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Massage - The Timeless Miracle
The typical initiation to massage is motivated by a stressful or painful condition. But massage's magical ministrations go deeper and offer you far more than you may have ever suspected. Regular massage can greatly benefit your overall health and well-being. Read on to learn some of the wonderful health aspects available to you through massage.
The more you learn about massage, the more you'll benefit from each of your sessions. This overview touches on some of the basic massage benefits available to you. Massage:
- alleviates stress
- aids digestion
- improves circulation
- relieves tight or sore muscles
- aids detoxification
- improves range of motion
- and much more...
The most obvious benefit shared by virtually everyone is that a full body massage makes you feel great! The stress-relieving, soothing results are enough for many to include massage as a regular part of their lives. But what of the less obvious benefits?
The first sense to develop is your sense of touch. It's not surprising when you consider that each square inch of your skin contains roughly 50 nerve endings. With as many as five million total touch receptors in your skin relaying messages on to your brain, your body's initial response to massage is to relax and de-stimulate. Even a simple touch has been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce the heart rate. Touch can also signal the brain to produce endorphins, your body's natural pain suppressors. Read More
Ever Feel Stressed Out?
Of all the modern-day ailments that seem to affect us, none is more pervasive than stress. Everywhere you turn, there are factors lurking to redirect you from your peaceful pursuit of happiness and lock you in the clutches of stress.
What exactly is stress and what more insidious effects does it cause? The dictionary defines stress as great pressure or force; strain. In today's world, we think of stress as the result of too much pressure laid upon us by life, causing mental worry or anguish. This, in turn, manifests itself in tight neck and shoulders, headaches, nervous stomach, etc. But these physical and mental conditions are really only the beginning.
Studies show that stressful situations can develop into more threatening health conditions. For instance:
A sudden or unexpected stress or can activate your adrenal glands, which sends adrenaline and other hormones into your bloodstream. This brings about an increase in your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow to the muscles. This physical response was appropriate generations ago when it was needed for our very survival, but today much of our stress is emotional. With the high number of mental stress incidents that we can experience each day, these repetitive physical responses can begin to wear out all of the body's intricate systems.
When your stress is chronic, your body releases cortisol, a hormone designed to help the body handle a period of prolonged physical stress. This hormone is hard for the body to metabolize and consequently can lead to an immune system that becomes heavily suppressed, a damaged cardiovascular system, and a worn out endocrine system (the system responsible for handling stressful Read More
Make Time for Massage!
This can be one of the busiest times of the year for most people. Already full schedules become further taxed with the demands of the season. Just when you most need your highest energy levels and your health, you get the challenge of more stressful days. Could there be a better time to get a well-deserved massage session?
At these times when you're juggling so many activities, it's easy to create a lot of the mental stress yourself just by dwelling on how much you still have to accomplish. One tip that may give you some needed mental relief is to put all those activities on your calendar so you can see exactly what you have to do (and when). You may find this helps you to unburden your mental load, especially if you can now concentrate on just getting through the next thing on your list.
While you're working on your schedule, see where you can work in your next massage session. It can go such a long way to help you cope with everything else in your life!
Here are a few of the more important health benefits your regular massage sessions offer you:Read More