Touch is a basic human need
and belongs to everyone.
She walked out of the treatment room and said…
Some folks are much more “in-tune” with their bodies than others.
I can tell when something hurts or I feel fatigued, but I’m not intuitive enough to tell when my Central Nervous System has been calmed.
Sure, I know the relaxed feeling that comes with massage, but I’d never describe it as calming my central nervous system.
When my client came out of the treatment room following manual lymphatic drainage, she said, “I can tell that calmed my central nervous system”. Wow, I thought – how intuitive! She knew without me saying anything that the body must rest to heal. We talked for a few minutes and she left a very happy customer.
That’s all well and good…
But let’s look at this a little closer. That’s exactly what massage does… At least when it’s a gentle-touch massage. It engages the parasympathetic nervous system allowing deep relaxation. A heavy-handed massage tends to put us on the defense anticipating pain and can keep us in the fight-or-flight response – the sympathetic nervous system.
This was an eye-opener for me. I’ve never had anyone describe massage in this way, but I must say it pleases me. Massage is much more than muscle relaxation. It goes deep into our body, our mind and our soul… if we’ll let it.
