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10 Reasons You Should Gift Yourself a Massage

Tom Saulnier — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 01:43:37 +0000

10 Reasons You Should Gift Yourself a Massage

The season for self-care starts today!

– by Karrie Osborn

Over the years, we’ve often reminded you in these pages that sharing a gift of massage with others is a wonderful way to show you care. And while that is still an important message we hope you will share this season, even more important is reminding yourself that you’re worthy of that gift too . . . now, and all year long. Here are 10 reasons why you need to gift yourself a massage.

1. IT’S A HEALTHY WAY TO INVEST IN YOURSELF

Now, more than ever, self-care needs to be a priority. Show yourself some love by investing in yourself. Research shows touch is a necessity, a basic human need. If a child is deprived of human contact, they fail to thrive and have issues with social attachments. Isolated elders have shorter lifespans. Touch is important to our human DNA, no matter where we fall on the lifespan timeline. Therapeutic touch, with all its intention, is even more powerful and is a loving gift you need to honor yourself with more frequently.

2. IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR BODY

When it comes to the physiological benefits you can reap from massage, researchers are constantly adding more and more value to that list. A few of the most impactful massage benefits research has proven include:

Improved immune system function
Improved muscle and tendon recovery
Improved sleep and reduced fatigue in cancer patients
Increased pain relief without the side effects of narcotics
And don’t forget all its preventive benefits either!

Truth is, massage may feel like a luxury, but it is actually a sound investment in your health. In fact, hands-on therapies have an incredible return on investment.

3. IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR MIND

In addition to the peace and well-being that naturally blossoms from a cared-for body, many forms of massage and bodywork have specific restorative effects on the mind. While your body is getting its therapeutic attention, your mind has a chance to go quiet—something that doesn’t come easily in today’s world—and you get to double up the therapeutic benefits.

Massage can work at a deeper level too….(To read “the rest of the story”, please click here BSwinter2020

Massage & Emotional Wellness, Healthy Shoulders, Importance of Health Intake

Tom Saulnier — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 19:08:10 +0000

From PTSD to Depression, Hands-On Work Offers Relief

By Ruth Werner

Massage therapy offers a myriad of physical benefits, but we sometimes forget everything hands-on treatments can do for our emotional well-being. Let’s take a quick look at the importance of touch and some of the specific ways it can help our mental and emotional health.

TOUCH HUNGER

From the earliest days of humankind, when one person reached out to soothe another, we have known that welcomed physical contact is good for us. The loving touch that occurs between infants and their caregivers helps create a sense of safety in the world that follows us for a lifetime. Touch that occurs between humans helps us build our foundational relationships, supports social interaction, enables emotional sharing, and provides many other benefits.

By contrast, research shows us that prolonged touch deprivation experienced by infants and young children is connected with failure to thrive and the inability to create social attachments,
and with shorter lifespans and more illness in isolated elders.

The need for healthy touch is so important, and the consequences of touch deprivation are so dire, that groundbreaking anthropologist Ashley Montagu gave our drive for this form of human-to-human interaction a name: touch hunger.

We know that touch is a basic human need, but we live in a society with few appropriate venues for physical contact. Where does healthy touch (outside of sexual activity) occur between non-related adults in our culture? We only see it in the context of greetings and leave-takings, sports, professional grooming, or health care. Massage therapy is an intervention that bridges those last two; in some settings it could be considered part of grooming, and in others it is offered as health care.

MASSAGE AND ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND PTSD

For mental and emotional well-being, massage therapy has a surprisingly robust body of evidence showing benefits for people with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mood-related challenges. Much of this research has been done in settings where…(To read “the rest of the story”, please click here BSFall2020)

Ergonomics, Stretching and Mindful Self Care, Massage Returns, Practice Forgiveness

Tom Saulnier — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 03:07:17 +0000

3 Ways to Triumph Over the Work-From-Home Slump

Ergonomics, Stretching, and Mindful Self-Care

By Cindy Williams

While many have dreamed of having a job working from home, none expected to have it launched on them as it was at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as states begin reopening and businesses start unlocking their doors, many people are continuing to work from home. And many people are starting to feel the “slump.”

Any time change comes unexpectedly, we move forward as best we can, even if it’s not perfect. In this time we’re living in, healthy postural habits, exercise, mental and emotional resilience, and self-discipline might easily have found their way to the back burner. But new bad habits are the easiest to squash. To address some of these challenges, following are three ways you can continue your best self-care while working from home.

SET UP A DESIGNATED WORK SPACE

As appealing as they might look, the sofa and bed aren’t optimal work spaces. Although the term laptop might lend itself to thinking it’s OK to work from your lap, doing so is hard on your body. It’s impossible to sit up straight and keep your spine, arms, and head properly aligned when your lap becomes your desk. This can result in neck, shoulder, low-back, and wrist pain. Following are some things to keep in mind when setting up your work space.

Use an office chair, if possible. (To read, “the rest of the story”, please click here BSSummer2020)