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Massage is a holistic therapy in that it works on the physical, mental, and often the spiritual levels.
These three levels strive to stay in balance...both witin us and with our environments. This balance is called
homeostasis.
When the balance of homeostasis is interupted or not maintained, the person will sense the imbalance.
This imbalance is accompanied by certain symptoms that manifest on all three levels. Usually the imbalance is intially
manifested on the levels of spirit and mind. There may be stress, depression, a feeling of isolation from God and/or
society, family, friends, mania, or many other mental/emotional disorders. There may also be a feeling of separation,
of being lost, or even numbness.
Many people will ignore these symptoms as long as possible. If they wait too long,
these symptoms will begin to manifest in the physical body. We live in a society where we have been conditioned to depend
on someone else for our health maintenance and healing. If we could learn to pay attention to early symptoms of
imbalance, we could learn to activate the body's natural healing mechanisms. This is where massage is a wonderful
tool. According to Fiona Harrold, "It (massage) restores balance and harmony to a troubled mind and tense body, it helps
us to feel better about ourselves and it leave us with a fresh, optimistic viewpoint of life. It is the ultimate antidote
to the damaging effects of chronic tension and it prevents stress from taking root in the first place. This may sound
miraculous, yet experience shows that massage offers all this and more."
So, massage can be an effective intervention technique when it comes to the effects of tension
and depression. It can stimulate components of the physical body that can restore balance.
The symptoms of stress, if left untreated, will manifest in the physical body in a
number of ways. Stress can be any factor that makes the body or mind compensate to maintain internal balance or
homeostasis. It affects people in different ways. If a person encounters too many stressful situations or
conditions without finding an effective means of coping with or managing the stress, their physical health will suffer. On
the physical level, the body's reaction is basically the same in everyone. According
to Fiona Harrold, the process is as follows: The nervous system divides into two processes that govern our reaction
to our surroundings in complementary ways. The sympathetic system deals with the 'flight or fight' response when the
body gears itself up for stress. Hormones such as adrenaline and cortisone pump into the bloodstream, the heart beats
faster and the digestive functions close down. This is fine if we relax once the emergency has passed. If
we carry on responding to pressure, we end up on permanent alert, wearing the body out and heading towards illness.
The parasympathetic system, which reverses the "flight or fight' ractions, is then blocked. Massage stimulates this
restorative effect and induces relaxation.
Prolonged stress can have a devastating effect on the physical body. The
effects of the cortisol produced during stress over long periods of time can inhibit the natural infalmmatory response
to injury and decrease the body's ability to resist infection of all kinds. The secretion of adrenaline over
a long period of time would eventually exhaust the adrenal glands and would have the same effect on the body as severe sleep
deprivation. It all equals exhaustion. The prolonged secretion of these hormones can also lead to gastric
ulcers, high blood pressure, depressed immune system function, artherosclerosis, and ultimately death.
It is important to find ways to relieve the tension and stress in our lives.
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LOUISE HAY'S GUIDE TO MENTAL / EMOTIONAL CAUSES OF PHYSICAL TENSION
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The head represents us. When something is wong here, it usually means we feel something is wrong with us. |
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The neck represents flexibility in thinking. Tension here may indicate that we are being sutbborn about our concept
of a situation.
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The throat represents our ability to speak for ourselves and to voice our opinions or desires. Throat problems
usually mean we feel unable to speak up.
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The arms represent our ability to embrace the experiences of life. We store old emotions in our joints, and the
elbows represent our ability to change direction.
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The hands grasp, hold and clench. Grasping hands come from fear of loss or never having enough. Clenched
hands cannot take in anything new.
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The back represents our support system. The upper back is linked to lack of eomtional support. The middle
back is related to guilt. The lower back is connected with material security.
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The stomach digests all the new ideas and experiences we have. Where there are stomach problems, it usually means
we are afraid.
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Our legs carry us forward in life. Leg problems indicate a fear of moving forward or a reluctance to move in a
certain direction.
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The knees are concerned with flexibility. OFten, when moving forward, we are fearful of bending and become inflexible.
This stiffens the joints. We want to move forward but we do not want to change our ways.
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Massage can initiate a state of relaxation. It can also assist in increasing circulation
of blood and lymph. All these things work together to enhance the function of the body's immune system. Therefore,
massage can be considered as a prevention technique and a healing technique.
Massage not only relieves stress and tension, it can trigger the body's natural healing abilities
when it comes to injuries, disease, and aging. Massage can effect every system of the body in a positive way when
performed by a trained therapist.
When you overwork your muscles, waste products can accumulate in those muscles creating soreness,
stiffness, and even muscle spasms. Through massage, circulation can be improved which results in increased
blood flow. By increasing blood flow, fresh oxygen is brought to the body tissues which can help with the eliminationn
of waste products. By eliminating waste products, you can heal quicker after an injury and recover quicker
from disease.
Even your breathing can be enhanced through massage. By reducing tension in the chest, shoulders,
and back, we assist the body in the removal of congestion from the lungs. This helps many respiratory conditions.
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