Do you know all the emotional benefits of massage? Well-being, letting go, serenity or reconnection with your body; we tell you everything in this article.
This is a feeling that many of you have probably already experienced: when the massage session is over and you get dressed again, you feel good, even very well. We have the impression of having spent an hour (or more for the lucky ones) in a state of semi-unconsciousness, from which we emerge the cottony spirit, with an indelible blissful smile on our face. It is undeniable, massages do well (to such an extent that they should be reimbursed by social security).
Do you know the many emotional benefits of massage?
A feeling of well-being
Let’s start with a little biology: hormones (chemicals secreted by the body) regulate emotions in our body. They respond to a mental stimulus and do not try to counterbalance the problems: if you are under stress, the stress hormone will be produced in large quantities, while the production of a soothing hormone would be a much better choice… Fortunately, there are massages to balance all this! When a masseur, who knows his job well, lays his hands on you, that’s what happens in your body:
- levels of adrenaline (anxiety hormone), cortisol (stress hormone) and vasopressin (aggression hormone) are significantly reduced
- the production of dopamine (happiness hormone), serotonin (well-being hormone) and oxytocin (tenderness hormone) is boosted and invades your body
Well, here is already a first explanation for our desire to do free hugs to everyone outside the massage center, especially the masseuse or the masseur we suddenly want to marry.
A reset to zero
The session begins, and it only takes a few minutes for you to disconnect from everything. This is called letting go. In a calm, warm environment, with soft music, soft light, the smell of incense and the scent of massage oil, all you have to do is close your eyelids to clear your mind. Massage is one of the techniques of Zero Mental therapy, which leads the individual to think of absolutely nothing at all. To achieve this state of semi-consciousness, do not fight against the “doll reflex”, which consists in systematically closing your eyes when you lie down.
That’s why, when you get up from the massage table after 1 hour of palpation, you get the impression that someone is reactivating you after a period of wakefulness and that you slowly get back on track with reality.
The body finally has the freedom to express itself
All our so-called negative emotions have repercussions on our bodies. Stress, anxiety, nervousness or anger can lead to muscle tension, intestinal pain, heart palpitations, headaches and so on. If you are confronted with these emotions chronically you must absolutely discuss them with your practitioner before the massage because it will allow him to adapt his technique to your problems. By insisting on certain sensitive areas, it will be able to untie the knots of your body, thus promoting relaxation.