Body Massage : Everything you need to know
A massage stimulates your nervous system; wakes up your muscles, organs, and glands; moves blood and lymph fluid, and gets multitudes of cells to produce and release chemicals and hormones.
What is massage therapy?
Massage is the stroking, kneading, warming, rolling, and pressing of skin and muscles.
There are lots of different kinds of massage, each with broadly different origins and aims – some focus on soothing muscle pain; others on increasing energy levels; some aim to improve a specific physical condition; others simply to help you relax.
Before you go
Massages vary, and you’ll have to bear different things in mind depending on what kind you’re having. However, generally speaking, you should wear loose-fitting clothes – you can keep your clothes on for some forms of the massage; for others, you will take them off, or just wear a towel.
Precautions
Before any massage treatment, avoid large meals or alcohol. It’s also a good idea to drink plenty of water, which will help your body to flush the toxins out of your body.
You should always tell your therapist in advance if you:
• are or think you might be, pregnant
• have any medical conditions or are receiving any treatment or medication
• have recently had an injury or operation
• are allergic to anything, particularly skin allergies
• have any broken skin or sores on your scalp
• have a fever or infection
What are some of the benefits of receiving a massage?
1. Skin Refresh
2. Nervous System Relaxation
3. Musculoskeletal Benefits
4. Lymphatic Detox
5. Improved Bone Blood Supply
6. A Healthy Heart
7. Digestive Wellbeing
8. Improved Breathing
Different types of massage
There are a huge amount of different massage treatments available:
• Swedish massage
• Thai massage
• Sports/muscular massage
• Hot stone massage
• Indian head massage
• Ayurvedic massage
• Deep tissue massage
• Reflexology
• Acupressure
• Trigger point massage
