Stress is an unavoidable part of modern life, it affects everyone. The most happy and healthy people aren’t those who avoid stress but those who manage to relieve stress in a positive way. Like various activities, such as yoga, meditation or sports, massage is one of the best forms of stress relief. It relaxes the body and mind, helping you feel better and effectively cope with stress in your life.
Stress has a big influence on the physical body. It activates the central nervous system, producing “stress hormones” including adrenaline and dopamine. They cause elevated heartbeat and blood pressure, muscle tension and increased alertness.
When facing a stressful situation, your body chooses between two coping modes: fight or flight, which means either you should face the problem and fight it or simply run away. As successful as it was in primitive “hunting for food” situations, it rarely is an appropriate response in modern everyday life. Moving houses, changing jobs, managing people, on-going conflicts, and juggling work-life balance are only a few examples of when your body isn’t given a clear signal for when to finally recover and relax.
Dealing with stressful situations for a prolonged time without any stress relief often leads to chronic muscle tension. It eventually results in neck and shoulder pain, back problems, migraines or headaches and anxiety. All of them can also disrupt sleeping patterns, leaving you fatigued and unable to effectively deal with stress. Massage can prevent, alleviate, and often eliminate these complaints. It activates the body on an internal level by decreasing the level of stress hormones, releasing anti-stress hormones (including serotonin and oxytocin) and boosting the immune system. It also relaxes the muscles and increases the blood circulation, resulting in a reduction of stress-related aches and pains. By reducing muscle tension and bringing your body closer to its optimum balance, Stress Relief massage enables you to regain the energy you need.
Stress Relief massage works best as a course as it has an accumulative effect. Regular sessions help to maintain the optimum level of your body and mind. However, there is no “one fits all” rule about how often you should receive a massage. A short consultation with your therapist will help to create a treatment plan adequate to your needs and lifestyle.