Benefits of
Massage
Good Medicine
By Editorial Staff
As you lie on the table under crisp,
fresh sheets, hushed music draws you
into the moment. The smell of sage fills
the air and you hear the gentle sound of
massage oil being warmed in your
therapist’s hands. The pains of age,
the throbbing from your overstressed
muscles, the sheer need to be touched
all cry out for therapeutic hands to
start their work. Once the session gets
underway, the problems of the world
fade into an oblivious 60 minutes of
relief and all you can comprehend
right now is not wanting it to end.
What if your sleep, digestion and mood
all improved with massage and
bodywork? What if these weren’t
just “what ifs”?
Evidence is showing that the more
massage you can allow yourself,
the better you’ll feel. Here’s why.
Massage as a healing tool has been
around for thousands of years in many
cultures. Touching is a natural human
reaction to pain and stress, and for
conveying compassion and support.
Think of the last time you bumped
your head or had a sore calf. did you
3
What did you do? Rubbed it, right?
The same was true of our earliest an-
cestors. Healers throughout time and
throughout the world have instinctually
and independently developed a wide
range of therapeutic techniques
using
touch. Many
are
still
in use today, and with good
reason. We now have scientific proof of
the benefits of massage bene-
fits ranging from treating chronic
diseases and injuries to alleviating
the growing tensions of our modern
lifestyles. Having a massage does more
than just relax your body and mind
there are specific physiological and
psychological changes which occur,
even more so when massage is utilized as
a preventative, frequent therapy and not
simply mere luxury. Massage not only
feels good, but it can cure what ails you.
The Consequences of Stress Experts
estimate that 80 percent to 90 percent
of disease is stress-related. Massage
and bodywork is there to combat that
frightening number by helping us
remember what it means to relax. The
physical chanes massage brings to your
life. Besides increasing relaxation and
decreasing anxiety, massage lowers
blood pressure,increases circulation
improve recovery frominjury, helps you
to sleep better and can increase your
concentration. It reducesfatigueand
gives you more energy to handle
stressful situations. Massage is a perfect
elixir for good health, but it can also
provide an integrati on of body and
mind. By producing a meditative state
or heightened awareness of living
in the present moment, massage can
provide emotional and spiritual balance,
bringing with it true relaxation and
peace. Massage therapy can be used
for the treatment of both acute and
chronic conditions. RMTs can work
with a wide variety of patients, of
all ages, in the treatment of illness,
injury rehabilitation and disability.
Massage Therapists today use their
knowledge of physiology and anato-
my to combine traditional Swedish and
modern massage therapy techniques
with other therapies to treat their cli-
ents. There has been a wide variety of
research, published in peer reviewed
journals.