A Healing Touch

Looking at my calendar this week I can hardly wait for Thursday to arrive. In big red letters I notice...

"1:00... MASSAGE APPOINTMENT."

WooOOo-HooOOoo! I'd forgot I made the appointment and now it's just a few days away.

Although massage services deplete what little I carry in my wallet, I am convinced the benefits of an occassional massage far outweigh the cost in the long run. The gains physically and mentally add years to life. How so?...


In our stress filled lives, there is no doubt touch is one of the most pleasurable ways to relax our hardened muscles and tense, worrried minds and allow the flow of life to course through our body again. When muscles are relaxed all our physical processes show improvement and work more efficiently so that we even clarify our perspective... On the other hand tense muscles and sluggish lymphatic systems can cloud perception and create a less than accurate perspective on life.

Stress, in engineering terminology, is defined as "the deformation or change caused on a body by the internal forces that work on it." The same definition can obviously be applied to humans. Humans are rather like rubber bands, they can only be stretched so far before they snap.

We need the healing effects of relaxation, sometimes coming in the form of massage, to counteract the negative effects of life stress. Remember that stress whether it is good stress or bad effects the body in the same way and without setting yourself up with outlets for stress release, the negative effects will threaten your physical, emotional and mental wellness. The healing effects from touch are a gift from God and are one way to help allieviate the hard knocks of life and usher in a more peaceful existense.

A massage assists the mind/body connection to produce endorphins... the body's own natural pain relievers. A massages effects on the muscle are the most obvious physical benefit... especially after exercise. Have you ever experienced a condition called DOMS after exercise? It's known as DELAYED ONEST MUSCLE SORENESS and is that oh... so wonderful deep muscle pain we feel apporximately 24 hours later. The soreness comes from microtears in muscle tissue from the contracting and resisting work we experience during exercise. After exercise our muscles go through a process of repairing muscle fiber which also involves inflamation. Water build up puts pressure on sensitive pain receptors in muscle fibers and the massage process helps assist the movement of fluid through the body and relieves some of the pain associated with DOMS.

Massage benefits not only muscles but also bones. When muscles are tense they pull on bones and place them under pressure. The pulling muscle can cause less circulation to the bones because capillaries and veins are contracted. Our bodies need all the oxygen they can get so massage is a great way to help assist in delivering oxygen more effectively. Massage also aides in removing toxin build up in stiff joints caused from overwork and injury which if left untreated can lead to arthritis (number one debilating disease in USA). Massaging affected areas can bring relief and healing to those who suffer joint pain.

Massage can also...

*Normalize blood pressure.

*Reduce the output of adrenline.

*Assist to slow down rapid breathing.

*Relax the nervous system.

*Bring clarity for rational decision making and...

*Bring out healthier glowing skin.

So does massage add years to life? ...absolutley and a resounding YES! In fact, massage is an ancient, centuries old, time-tested and true preventative approach to health and wellness (as evidenced by ancient Egypitan wall paintings etc...). With the development of synthetic medicine the western world became increasingly critical of healing methods such as massage and reflexology and other popular alternative therapeutic practices. No doubt, the medical world has come a very long way over the centuries and I totally respect and value the gains, however, tackling wellness using a "treat the symptom" approach without equally embracing preventative approaches is like playing russian roulette with your health. Why would anyone want to take chances with their most valuable possession when instead odds could be improved by taking a preventative approach (massage, stress relief exercises, reflexology, etc...) in combination with using "treat the symptom" medication when needed? Something to think about??? Be preventative! It's the future wave of tackling health and wellness!

Looking forward to THURSDAY 1:00!!!

Donna :O)