When Neanderthal Man bumped his head on a cave, guess what he did. He instinctively rubbed the painful area. This is how far back the history of massage takes us. Modern massage has developed from this innate knowledge of how to relieve pain and heal our bodies. Most people are aware of many of the benefits of Therapeutic Massage such as muscle relaxation, pain relief, improved range of motion, stress relief and improved blood and lymph circulation. There are other benefits that are not as commonly known.

Let's consider for instance body entrainment. Entrainment synchronizes the body's 11 systems:

All systems working in harmony improves body function and brings us closer to homeostatsis (a state of perfect balance). Massage also elicits the parasympathetic response. The parasympathetic response shuts down our stress response and decreases cortisol levels (our stress hormone). Entrainment and the parasympathetic response are achieved by administering massage strokes that flow into each other creating a rythym and continuity of treatment. Recipients experience deep relaxation and a feeling of well-being.

Via the nervous system, anything that affects the body externally, also affects the body internally, and vice versa. This explains how massage can affect internal organs and systems. Working specific areas of the body can reflexively stimulate predictable results in other areas of the body.

Massage was developed to keep healthy people healthy, but our society in not very proactive in preventing health issues, so we see people waiting until there is a problem before seeking massage therapy. Massage is an excellent choice in such circumstances, but the full potential of massage is not realized until massage is received on a regular basis. Clients who receive regular treatments have less pain, less stress, better range of motion, suffer fewer injuries, heal faster when they do get injured, improved posture, improved immune function, improved circulation, a sense of well-being, and generally just feel better.

The benefits of massage go beyond our physical body. Mental outlook and emotional stability are also improved with massage. Those suffering with anxiety and depression often find massage very helpful. After all, we can't separate our physical body from our emotional self. They are two sides of the same coin. Many musculoskeletal issues are manifestations of emotional trauma. Every emotion we feel effects our bodies. For instance, when you are happy, you smile and laugh. When you are sad, you frown and cry. These are physical manifestations of emotions. Each of us deals with emotional trauma on a daily basis. We may argue with our spouse or boss, another driver may cut us off in traffic, a social aquaintence may crack a joke at our expense. These may seem like minor issues, but they can be painful and do affect us physically. Massage can effectively release these negative emotions and the physical symptoms they produce.

If you have never experienced massage, you owe it to yourself to see how massage can improve your life.