The Benefits of Massage Therapy Are Physical AND Mental

The benefits of massage therapy go beyond the physical. There are so many benefits that having a massage should be considered a must for self-care, rather than a luxury.

Whether you sit at a desk all day or you are a top athlete, or are overwhelmed with pressure or chronically anxious — massage therapy can bring balance back into your mind and body.

The following are some of the most significant benefits of massage therapy.

The Physical Benefits of Massage Therapy

Gives your heart a break. A massage therapist will help stimulate venous blood back to the heart. This means more oxygen and nutrients flowing easily in your body, as well as, better circulation. Moreover, a massage encourages relaxation which leads to a lower heart rate.

Strengthens your immune system. Research conducted on patients with weak immune system has shown that massage therapy can help improve its functions. This fact can be taken advantage of by people wanting to keep certain illnesses away too.

Treats your posture and breathing problems. The benefits of massage therapy promote the opening of the chest area and the expansion of the rib cage. In doing so, the massage can help you to loosen the tightness in your chest area and help you have deeper inhales and exhales.

Eases migraines and headaches. Often, migraines and headaches are signs of stress, anxiety, neck, and back pain or eye strain. A massage will ease the stiffness in your neck and it will release tension, especially if you allow the massage therapist to touch your head and hair.

Eases chronic pain. When pain is caused by more than your lifestyle, a massage can still bring relief. Such a therapeutic session can provide pain-fighting endorphins to help you battle chronic pain caused by Sciatica, Carpal Tunnel (the tingling of the fingers) and other disorders.

Treats fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia comes with a mix of physical and mental symptoms such as chronic pain, mood changes, issues with memory and fatigue. A massage can ease these symptoms by improving circulation and helping you to remove the toxins from your body, while acting as a natural painkiller.

Eases discomfort during pregnancy. Discomfort is part of the pregnancy journey. A professional massage therapist will know how to ease this discomfort without promoting contractions.

Encourages flexibility. A massage can help your joints to function at their best by alleviating any muscle spasms. Accordingly, you will feel more flexibility and experience a wider range of motion.

The Mental Benefits of Massage Therapy

Encourages better sleep. A quiet, peaceful massage therapy session where you feel yourself relax and where you temporarily forget about your anxiety or stress will lead to better sleep.

Eases your depression. There is an undeniable connection between our mind and body and when a massage gives us physical relief, it triggers that feel-good factor. This eases the symptoms of depression at least for a while.

Encourages trust. You will often hear your massage therapist asking you to breathe into your stiffness to let go. It takes a fair amount of trust to ease our shoulders and other muscles and let the massage therapist work on our body.

Increases your mind/body connection. A massage can help you understand how your body is stressing your mind and vice versa. Seeing your migraine ease when your neck pain is released is just one of the many ways you can watch how your body and mind work together, so that you can avoid causing yourself more pain or stress.

Eases anxiety. Anxiety manifests itself in our bodies in different ways. For some, anxiety causes chronic stiffness in the shoulders and neck, while for others, anxiety comes in the form of a migraine. These symptoms are eased during a massage.

Besides the physical relief, a massage can give your mind the stillness it needs to help you forget about your anxiety temporarily.

Think of a massage as a form of meditation, where you focus on your breathing and on the present moment, as your massage therapist works on your body.

Mostly, the benefits of massage include peace of mind. It is an hour where calming music allows you to forget about what is bothering you. A time where uplifting and calming scents are used to give you a peaceful sensory experience.

A massage gives us the stillness we so desperately need in a time when we are constantly ‘on,’ multi-tasking, and taking on more than we can handle.

This is why we offer massage services at Loving Life Therapy as part of our holistic health and wellness programs.

We invite you to come see how you can benefit physically and mentally from our massage therapy services. Grab your coupon for $10 OFF your first massage and schedule your service today.