Massage has been practiced for thousands of years and is one of the earliest known health treatments to humankind.  Today most people come to get a massage to help relieve stress or a painful condition.  But the benefits of massage go deeper and offer you more than you may realize.  Regular massage can help benefit your overall health and well-being in the following ways:

• alleviate stress
• aids digestion
• improves circulation
• relieves tight or sore muscles
• improves range of motion
• improves respiration and breathing
• aids detoxification
• improves sleep
• enhances immune function

The most obvious benefit shared by massage clients is that a full body massage makes you feel great. The stress relieving results are enough for many to include massage as a regular part of their self care routine. However, there are less obvious but no less important benefits as well.  Each square inch of your skin contains more than 1,000 nerve endings.  With as many as five million touch receptors in your skin relaying messages to your brain, your body’s initial response to massage is to relax and de-stress.  Even a simple touch has been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce heart rate.  Touch can also signal the brain to produce endorphins, your body’s natural pain suppressors.  Massage can restore suppleness and strength to your muscles, improving their overall function.  It is an ideal treatment for releasing muscle tension or spasms and helps release toxins such as lactic acid (produced by muscle tissue during exercise) as well.

Massage improves circulation and proper circulation is vital to your health. Your blood and lymph carry nourishment to trillions of cells throughout your body and then carry away the waste products to be eliminated from the cells.  Massage encourages a better exchange of nutrients at the cellular level and more thorough detoxification.  Your future health is determined by how well your body’s cells regenerate themselves, so this is indeed a critical part of remaining healthy.

The nervous system constantly sends messages that determine proper functioning of your entire body. Stress can affect the ability of the nervous system to do its job properly.  The many nerve endings in the skin and muscles are soothed by massage and this keeps your nervous system running running smoothly. Massage also aids in maintaining flexibility in your joints, such as the knee, hip, shoulder, neck and spine.  These joints are thoroughfares for the nerves, veins and arteries so their freedom of movement allow blood and energy to flow unimpeded.

Following is a list of helpful hints to help you get the most from your massages.

• The most important thing is to relax and let go. Take deep breaths regularly throughout the massage to help release physical and mental tension.
• Keep your eyes closed and tune into your body. This is an opportunity for you to quiet your mind and listen to your body.
• Feel free to give feedback about the therapist’s touch. If the therapist is working too deeply or too lightly in an area, let them know.
• Allow whatever emotions you are feeling during the massage to surface. If it’s helpful to you, express these feelings. Massage can help heal emotional wounds.
• After the massage is over allow yourself to lie still for a few minutes. When you rest afterward, the effects of your massage will be longer lasting.
• When getting up from the table move very slowly ad take deep breaths, s stretch or do whatever feels good to you.

I hope you can see that massage does quite a bit more that just relax you and work out the kinks in a sore back.  If massage is not already a part of your self care routine I hope this post will encourage you to try it!  By making massage a regular part of your life you can experience reduced stress and tension, increased vitality and a calmer and more peaceful state of mind.

For a special massage offer go to my website www.nancypaglia.com and click on the View our Special Deals button.