Benefits of Consistent Massage
Maybe you’ve been there before. You know, that unnerving place where your neck or back has gotten so tight that even the most mundane movements make you wonder if you’ll end up in excruciating pain. And so, you schedule an “emergency massage” (please consult with your health provider during true emergency situations). At your treatment, relief comes moment to moment, and you find that when you get up you’re feeling better, and when you wake up the following days your condition has improved. Yet, the ingredients to fall back into that acute place of pain and tension still linger. As much as we'd like to believe that one massage will undo years of living in a body which experiences physical/mental/emotional stress, tension, movement compensations, and so on, it won’t. However, it doesn't have to be this way. Consider this: consistent massage at regular intervals.
One teaching we drew from our 750-hour massage therapy program is that consistent treatment is key to long term wellbeing. In most cases, when you receive consistent massage, those long held adhesions, commonly called knots, will eventually dissipate. As you continue coming back to the table, that deep-seated tension continuously receives the information to soften, let go, and relax. In turn, the ingredients for acute pain and urgent massage bookings are effectively composted. Instead, as you receive regular massage, a new list of ingredients comes into play. Increased range of motion, lessened tension, and a well-adjusted response to stress is now available. Yes, it does indeed get easier to access a state of relaxation! As time goes on, those specific “problem areas” often clear up.
For example, that debilitating sciatica you’ve been dealing with could be considerable muscle tension within the hips and glutes, but consistent deep tissue hip work around the hips, glutes and legs might just be the antidote. It’s not uncommon that when I check in with regular clients who’ve dealt with such situations, they relay that they haven’t really noticed the pain that initially brought them in. That reflection brings about a realization: “oh, my relationship to that pain I had been experiencing has mostly resolved, and yes, I’m able to do the things that I need and wish to do!” Both of us have clients with such stories. And that’s simply the physical side. Clients also often relay that their routine massages are their reprieve from the stressors of life, the daily hustle, and the check in with their body that they crave.
So I’d like to group the remainder of this post into two layers. The first layer looks at the importance we place on our relationship to you as your massage therapist, and how that directly supports the effectiveness of your regular massage treatments. And secondly, we share the importance of proactive you-time on the table to rest and reset not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. Accompanying these thoughts are the thoughts of consistent clients we see, many of whom are on our monthly massage plan. Their words deeply resonate with our message.
The Client - MT Relationship and Your Personalized Massage
An integral aspect of bodywork is trust. Trust leads to comfortability and thus rest. At Homebody, we build trust with our communication and treatment planning. At the start of each session, we have a conversation about how you’ve been doing, how those problem areas have been feeling since your last appointment, and any new issues that have come up. We make a plan for your massage. This ensures we as MTs know what you’re coming in with physically, mentally, and emotionally, informing our treatment plan so that we know where to focus during your massage, ensuring you receive precisely what’s needed and wished for.
Over the course of numerous massages, we develop a client-massage therapist relationship and learn about each other. We learn about where your body is most sensitive and where you hold the most tension (it’s not always where you feel it, oddly enough), your preferences for pressure, and so on. And you learn about our style, techniques, and tools. What this planning, trust, and familiarity leads to is a sense of confidence and comfortability. As a result, you sink into your massage as deeply as you can. In turn, your body is able to rest, heal, and recover as effectively as possible. Which is of course why you’ve come in.
“I started getting monthly massages at Homebody with Sasha when I was pregnant; it played such a big role in my mental and physical health that I decided to continue postpartum. I now see Cody and the regularity of our sessions allows a deeper knowledge of what my body needs and how to get there.” - client reflection
Proactive and Preventative Massage is Self-Care and Healthcare
We recognize that the rest, healing, and recovery spoken about above isn’t reserved solely for physical ailments. Actually, we find many folks see us for relaxation. A reprieve from the busy lives we lead and a reconnection with our internal self. Creating space for this self-care often feels like an act of reverence for oneself in our high-speed world. Here are a few testimonials which get to the heart of our message.
“These sessions provide a much-needed space for rest and reconnection—a calm refuge from the overwhelm of daily life. It’s become an essential part of my self-care and healing journey."
“Monthly massages are a time for me to reconnect with myself; we all run around all day and life doesn't ever seem to slow down, but having a locked-in period of time each month that is just about me has become a critical part of my routine.”
“The monthly massages are a wonderful form of self care and have helped me reduce tension where I have historically carried it. And they provide a much needed reset; I find myself feeling more grounded and rejuvenated days after.”
“I previously saw massages as a luxury/treat yourself aspect to wellbeing, but while working with Sasha and Cody, I’ve found that getting consistent massage allows me to reset and check in with my body. As a person with a physical job and now as a parent, I deeply appreciate and value my time and relationship at Homebody.”
It’s so nicely stated here that the act of carving out this time for oneself is a vital part of our client’s self-care routines. One keyword here being routine. Self-care routines are proactive and preventative; they are practices we return to knowing that they improve our wellbeing. A regular massage is just that, a proactive and preventative practice that we know enhances our wellness, ranging from the improved function of nearly all biological systems in our body, to our mental and emotional states as well. We believe this lens of consistency is vital because wellness is a routine of practices we return to repeatedly, not a destination we arrive at or depart from. We seek here to shift perspective from the short-term, symptom based thinking that relies on last minute massages to a proactive and preventative lens that relies on routine and consistency. We get to the roots of those symptoms. We also get ahead of the build-up that often leads to dire straits. Your massage therapist will recommend the frequency of massage that may work best for you after the first session. Consider committing to routine massage, you’ll feel the benefits.
