Did you know that massage has healing properties? Massage is good for relaxation and has proven healing properties that led to its clinical adoption in therapy. In this article, we discuss the art of massage as a therapeutic tool and explore some healing touch techniques you can learn to help you and your loved ones enjoy the healing properties of massage without visiting a massage therapist.
Massage as a Therapy Tool
Massage is the conscious manipulation of the body’s soft tissues (muscles, skin, fat, and connective tissue) by pressing, rubbing, and kneading using varying movements and pressure for therapeutic purposes. Typically, hands and fingers perform these healing touch techniques, but sometimes, even elbows, forearms, and feet are used. Some people use oils and lotions to facilitate hand movements, while others do not. Similarly, some massages require you to unclothe the target body area while others do not. So, it helps to know what each massage technique requires and only go for the kind you are comfortable with.
The art of massage has long been part of the integrative medicine approach, with health service workers offering physical contact as part of their therapeutic work. The adoption of touch in therapy is based on the theory that the mind, emotions, and body are all part of a complex energy field, and physical touch helps to feed into this field through stress or anxiety reduction, social development, and rapport-building.
Clinical considerations for the use of touch in therapy also advocate for the use of massage techniques in treatment. Touch facilitates access, exploration, and resolution of emotional experiences that provide satisfaction and restore notable and healthy dimensions in relationships. Therefore, you could use massage’s healing touch techniques to help your loved ones relax and cultivate a deeper connection with them.
Massage Therapy Types
Massage is both an art and a science. The most beneficial type of massage varies for each individual based on their body’s unique needs. Here are some examples of massage types:
- Deep tissue massage: It’s designed for deep tissues, which include your muscles and tendons, to help relieve tightness and pain. It’s ideal for people who suffer tightness from repeated muscle use or have sustained injuries. Deep tissue massage is perfect for an athlete who repeatedly uses the same muscle sets or even for students and white-collar workers who spend an extended amount of time sitting or hunched over a laptop each day.
- Swedish massage: This is a full-body massage involving gentle touch to calm the nervous system. It’s the ultimate relaxation massage for stressed people and a great starting point for people new to massage. The healing touch techniques used in this massage are simple and easy to learn and perform at home.
- Trigger point massage: A trigger point is a painful spot on your neck or back in which muscles are tight and contracted. It feels like a hard nodule that often blocks blood supply. Trigger point massage focuses on these trigger points, applying direct pressure to help them release and encourage blood flow to these sites. The released pressure and resumed blood flow can help relieve chronic pain.
- Sports massage: This massage type is similar to a deep tissue massage, focusing more on the muscle set most affected by playing sports or other repetitive physical activity. For example, if you typically go for a run or are a dancer, you likely use one muscle set more than the others and would benefit from a sports massage. The massage aims to release muscle tightness and to address pain from sports injuries.
- Lymphatic massage: This gentle massage enhances the flow of lymphatic fluid through the body. The therapist only lightly presses your skin to prompt the fluid flow. Lymphatic massage is ideal for people with inflammation, such as arthritis, who must be handled tenderly to avoid aggravating the pain.
- Prenatal massage: This is a type of massage designed for expectant moms to help lessen pregnancy pains and aches. It mainly helps take the pressure off the hips and reduce the swelling in the legs and feet. The prenatal massage helps the mom relax and have an upbeat sense of being to make the pregnancy easier.
- Connected Touch massage: Based on an ancient Chinese feminine medicine wisdom, the art of connected touch is a type of massage taught by Patricia Kennedy (PeeKay) of Body Mindset Connection. The non-sensual techniques don’t require special equipment or undressing and are meant to help you connect with yourself, connect with a partner, and relieve pain and stress.
Benefits of Massage
The art of massage provides avenues for numerous benefits for the body, soul, mind, and spirit.
- It lessens pain: Pain relief is the most significant benefit of massage. Through skilled manipulation of the target area, massage promotes blood flow that enhances the delivery of oxygen and nutrients and the removal of metabolic waste. The circulation speeds up cell healing, which reduces pain and inflammation. Massaging also releases endorphins, the pleasure hormones, which mask the pain and provide relief.
- It reduces tension: Muscle tension often results from stress, injuries, and overuse, causing discomfort that impedes movement. The healing touch techniques of massage relax the tight muscles and release knots. The result is increased flexibility, improved range of motion, and reduced soreness.
- It helps you sleep better: Massage makes you feel good because it triggers the release of dopamine and serotonin, the feel-good hormones, and brings down cortisol, the stress hormone. With you feeling good and no thoughts disturbing your mind, it’s easier to fall asleep, and the quality of your sleep improves.
- It can reduce stress and anxiety: Before massage became popular, it was primarily a relaxation reserve for the affluent. Massage has a soothing effect that reduces anxiety and stress by stimulating the release of dopamine and serotonin. You feel a sense of relaxation and well-being, significantly reducing physical and psychological stress and improving health.
- It increases your mind-body consciousness: Massage—either from a massage therapist or a partner—heightens your self-awareness. As your body is being kneaded, rubbed, and moved, you learn to be more aware of what is happening to you physically and emotionally. The increased awareness can cause you to make better and healthier self-care decisions that will ultimately enhance your overall well-being.
Experience Healing Touch
The types and benefits of massage are numerous. Explore various techniques to relieve daily stress, address chronic and acute conditions, reduce pain, and maintain health and wellness. Continue or begin your discovery of the art of massage today. Enroll in the Connected Touch online massage course and learn special techniques for providing healing touch to yourself and your loved ones.
Patricia Kennedy has spent over 25 years honing her craft by performing more than 5,000 massages, exploring many massage modalities, and listening and learning from clients’ words and bodies to discover what works and doesn’t. Patricia has studied an ancient Chinese feminine wisdom system for 30 years, which taught her how to connect with herself and harness her inner power, giving her a distinct advantage in providing many hours of massage to clients without hurting herself, even at 60. Now, she is enthusiastic about sharing these principles and techniques with others through Connected Touch.
