One of the great benefits of massage is that it makes you more aware of how you feel.
Massage makes your body feel better. Your muscles aren’t so tight letting you feel looser and more limber. You feel like you can move much easier. The pain you came in with is gone or at least greatly reduced.
You remember that once upon a time you used to feel this way – and you like it. Your muscles haven’t always been so tight and painful. They usually get that way gradually over time by the way you do everyday activities.
After your massage you feel good so you begin to notice when an area starts to hurt. Since you know that it didn’t hurt before and now it does, you can review what you have been doing since your massage.
Often people can make a small adjustment that has a big impact on how they feel. It could be how much you carry around every day, your workplace set up, getting a new pillow, paying more attention to your posture, increasing your activity or many other things. A minor change to a daily repetitive task can have a big payoff in less pain.
Your mind also feels better after a massage. Your stress has been scaled down a few notches. Problems that seemed so big before now look much smaller and more manageable. With better clarity you wonder why you thought some things appeared to be a big deal. You may find a creative solution to an issue that you couldn’t quite find before.
You want this more relaxed feeling instead to continue. Pay attention to the things that cause your stress to go up, and then look for small changes you can make to keep your stress low. Take a minute for a few deep breaths. You can do this anywhere and nobody else even needs to know what you are doing.
When you take a quick break from work to get some water or find the bathroom take a minute to be calm. Push your shoulders down away from your ears. Remember how relaxed and calm you felt at a nice vacation or at your last massage.
You can feel relaxed and don’t have to feel stressed. By being aware of what causes it and taking some action you can feel more in control and have less stress. Of course there are some stressful situations that you can’t completely control but you may be able to manage your reactions better.
You drive around safely when you are aware of the other traffic on the road and make adjustments to protect yourself. Be aware of what causes you pain and stress and you can feel better between massages.
Barry is a licensed Massage Therapist at Main Street Massage in Hudson, Ohio. Find out more about him, his business, and massage at www.HudsonMassageTherapy.com
Hi Barry, I really enjoyed this text. The awareness we gain when receiving a massage is something I knew instinctively but reading about it made it much more easy to elaborate thoughts and share them with friends an clients, and also instigate that perception upon my clients so they can pay more attention to what their body is telling them. Thank you for the great content! 😀
Thanks Milena! I like how massage helps people listen to their bodies and make adjustments to keep them feeling good.