If I had a euro for the amount of times that someone has said to me, "There’s nothing wrong with me, so why would I need a massage? I don’t have time. Yeah, I know, but it’s so expensive - I’d be sitting on a beach in Bali sipping on a cocktail!"
 
We see going for a massage as a treat, and we only go for physio when we are injured. All too often, when I speak to clients and ask them how long they have had the issue, they tell me several months - yet they are disappointed that they haven’t been able to shake it off. Research has suggested that if we incorporate massage and bodywork into our routines, we work out more efficiently, we sleep better, and we generally feel better in ourselves. Depending on the objective, this can be weekly, fortnightly, monthly, etc. - it just depends on your needs and what objectives you are working towards.
 
So, here are three great reasons to incorporate massage and bodywork into your routine:
 
 
1. It feels good
No big surprises there - yeah, it feels good! But there is so much more going on behind the scenes, and that’s why it feels good. Within 20 seconds of touch, the feel-good hormone oxytocin is released, melatonin is boosted (sleep hormone), serotonin (social/mood hormone) is also boosted, along with many more. This is why when we have regular sessions our bodies become used to these hormones, and they level out. As a result, the level of these hormones and their presence become consistent in our bodies.
 
 
2. It settles the nervous system
The skin is the largest sensory organ in the body and is directly linked to the nervous system.
The nervous system is made up of all the nerve cells in our bodies. Its job is to take in information through our senses, processes the information, and trigger reactions; for example, feeling pain, or when we ask for a movement like picking up an object, walking, sitting down.
 
We have billions of nerve cells called neurons in the nervous system, with the brain alone having 100 billion neurons. The nervous system has two parts to it: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system (CNS) includes the nerves in the brain and the spinal cord, while the peripheral (PNS) relates to all the other nerves due to location.
 
 
3. You will work out more efficiently
When our muscles are healthy, we are less likely to become injured. If we do get injured, we recover quicker! The reason we recover quicker is because our circulation is more efficient, muscle fibres are re-aligned, and our lymphatic system is more efficient at removing toxins that that may have been released during exercise. When we workout more efficiently, we trigger all the feel-good hormones, and so on.
 
Think about it logically; we service our cars, we change the tyres, the oil - yet we don’t always look after ourselves the way we should, and as a result we break down. We all spend money on that extra cup of coffee, the magazine that we don't really need. In reality, a monthly bodywork session will cost less than that cup of coffee per day!
 
For further detail on my business portfolio, log on to www.familymassage.ie. I work from my clinic in Rathfarnham Monday and Fridays by appointment, and mobile for the rest of the week for my clients' convenience.  
Family Massage Therapist

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