Authored by Amy Daws, CMT
Many people wait to get bodywork until they feel pain. I don't mean a little discomfort, I mean PAIN. Either there is an incidence of acute pain (ie: "pulled a muscle") or pain that has built up over time. Often clients schedule appointments with me when the pain has gotten to the point where they just can't manage it anymore.
What if you started getting bodywork before it got to the point of "I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE"?!
I know, I know, you're busy and it's expensive and you have to plan ahead, but face it: you will feel better in the long run and have far less incidences of intense pain if you schedule regular (usually monthly) bodywork sessions as a part of your healthcare plan.
Many people wait to get bodywork until they feel pain. I don't mean a little discomfort, I mean PAIN. Either there is an incidence of acute pain (ie: "pulled a muscle") or pain that has built up over time. Often clients schedule appointments with me when the pain has gotten to the point where they just can't manage it anymore.
What if you started getting bodywork before it got to the point of "I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE"?!
I know, I know, you're busy and it's expensive and you have to plan ahead, but face it: you will feel better in the long run and have far less incidences of intense pain if you schedule regular (usually monthly) bodywork sessions as a part of your healthcare plan.
The Benefits of Regular Bodywork:
1) Bodywork increases body awareness. Regular bodywork sessions help you connect to and feel your body. The busyness of our culture often forces us to focus on getting s*%t done. In order to do this we are often also required to suppress feeling of fatigue, stress and pain. Increasing your body awareness may help you identify how your body responds to stress and help you make changes that will lead to a more balanced life.
2) A full body massage is like a full body scan. Each time you go in for a bodywork session you have the opportunity to feel all of the areas of your body in one fell swoop. You can identify how those areas of your body feel at that moment and also how they change from session to session.
3) Regular bodywork helps you connect the dots. You will start to see the patterns of tension in your body and feel how they are related to your activities. Do you often have the same three spots along your neck, shoulder and arm that hurt? Do these areas hurt more when you do a certain activity like using the computer? Noticing pain patterns and being able to connect them to motions you do in daily life is a major key to living pain free. Modifying your movements can help you break down tension that is building up and curb repetitive stress injuries.
4) Bodywork decreases overall stress and tension. Having a monthly bodywork routine along with other self care techniques for stress management allow you to release stress and tension that is stored in the body and just plain RELAX! This means less built up stress and tension which, in the long run, can lead to disease or chronic pain.
5) Regular appointments allow you to form a relationship with your therapist...and better bodywork sessions. Working with the same therapist over time lets you have a constant external barometer on your body. The therapist can get a strong sense of what patterns of tension you hold in your body and how they vary from session to session. Working with the same therapist over time also allows for greater depth in your sessions and success in achieving of your goals.
6) Regular bodywork often helps you in ways you didn't plan for or know existed. Regular bodywork helps increase circulation, regulate sleep and digestive functions, and general balancing of the body. It may help break down emotional issues that you struggle with or feelings of disconnectedness. Regular bodywork can have profound effects on the way that you live in the world that you did not expect or even anticipate.
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