THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE
Massage is one of the most ancient and universal of the healing arts. For thousands of years some form of massage or laying on of hands has been used to heal and relieve pain, although the value of massage is often underestimated in today’s ‘sophisticated’ world.Therapeutic massage is the art of restoring vitality, reducing muscular tension, and increasing health and well-being by manipulating the soft body tissues with the hands. By relaxing the body, massage can relieve both physical and mental tension, combating the overall effects of stress which are at the root of all illness. It can thus be beneficial for a wide variety of symptoms. Taut, painful muscles are loosened and relaxed. The circulation of blood and lymph is stimulated, resulting in the expulsion of toxins from the body, and the eventual restoration of balanced tone in the muscles and greater freedom in the joints. As muscles relax and circulation can function more efficiently, digestion and elimination, breathing and posture all improve as a result.As the body starts to change and heal with regular massage, feelings of depression, anxiety, fear or irritability – so often the side-effects of chronic patterns of tension – may eventually begin to lift. Thus, massage is beneficial not just for the body, but also for themental and emotional aspects of a person. As such it is an important holistic therapy, much more than just a ‘luxury’, as it is often seen,?” or a way of treating only sports injuries.*163\326\8*
