Some people think of massage as a once in a while treat of luxury that they allow themselves to indulge in only on rare and special occasions. Others find it to be a therapeutic necessity that enhances their quality of life so greatly they budget it as a top priority. Wherever you find yourself on this continuum, it might help you to understand some of the scientifically researched benefits of this often misunderstood practice.
History tells us that Greek physician Hippocrates noted in 500 BCE that the way to health was a bath and massage every day. Entertainer Bob Hope followed that prescription and lived a productive life of 100 years! Around 2700 BCE, in the Chinese medical treatise Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen, “massage of skin and flesh,” was highly recommended. Some of the longest lived, healthy people on the planet have been recorded as living in China and Japan. Nurturing touch endures the ages because we experience on an unconsciously intuitive level, the profoundly positive physiological and psychological effects it has on us.
The science of modern day research has proven through experimentation with primates (and clinical observation at understaffed and underfunded orphanages) how psychologically damaging a deficit in nurturing touch can be to the poor being that undergoes such a sad fate in life. Hospitals are now documenting the measurably accelerated rate of healing in patients that receive massage during their process of recovery. So why is this the case?
We hear about it all the time: stress is the precursor of onset for all types of disease. The chemical reactions that occur in the typical fight or flight responses of day to day life in the twenty first century, create an ongoing situation that was originally meant for just a few occurrences now and then. The wear and tear on the body when this state is sustained for long periods of time, is now known and proven to be disastrous in setting the stage for such life threatening diseases as hypertension, heart disease and some think, even cancer. Part of what is greatly effected in this physiologically altered state, is circulation. When stressed, the body redirects energy away from the organs, to the limbs, (so that we can run away or successfully fight off our attacker). Without the necessary internal circulation, neglected cells do not receive proper nutrients and waste builds up. This also occurs in chronically firing skeletal muscle tissue... e.g. the shoulders that continue to stay hardened and jacked up, even when we're sleeping!
A competent massage therapist, in the right soothing atmosphere can assist in the prevention and even reversal of this grim and often painful situation. She (or he), does this by encouraging the parasympathetic nervous system to quiet. If the practitioner is a true expert, they encourage you to feel relaxed, safe and cared for, from the moment they greet you at the door, with the consciously calming tone of their voice. Over time her massage quiets your adrenals, which decreases the production of cortisol, helping your body to better metabolize fat. Massage can also boost the production of red blood cells, a great benefit to sufferers of anemia and chronic fatigue and increase white blood cell counts which enhance your immunity. The state of relaxation that you as the client learn to identify during your massages, can also help to more easily re-create such feelings even when you're at work or with your family. It's much needed practice for those who have forgotten how to relax.
Of course health belongs to a myriad of daily practices, like a healthy diet and regular exercise, but for most people that's a lot of work. Massage is the one thing you can do for your health that takes absolutely no effort on your part. All you have to do is make your appointment, show up for it and receive! Now that's luxury. If you've had massage and it wasn't a positive or beneficial experience for you it may have been due to a lack of experience or proper training on the therapists part. I invite you to try again with a different practitioner and don't give up until you get to realize the wonderful experience that many consider to be the highlight of their week, month or even birthday every year.