The Benefits of Massage
What exactly are
the benefits of receiving massage bodywork treatments? Useful for all of the
conditions listed below and more, massage can:
- Alleviate low-back
pain and improve range of motion.
- Assist with shorter,
easier labor for expecting mothers and shorten maternity hospital stays.
- Ease medication
dependence.
- Enhance immunity by
stimulating lymph flow – the body’s natural defense system.
- Exercise and stretch
weak, tight, or atrophied muscles.
- Help athletes of any
level prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts.
- Improve the
condition of the body’s largest organ – the skin.
- Increase joint
flexibility.
- Lessen depression
and anxiety.
- Promote tissue
regeneration, reducing scar tissue and stretch marks.
- Pump oxygen and
nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation.
- Reduce post-surgery
adhesions and swelling.
- Reduce spasms and
cramping.
- Relax and soften
injured, tired, and overused muscles.
- Release endorphins –
amino acids that work as the body’s natural painkiller.
- Relieve migraine
pain.
The History of Massage
Chinese massage methods originated
from the principle that diseases or illnesses arise due to a deficiency or
imbalance in the energy in specific pathways or meridians that represent
physiological systems. Through massage and other specific bodywork techniques,
energy will flow more harmoniously through these pathways, allowing the body to
heal itself naturally.
Massage practitioners stimulate
pressure points in the body in an effort to rebalance the patient’s energy.
They use their thumbs, fingers and palms, working without needles or other
instruments. Through treatment, patients can achieve balance in both their
physical body and emotional well-being.
Today’s
massage therapists practice a multitude of techniques originating from ancient
methods. From those roots, they remain inspired by a goal cultivated centuries
ago – to help others heal their physical and emotional well-being and experience well-being and a higher quality of life.