Being Massage Therapists, it’s pretty apparent to us that people have a lot of the same issues – neck & shoulders, low back, and lower legs and feet, or some combination of them. People have a way of rationalizing these discomforts, usually due to lackluster sleeping habits or neglecting themselves due to work or other similar distractions. Not realizing that there can also be contributing factors, such as subconscious stress, tension that has built up so much that we consider it normal, and postures that have compromised our wellbeing.
As massage therapists, we have the opportunity to help people break out of this patterning and break these self-defeating habits by not only providing them with a massage session that removes them from the daily stressors, but also relaxes their physical issues. But what else can people do to help themselves break out of the physical patterns of stress and tension? The easy answer to this is “get a massage”!
There are two distinct groups of causation that need to be examined – the emotional and the physical. It is difficult to change your mind and your body, but they are interdependent – Just like George Clinton said in 1970 – “Free Your Mind… and Your Ass Will Follow “. So here are a few tips on what people can do before or after their massage to recognize and respect the effects…
- Sit and breathe – this one is easy – just sit, eyes closed, hands on your knees, and breathe deep. Not insanely deep, don’t force it – just feel the air feeding your body and try to envision it going into your fingers and toes. Don’t intentionally breathe more than three times in a row, and repeat it if necessary.
- Effect: Helps relax the mind, and also helps the deep spinal erectors relax as the rib cage expands and contracts. This also brings awareness to your abdominal muscles, your diaphragm, and opens your pecs.
- Give thanks (arm position) – Put your hands on the table, desk, or any surface that is flat and in front of you. Palms down. Rotate your wrists so your hands are palms up, and move your arms out to the sides, but keep palms face up. It may feel awkward, but let your elbows pull away from your upper body slightly as your arms extend. Just focus on letting your upper arms rotate until they are somewhat even with the sides of your body. Breathe in that position.
- Effect: Opens up your entire upper body by disengaging the usual position of your Lats, and contracting your Rhomboids, decreasing the action of the upper traps. This also engages the Pec minor , which pulls on the upper ribs. This totally changes the position of the shoulders, neck and upper back. Notice how this changes your upper body posture – try it standing as well!
- Look up when you walk – Instead of looking down at your feet, or some point lower than your navel, look straight ahead. This can be challenging, due to the fact that we typically don’t realize that they are looking down. The biggest impediment to this is that people say that they can’t see where they’re walking. Two words – Peripheral Vision. Give it a go!
- Looking forward does several great things for your body and stress level. First of all, it changes the posture of your head, neck and shoulders – it instinctively extends the cervical spine and involuntarily causes you to realize the rotational movement of your head. At the same time you will find that you are dropping your shoulders (without a lot of effort), which raises your rib cage and allows you to have a more upright posture. Since the rib cage is raised, you are also engaging your thoracic vertebrae, and are engaging your abdominal muscles (the Core muscles!) and are allowing your anterior flexors of your hips to do their job, instead of putting all of the emphasis on your low back. Imagine that – all from looking up while you are walking!
- Extend yourself: When was the last time you touched you toes (or even tried?). I’m not advocating that you put yourself in a situation that would strain your back or neck, or get you stuck in an uncomfortable position, but when was the last time you bent at the waist? How about reaching above your head with both arms? Reaching for the top of the doorway, and holding there for 15 seconds or so. No competing, no other movement – just extend your arms! And remember to breathe – if you are having problems breathing during any exercise, it’s not benefitting your body as much as it should!
- Effect: trying to touch your toes, whether standing or sitting stretches out the low back (lumbar spine), as well as opens up the shoulders and upper thorax (thoracic spine); reaching for the sky elongates the core muscles of the abdomen and rib cage, as well as rotates the shoulder blades. Don’t be surprised if you yawn after this one – it’s your body’s way of asking for more oxygen!
- Use you mouth as an intentional instrument of expression: This is one of my favorite ways to get a child who is whining or crying out of anger. Have them stick their tongue out! When was the last time you stuck your tongue out? How about smiling until your eyes close, or opening your mouth in an “O”? Do you use your eyebrows? Do you realize that the main difference between the expressions of dogs and cats is the total lack of eyebrow musculature in a cat? It is a fact – it takes more muscles to actively frown than to smile. It’s also a fact that many tension headaches are caused by eye strain (or the stress on the forehead muscles due to squinting) . Try making a face or two – it can relax the face! Well, on second thought – try it in private, not in church, or at the supermarket, or while driving…
- Effects: If you define a smile as an action that only raises the corners of the lips and the upper lip (picture a polite smile) then there are five muscle pairs that are involved – two pair primarily raise the upper lip, while three other pair are in charge of raising the corners of the mouth. Likewise, if we define a frown only to lowering the corners of the mouth, along with a slight pout of the lower lip, we’re only dealing with three pair of muscles – one pair to pout, and two pair to lower the corners of the mouth. If you add in the actions (whether conscious or unconscious) of the eyebrows, we’re dealing with muscles that affect the eyes and scalp – two major areas that we look at (forgive the pun) when we speak of tension headaches.
- Meander: Everyone should know that the best way to start on a road to “fitness” (notice the quotes – there’s another blog in there…) or at least to get a bit healthier is to take a walk. But let’s examine this – walking (and for that matter any exercise) should not be unpleasant. Look for different adjectives for walking. Skew your view a bit– the biggest obstacle is not actually doing the walking – it’s the time budgeting. Try referring to “taking a walk” as anything but that – meandering, ambling, wandering, going on a walkabout, traipsing, sashaying, or whatever you like – tromping about, hiking, going for a roam, etc.. And don’t compete with a time or distance – make it a destination thing! Walk different courses, go on routes that you know, but haven’t walked; and remember – only walk half as long as you think you can. Look around, with your head up! Don’t stress yourself too much. There is nothing more discouraging than a good walk spoiled!
- Effects: The affects of getting regular exercise are well documented, but the benefits of completing a regimen are both physical and emotional!
To sum this all up, if you do some of these things, or even just one, you will be able to experience one of the best affects of massage – increased body consciousness. This will bring into your perception not only how good you feel after the massage, but also an awareness of sensations that you didn’t have before the massage. Doing these movements also will help bring to your awareness how good or challenged your posture is. Ideally, these positions will help you not only breathe better and allow you to relax more, but they will make you feel better, more “together” and more alive. This is how we should feel! Embrace that feeling, relish it, and if you need a massage – give us a call, or drop us a line at www.PhoenixvilleMassage.com!
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