Full Body Massage

What is A Full Body Massage?

Massage is the organized form of touch. It is performed by the hands gliding over the skin and applying pressure to the underlying muscles by a system of movements. These movements involve variously stroking, rubbing, kneading and pressing. It can either be soothing or stimulating.

What does it do?

Massage does not actually do anything to the body! However, what it does is to stimulate and encourage the body to carry out its normal functions. It is a process that you initiate, to which the body then responds. Massage provides the stimulation, and the body does the work.

Its Benefits...

The therapeutic benefits produced by massage include loosening of muscular tension, toning and firming the muscles, and stimulating the circulation of blood and lymph. The waste products from muscular activity (carbon dioxide, lactic acid and urea), can accumulate in the muscles, preventing the fibres from sliding easily over each other and producing an increase in muscle tone. Massage aids the drainage of these wastes, principally lactic acid, freeing the muscles and restoring normal function. It also reminds the muscle how it feels to be relaxed. Massage helps stimulate lymph drainage and the circulation of the blood. This will improve the appearance of the skin.

Massage affects the nerves as well as the muscles, acting on the autonomic nervous system to produce a general feeling of relaxation. The stimulation of sensory nerve endings in the skin is relayed to the brain via the central nervous system contributing the feel good factor. This then has an effect on the rest of the body, and will help reduce the effects of stress. The nervous system also controls the vascular system. A lack of vascular supply results in decreased efficiency in drainage and supply of blood. The relaxation process helps produce a more natural abdominal breathing pattern, which is vital to the function of the abdominal organs. Stress and fatigue, caused by the accumulation of waste products, can be reduced, and the metabolic process made more effective.

Who can benefit from A Full Body Massage?

Massage, without a doubt, is for everyone! Following a massage, many people will experience the sense of being a connected whole as opposed to a disconnected series of parts. Massage provides balance, especially if the person giving the massage is concentrating and using their energy effectively. If you are feeling over-stimulated, massage can help sedate and calm, or if you are feeling sluggish, it can help to wake you up. It can also be used to help specific problems, such as back and shoulder aches, period pains, coughs, headaches, etc, and can be used as part of the process of recuperation after injury or illness. Massage can be used before or after sport or exercise, to help the body warm up, or to relax and tone the muscles afterwards, preventing stiffness the next day. By helping tone the muscles massage can help as part of a fitness or beauty programme, while the use of oils combined with massage will stimulate cell renewal and improve the elasticity of the skin.

Tension accounts for a lot more problem then we perhaps realise. Most people nowadays are suffering from one form of stress-related or another. This can be felt as physical tension, resulting in tight, knotted muscles, or mental over activity and anxiety, which will then affect the body function. For anyone who is suffering from stress, massage can help reduce the physical effects of tension, and calm the mind and emotions, while restoring vital energy. The touch and attention of massage helps deal with the stress. The connection between mind and body is such that being in good shape, physically, affects the mind, and being mentally relaxed helps your body to function better.