May 2023 – Walking Water

by Cathy Robison, LMT,RMTI

Our skin is our largest sense organ, which makes touch a valuable tool to effect change in our bodies. Massage therapy is a practice of utilizing touch to give the recipient a greater sense of ease. Various techniques are applied that increase circulation, stimulate lymphatic flow, invoke relaxation and to alleviate musculoskeletal pain. Massage Therapy is considered a traditional medicine. There are many different types of massage.

In this article I will focus on the benefits of massage therapy in general. You may of heard that our bodies are made up mostly of water. Keeping the fluids of our body circulating is restoring our bodies own access to health. When the bodies water become stagnant or impeded we may feel uneasy or emotionally at odds with what is happening or overwhelmed. Massage therapy is a way to restore our sense of being relaxed.

Touch stimulates circulation. Increasing circulation supports the bodies effort to bring healing nutrients to the tissue and joints and removes any waste that is in those areas. A massage therapist can use different strokes such as effleurage, petrissage and tapoment to help release stagnation in the muscles. When our muscles are able to move freely, there is greater ease and full range of motion may occur.

In the parietal regions of the brain, is a map of the body and over time this can become skewed due to trauma, repetitive activities or injury. A skilled massage therapist can help to inform that map allowing a new version to emerge. The nervous system tracks all the sensations that are happening. I often say that my clients are sensing their bodies through my hands. It is a profound example of mind body connection. It is quite common that when we are relaxed after a massage we may actually see challenges in a different way.

Pain relief is a very common reason people choose to receive a massage. Licensed Massage Therapist are required to complete a course in anatomy and physiology. We learn what is beneath the skin and how those parts relate to one another. There are many tools that massage therapist use to help reset the tension of the muscles to alleviate joint pain. Compression, cross fiber friction, trigger point therapy and acupressure are common tools in a massage therapist kit.

I am often asked about the energetic qualities that maybe expressed in a massage. Tingling release along meridians, a deepening of consciousness, referral or reflex sensations e.g. I touch your small toe joint and you feel it in your shoulder. This is absolutely normal our bodies are amazing. Tension in the body does occur in any of our tissues, including fluids and in the nervous system. We can create harmony, by offering our awareness, skilled touch and deeply listening for when the tension has shifted.

Sometimes people do have an emotional response during a massage. This is normal and doesn’t happen often. As a massage therapist we are trained to encourage our clients to breath and allow their breath to make them an observer of the body. I like to encourage folks to silently thank their muscles, and all that support their health. I also invite them to give permission to the muscle or area of tension to let go. The work is already working no story needed. Developing a language for your body is a profound way to develop understanding to the many sensations we have.

We are all processing the isolation of the last few years and being touched can be a valuable way to heal the vulnerability that we have felt. We do not judge people for their emotions, in fact each of us as practitioners have experienced meeting our own vulnerability on a massage table and with that comes a deep respect for the process.

People seek out massage because it is affordable and does not require us to take medications. It is a wholistic approach to health and gives people a relaxed sensation that can just make the world feel a little more wonderful from the inside out.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on the common reasons why people seek out massage. Stay tuned for the next article on the art of reception.