Stroking Your Way to Health
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
❖ How massage helps your health
❖ Fighting fatigue and stress
❖ Improving circulation, immunity and oxygenation
❖ Giving your mood a boost
There aren’t enough things we do in life that feel good and are good for us—but couple’s massage definitely tops this list! In addition to making us feel great, couple’s massage—like any kind of massage—has oodles of positive health benefits. Tiredness, negative stressors, lack of proper breathing, dead skin cells, puffy tissue, a poor immune system, and your outlook on life can all be helped with a little tender touch. Although I know you aren’t necessarily stroking your honey for health, you will soon discover what good things those strokes can do for you—both physically and mentally.
The whole idea behind new age holistic cures—herbal remedies, yoga, acupuncture, meditation, and so on—is that your body has the amazing ability to heal itself. Massage, too, can be used to help your body’s own healing abilities.
I am always surprised by how many people think that massages are only for the rich. Wrong! The national average price for a massage is $60.00 per hour. Still think your budget’s too tight? The cost to treat yourself to a luxurious rejuvenating massage is probably less than a month’s worth of those designer coffees you rely on for your wake-up call.
When you rub muscles beneath the surface of your partner’s skin, your massage is improving blood flow. This gets fluids moving more efficiently, thereby cleansing the body of bacteria and waste. So in a way your massage is not only calming your partner or giving him pleasure, but also taking out his or her metabolic garbage. Aside from getting sick, not taking out the body’s waste products makes people lethargic and depletes them of energy.
There is a secret communication that occurs between the person giving and the person receiving the massage. To trained fingers, for instance, tight muscles feel different than relaxed muscles do. It takes time and patience to learn this subtle language, but by explaining how massage therapy works, you’ll start to get a feel for what I mean.
Do you want to send your partner a massage valentine that will bond the two of you? Ask your reclining partner to bend a leg up to the ceiling by lifting up the foot. Now let that lifted foot lean against your chest or abdomen. Put both of your hands around your partner’s ankle like a human ankle bracelet. Applying pressure slowly, slide your hands up your partner’s leg toward the knee. This massage movement will increase and propel blood flow toward the heart, without putting additional strain on it. You can do the same thing to your partner’s arms, starting from the wrist and moving to the elbow. What a great way to heal an achy heart!
When you’re worried and stressed, chances are your body is secreting the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone prepares your body for a fight-or-flight response, which is fine if you’re under attack, but not if you want to relax and get a great night’s sleep.
One beautiful remedy for fatigue is right there at your fingertips—massage. When you receive a massage, pain-blocking hormones such as enkephalin and endorphins (the “feel good” hormones) are released. These counteract or block the effects of cortisol, allowing you to melt into rest and to sleep like a baby.
Now that you know that massage is a great remedy for your fatigue, don’t start a fight over who’s going to get the first massage or you’ll get the cortisol pumping again. I know you’ll figure it out, and you’ll both sleep much better for having relieved your anxiety and tension. And while you’re sleeping, your amazing body will regenerate itself.
If your partner has been suffering from insomnia, give him a massage in the evening. That way he can roll into bed and sleep the night away. Give your partner at least a half-hour massage, as it may take the body that long to de-stress. If you receive a massage in the afternoon, rest easy—a one-hour massage can be the equivalent of two or three hours of sleep.
Stress causes a release of hormones that make the blood vessels narrow and constrict, which means less blood flow. This, in turn, will cause your heart to work harder and your breathing to become rapid and shallow. Digestion slows down. In fact, all body processes begin to experience dysfunction. Symptoms of stress include headaches, hypertension, depression, low back pain, and insomnia. An estimated 80 to 90 percent of illnesses are stress-induced.
Let’s look at some of the common stress factors in our lives.
❖ Divorce/the end of a long-term relationship
❖ Unemployment or problems at work
❖ Pregnancy/childbirth/starting a family
❖ Moving
❖ Financial problems and serious debt
❖ Lack of love and support
❖ Family problems
We all have our unique stressors, and we handle stress in an amazing variety of ways. Couple’s massage, however, seems to be a universal remedy for stress.
During a massage, your muscles relax. Your heart rate slows down, allowing a release of tension, and your breathing deepens. All of this increases the blood flow to the muscles and eliminates toxins, which have built up as a result of stress. Couple’s massage is the best nonprescription drug for healing stress-related diseases.
Did you know that 70 to 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related problems? Receiving regular massages prevents and treats stress.
Stress has the power to destroy relationships, but couple’s massage is a great way to overcome that stress and bring couples together. One couple I know have been giving each other massages every week for six years now. They integrate massage into their lives and use it for their stress management. They hire a sitter to look after their children (two boys under the age of six). They think of their massage date as an investment in their health—it gives them time to focus on themselves and to connect with each other. Even if you become “addicted” to massaging each other, would that be such a bad thing?
Have you ever met someone who was a real pain in the neck? Stress can manifest itself in the form of a stiff neck, shoulders, and tightness in the upper chest. Tenderly massage those areas with extra care, and if there is a severe pain, see your physician.
The circulation of blood throughout the body is essential to your health. Without that blood flow, you probably wouldn’t have the capacity for being healthy at all. A good couple’s massage, with its circulatory benefits, can help that blood move freely. Good circulation is the basis for all good health.
Your lymphatic system is responsible for your body’s ability to ward off infections and heal injuries. The lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump of its own, like the blood system. Instead, it is dependent on the contraction and massaging of muscles to keep the lymph moving freely around the body. It’s the lymph that aids in the production of white blood cells, which in turn strengthens the immune system to help fight infections. If you don’t have an active lifestyle, chances are your lymphatic system is sluggish.
Studies undertaken by the Touch Research Institute in Miami found that people who received massages had higher levels of infection-fighting white blood cells. These touched bodies also showed an increased activity of so-called “natural killer cells” that attack disease.
Now you know why you have been getting those recurring colds! Never mind that flu shot. Instead you may want to give your system a boost with a couple’s massage.
Lymphatic tissue is found in concentrated areas of the body, such as the armpit, groin, neck, knees, stomach, and in the chest. These are called lymph nodes, and they are responsible for filtering bacteria and preventing it from entering the bloodstream. If any of these areas are swollen on your partner, or if they are painful, do not massage them, as this could increase the swelling. If in doubt, check it out with your doctor.
Like a squeezed sponge, a tight muscle can’t hold much fluid, nor can it allow fluid to pass through it. This decreases circulation and increases the strain on your heart, robbing it of precious energy.
Massage relaxes contracted muscles and helps the circulation by pushing blood toward the heart, therefore relieving strain on this vital organ. Think of the strain of a bottleneck traffic jam—traffic simply gets stuck and can’t move. Your body works the same way. An increase of circulation brings energy-producing nutrients and oxygen to your cells while carrying away metabolic waste products that make you feel listless and drained.
Ready for another bonus from your couple’s massage session? Massage will increase the body’s oxygen-carrying cell count, namely hemoglobin, which will help to bring more oxygen to your body’s cells.
Injured muscles heal faster with massage. More and more, science is making the discovery that degenerative diseases like cancer and muscular sclerosis are anaerobic. They simply cannot survive in an oxygenated environment. You may find that through couple’s massage by itself you have more energy, look more vibrant, feel better all over, and fend off infections more easily. So what are you waiting for?
The circulatory system is run by the heart. It transports about 10.5 pints of blood per minute when the body is resting and it pumps up to an amazing 42 pints per minute during strenuous exercise. The adult body contains about 12 pints of blood. That means that even when you are resting, all of your blood makes a complete circulation in just over a minute. Massage alone increases the blood capacity by at least 10 to 15 percent.
In a perfect world, we would work out three times a week! But that’s probably the last thing on your mind after a long day at work. And you know how sore your muscles get when you haven’t worked out for a while. It is lactic acid that makes your muscles sore, and massage removes lactic acid by increasing blood circulation. Your couple’s massage will also increase muscle flexibility and range of motion. Now you can get into those yoga positions you’ve been trying to figure out!
And if you’re embarrassed about cellulite, massage (along with diet and exercise) can result in smoother skin. Massage and exercise together purify the body, increasing circulation and muscle tone.
Your skin has two distinct layers: the upper layer is the epidermis, and the lower layer, under the epidermis, is the dermis. The dermis contains sweat glands, nerve endings, sensors for touch, hair follicles, and countless capillaries that supply the nutritional needs of the cells of the skin. The epidermis has no direct blood supply; it produces the hair and nails, protects and waterproofs you, and manufactures new skin cells. The skin keeps toxins out, blood in, and the body cool.
The dermal layer contains five separate sensors that detect heat, cold, pressure, pain, and light or ticklish touch. That’s why a couple’s massage on the skin creates so many sensations—from tickle to ahhhhhhhhhh.
We all know that too much sun, smog, or unhealthy food accelerates the visible signs of aging, such as dry and wrinkled skin. But did you know that massage brings more blood to the skin, resulting in a more youthful glow? With every massage stroke, you are removing toxins from the blood and delivering vital nutrients to the skin. Massage also helps reduce itchy skin by improving the function of the sebaceous gland, which lubricates and protects it from infection. Plus, a good old rubbing will accelerate the sweat glands that cool and clean the skin. As you apply oils with your couple’s massage, you will be getting a dual effect, moisturizing from the outside in and the inside out.
Your skin plays an important role in your life—not just for couple’s massage, but for your beauty, your health, and your whole being. Your skin requires TLC. Tender, loving care goes a long way in helping your skin thrive and glow.
Three wonderful things you can do for your skin are as follows:
❖ Brush the skin. Use a skin brush on your skin before you shower or bathe. Exfoliate it on a regular basis. Daily brushing away the dead skin cells that collect on the surface will restore its healthy glow. If you’d like to know how to do dry skin brushing, click over to my blog here . http://www.servethegoddess.com/blog/dry-skin-brushing/
❖ Moisturize the skin. Use selected oils, lotions, and soaps. Avoid soaps that are detergents or that contain antimicrobial properties, as they deplete your skin of its natural protective functions. Any time you receive a couple’s massage with oils, you are feeding your skin.
❖ Drink for the skin. The human body is composed of more that 60 percent water. Most Westerners consume far less water than they need. Water regulates your body temperature through sweating and exhalation from the lungs. Drink at least 8 glasses of water and your skin will show it. No more sagging, dried out, or pinched looks on those shins or upper arms!
How you feel emotionally and mentally has a major bearing on your physical health and well-being. Some of the leading psychologists suggest that you are what you think and feel. I agree! For example, if you have just had a fight with your oldest child about homework or found out that your business partner lied to you, you are not going to feel well. You may have tightness in your chest, a stomachache, or nonspecific pain somewhere in your body that you cannot attribute to an injury or overdoing it at the gym. But massage has the amazing ability to change your mood and your entire outlook on life. It can give your attitude a boost when you’re feeling down in the dumps, and it can turn an already good day into a great one! Isn’t that reason enough to keep on reading?
YOUR TOUCH NOTES
❖ Couple’s massage can de-stress you.
❖ Studies show that massage contributes to better functioning of the immune system.
❖ Massage can make your skin healthier.
❖ A good massage can improve your mood.