after they leave the room also leave you with a pain in
the neck or a wrench in your stomach? Do you ever find yourself at
work in the middle of the day, leaning over your keyboard or desk
with your shoulders tightened up and contracted? Do you even KNOW
if you do? I’d say most of the time, you don’t. Let’s
try an exercise to see. Do this NOW: take several deep, long and slow
breaths… long exhales. As you do this, release your shoulders
and roll them around a bit… now your head. Surely you probably
noticed that you just released some tension… and all because
you merely brought some awareness to that stressed, neglected area.
Inner awareness can do a lot!
Any time a trauma is experienced, small unconscious contractions
form in muscle tissues… a protective reminder of painful experience.
Where physical injury is concerned this contraction will remain even
as tissues heal, leading to further chronic pain. It can even spread
to other parts of the body and, in response, the body may adjust and
shift to strain patterns which can lead to chronic pain with no “known
cause”.
Worries and stress build up and become outward physical manifestations.
Maybe you were yelled at or scared by something or someone repeatedly
as a child, and as a result, developed a “holding pattern”
somewhere in your body, contracting a certain group of muscles. After
years of continual adaptation to this, your conscious mind doesn’t
even recognize that it can no longer relax. The contraction practically
becomes an involuntary response. Trigger points develop, muscle fascia
binds up and tightens. Aches, stiffness, and pain develop and worsen
as time goes by as a result. (For those of you who have a hard time
relaxing during a massage or at night before bedtime… this can
mean you too).
Mind-body communication is a powerful healing tool. Many times on
my massage table, clients have had an emotional release. Getting regular
massage can help us become aware of our bodies and what is going on
inside of them. After all, it is a well known fact that nurturing
human touch is essential for healing and growth, and massage therapy
is a beautifully orchestrated form of healthy touch. With Somato-Emotional
Release in mind, massage can trigger memories that we may have blocked
out or otherwise forgotten. During our lives, we’ve become so
wrapped up in schedules, relationships, family, work, and social activities
that we become UNaware of our selves. Not just our emotions in many
cases, but our bodies and in turn… we become detached from grief
or pain in order to “move on” or keep going (or so we think).
However, awareness plus focus equals release. If we become aware,
initially we want to shift away from and ignore this uncomfortable
sensation or memory. Very traumatic memories can be extremely uncomfortable
or painful if they come up. It is easy to want to revert back to the
old habit of blocking it out or running away. During massage, we are
in a safe environment which allows us to STOP; become aware and focus
on these forgotten matters that need attention, and remain focused
on them. This can help us to acknowledge what happened, honor it and
let it go… to become at peace with our past experiences, people,
or events in our lives that have injured us. Also, you should never
be afraid to ask your therapist for feedback or guidance about what
you are feeling. She is working WITH you to guide you through this
healing process.
True healing can only come from mind-body communication.
Awareness + Focus = Release. When we can acknowledge, grieve, honor
it and let it go up and out of us… then we can experience TRUE
HEALING.
We can then cope with life from a place of wisdom within.
When your individual identity is grounded in somatic reality, you
can say: “I know who I am by how I experience myself.”
NAMASTE,
Beth
Give
the gift of Relaxation...
Gift Certificates Click Here
can
do spiritually, or rather what massage can do on a physiological level?
Regardless, babies are not the only benefactors.