Massage Therapy For Both Your Body and Mind.
We all live such fast paced lives full of
stress that everyone could do with the benefits
of massage therapy.
Massage helps not only to relax your body
but does wonders for your mind as well. Too
much stress, can lead to health problems, so
ridding your life of stress can benefit your
health.
Stress manifests itself in many ways
including headaches, stomach upsets, rashes,
insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart
disease, strokes and depression.
Massage therapy is a combination of both
science and art. Science in how the body
responds to stress and to massage and art in
the way that the hands can shape and affect the
physical and emotional being of another.
Massage has a rich history throughout the
world.
In Greek the words masso/massein mean to
touch or to handle, also to knead or to
squeeze. In Latin, the word massa, means the
same as masso in Greek. Arabic word mass'h or
mass, means to press softly and the Sanskrit
word makeh, also means to press softly.
The very roots of massage, stem from ancient
Chinese, Greek, Roman, Indian and Egyptian
eras. Greek and Roman physicians used massage
to relieve pain. Julius Caesar had daily
massages to treat neuralgia. Egyptian tomb
paintings show people using massage.
There is a traditional Indian system called
Ayurveda that uses massage as medicine and is
still widely practiced in India. The father of
Western medicine, Hippocrates, wrote of rubbing
in regards to "binding a joint that is too
loose or loosen a joint that is too rigid".
Early physicians used massage to treat
fatigue, illness and injury and based the
practice on what they understood about the body
functions.
They of course lacked the knowledge
concerning blood circulation that we know about
today, so there uses of massage were limited to
what knowledge they did have in those times,
but they understood the connection between body
and mind.
Massage therapy has become an important part of
healthcare as more and more physicians,
chiropractors and physiotherapists understand
the benefits of massage for their patients
well-being.
More employers and health insurance carriers
are supporting the use of massage for treatment
plans. It is more widely accepted that there is
a connection between the health of the mind and
the health of the physical body. Massage
therapy is a growing field for those seeking a
rewarding career field.
There are many massage technique books,
massage therapy programs and schools that
can help students learn about massage
techniques.
If having a career that benefits people not
only in the physical sense but gives them
mental clarity and emotional support as
well, then massage therapy fits the bill.
During WWI massage was administered to
soldiers to relieve nerve damage as well as
to soothe shell shock during the 1930's in
Western hospitals.
Theraputic Massage Terms and
Facts.
Massage helps
to relax the muscles, even
between sessions.
The muscles are
warmed up and the increased
blood flow helps the body
remove lactic acid and other
things that make the muscles
feel stiff.
This is also
why it is very important to
start any massage with long,
slow stroking motions at
pressure so that the blood can
begin to flow to the muscles
faster.
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Massage today is used for treating:
Many pregnant women find
massage to give them great relief for the many
aches and pains of pregnancy as well as to
improve pain management during labor.
There have been many uses
throughout time for the physical, emotional and
mental benefits of massage therapy.
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