How can massage help my health and wellbeing?

Think about a “massage” and what comes to mind? Probably the image of a man or woman lying on a table with a towel on the lower body and another person also wearing white rubbing oil on their body while the room is lit by candles or warm lights and some flutes play in the background. While these are ideas popularized by modern aesthetic standards, there is a much deeper history here.

Most people assume that a massage is an indulgence for those with too much time and money on their hands, the truth is massages are ancient traditions that have been practiced in various parts of the world.

There is actual archaeological evidence of massage found in many civilizations including China, India, Japan, Korea, Egypt, Rome, Greece, and even Mesopotamia. There are also claims of the word coming from various backgrounds like Massa (Arabic), Amassar (Portuguese), Maza (Latin), Masso (Greek), and Anatripsis (Ancient Greek). The history of this practice dates back over millennia to the Roman calendar. If someone from Chelsea London is looking for the best massage Chelsea, then they can visit secret Tantric as they are offering an exclusive massage to their super-exclusive clientele. Their highly experienced and talented masseuses impress the people with their magic hands. Once you start getting their service, you would not be able to stop yourself from visiting again and again.

Types of Massages

Keeping in line with human traditions that have carried forward over centuries and cultural boundaries, we have developed multiples styles and methods of applying a massage:

- Acupressure

- Aquatic Bodywork

- Ashiatsu

- Ayurvedic Massage

- Burmese Massage

- Bio-Medical Simulation (BMS) Massage

- Biodynamic Massage

- Craniosacral Massage

- Lomilomi

- Lymphatic drainage

- Myofascial release

- Reflexology

- Shiatsu

- Sports Massage

- Structural Integration

- Swedish Massage

- Thai Massage

- Traditional Chinese Massage

- Trigger Point Therapy

- Tui na

- Turkish Bath Massage

- Watsu

Each of these styles has some kind of hidden or apparent health benefits associated with it apart from the obvious relaxation.

Benefits to a well being

The reason massage as a practice has continued until this day and becoming more popular by the day is a simple one. It provides benefits to our health and enhances our well-being. The practice is that of a massage therapist manipulating the body’s soft tissues using their hands, fingers, elbows. Knees, forearms, feet, or a tool to relieve the client’s body of stress and pain.

There is peer review medical research that has shown the benefits of massage include:

Pain relief- Large nerve fibers are stimulated and send messages to the brain faster.

Improved sleep- A massage promotes the stimulation of the nervous system to relax, which leads to a night of deep sleep. Reduced depression and Anxiety- Massage boosts the body’s natural serotonin levels and encourages the body to release oxytocin and dopamine.

Temporarily reduced blood pressure- Helps trigger the body’s parasympathetic nervous system which returns the body to a state of biochemical balance.

The speedy recovery period from muscle fatigue - helps work out the knots that would otherwise lead to muscle pain and reduced efficiency.

Improved muscle performance- A massage stretches muscle fibers and promotes flexibility.

Lowered neuromuscular excitability- Corrects pain and movement dysfunction by treating trigger points, muscle adhesions, and connective tissue patterns.

Improved blood circulation- By improving blood circulation through the body the muscle tension goes down.

Improved posture - massage improves your muscles flexibility and alignment.

Conclusion

There are just some of the briefly mentioned benefits of getting a massage, the experience in itself is overall therapeutic and great for well-being. Massage therapy is known to reduce even anger, aggression while improving moods and sleeping patterns – in addition to lessening depression and stress.

It is also important to note that before going for any form of massage therapy the client should first look up the different types of massage therapies available and meet with the therapist to ask questions about their practice. If the client has any pre-existing medical conditions they should always discuss those with the therapist in advance so that the therapist can take the necessary precautions and also provide the appropriate guidance on what would be the most suitable massage therapy for the client, this will allow some flexibility and allow the client to make the most of their experience.