Knowing the benefits of bodywork, I practice what I preach as I receive both massage and chiropractic work regularly and occasionally, energy work to help maintain optimal health for myself so that I may better be able to help others. The knowledge that I have obtained (and pass on to my clients) about the structure and mechanical workings of our bodies, along with increased body awareness, has improved all aspects of my life. Being aware of postural issues is the first step to correcting them which aids in promoting a healthier state. Whether it's taking out the trash, driving in the car (which I do a lot of), shoveling the snow or the multitude of physical activities I enjoy (such as martial arts); making sure you have proper body mechanics can not only aid in reducing “dis-ease” of a misaligned structure, but has the possibility of also helping strengthen your overall health both physically and psychologically.

 

If you doubt this, you can try a test: next time you're feeling down or sluggish, stand up with your shoulders back, head high, spine elongated, chest out and go for a short walk. This alone has often been said to have a drastic affect on moods. Feel free to try the opposite as well: next time you're feeling pretty good and energetic, take a seat, slouch your shoulders and back, and either lower your head or lay it back on a cushion. After a short period this has also been known to change a person's state. How's your energy? How's your breathing? How do you feel?

 

The way we approach the world has a lot to do with not just how we physically feel, but it affects all aspects of how we feel and perceive life. Receiving regular bodywork is a great way to attune yourself to be more self-aware of where your body is, what it is doing and how it is responding. This is just one of the many indispensable benefits of massage.

Other potential effects/benefits of massage include:

-General relaxation (and all the benefits that are associated with stress reduction, such as: improved health, feeling of well-being, more heartfelt feelings like love, appreciation and kindness, less impatience, irritability and fits of anger, improved intuition, memory and cognitive function, more energy during the day¹)

-Assists sleep (and all the benefits of sleep, such as: aiding in achieving/maintaining a healthy weight, improved athletic performance, improved attention and memory with mental clarity, improved creativity, reduced potential likelihood of depression, reduced inflammation²)

-Pain management/relief

-Temporary increase in local circulation and lymphatic flow (lymph is like the body's garbage truck, bringing many of the body's toxins and bugs to locations, called nodes, where the white blood cells can eliminate them from your system. The lymphatic system does not have its own pump like the heart does for blood. Lymph relies on muscle contraction or, in this case, massage.)

-Reduction in muscle tension

-Temporary reduction in spasticity (a muscle control disorder that is characterized by tight or stiff muscles and an inability to control those muscles)

-Increase in range of motion

-Sensory stimulation (when part of the body is seldom used or touched, the nerve receptors can become dulled or sluggish with their signals. This can create a type of numbness to an area as if it were not a part of you; stimulating sensory preceptors helps keep these nerve pathways active and engaged, aiding in your own body awareness)

-Increase in athletic performance (not to be confused with increased strength)

-Can be a positive, healthy reward for exercise (why not, you've earned it... and you won't feel nearly as guilty afterward as you would with a short lived sugary treat)

-Assists in formation of mobile scar tissue (as opposed to restrictive adhesive scar tissue) in injuries over 1 year old

-Decrease recovery time after an injury (variable, depending on particular injury and roles that tension, stress, etc., play in it)

-Provides safe touch (can aid in healing old trauma/abuse)

-Provides healthy psychosocial contact (reducing feelings of isolation, especially in an age of increased technology causing limited 'real-world' interaction)

-Provides emotional nourishment (who doesn't feel great when they are able to be the ones being cared for?)

-Can help people come in touch with deeper emotional issues (does not work to solve them; a psychologist, psychiatrist or other mental healthcare professional may be recommended)

-Provides an avenue of self-care (and the many benefits associated with a person's compassion turning inward)

 

¹ http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20459221_12,00.html

² http://www.heartmath.org/free-services/solutions-for-stress/solutions-reducing-stress.html

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