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Holistic Body Massage | Indian Head Massage
As a form of therapy, massage has been in use for thousands of years, being mentioned in the ancient medical texts of Greek, Egyptian, Indian and Chinese cultures alike. While sadly massage has fallen into the luxury category in the majority of Western culture, its curative and medical benefits were not lost on our ancestors. Galen used massage in conjunction with herbal curatives, and Hippocrates made extensive use of massage as both a preventative as well as restorative measure.
By practicing the art of massage with the right intention, a therapist enables the recipient to come away feeling relaxed, rejuvenated, restored and better able to cope with whatever the world may have in store.
The back of the body is where most of our tension is held. All those things we would just not rather think about get put behind us. Together with hunching over computers, driving, high-heel shoes, and incorrect posture, our spines, calves and feet take a lot of punishment. Earthmajik offers an exquisite and indulgent massage to release this tension, beginning on the feet and legs and then moving onto the back, and finishing on the neck and head.
The holistic application of physical touch to affect the systems of the body — the muscular, skeletal, elimination, digestive, circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, lymphatic, emotional, mental and nervous systems - is called body massage. Body massage is the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body with the hands for healing, therapeutic, pleasurable and relaxing effects. Body massage is the loving touch of the heart expressed through the hands and is an age-old healing art, which can alleviate mental, physical and emotional ailments.
Let us study the healing powers of body massage.
STRESS
Body massage helps release stress and tension in our bodies by increasing oxygen flow and blood circulation in the body. Excessive unresolved tension and stress in our daily lives could cause continuous muscular tension. This type of mental tension or stress diminishes the flow of oxygen and blood to the muscles and organs, causing pains and aches, feelings of fatigue, symptomatic heaviness, tightness of muscles and stiffness. This can even increase the chance of strains and injuries. Tension creates a tendency for a build up of toxins in the body, and reduces the flow of the more subtle energy or life force (Prana or Chi). Muscular stress also deforms the skeletal anatomy, which further compounds present problems and develops new ones.
OTHER BENEFITS OF BODY MASSAGE
1. Assists weight loss.
2. Improves and increases blood circulation and the flow of tissue fluid (lymph drainage).
3. Nourishes the skin (with the right oils).
4. Soothes and relaxes nerves.
5. Assists in removal of deposits of tissue.
6. Releases emotional and mental tension.
7. Creates a feeling of well-being.
8. Gives pleasure.
If you have any illness it is always advisable to inform a doctor before you go for a body massage.
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By concentrating on areas of the body most susceptible to stress in our current lifestyles, Indian Head Massage benefits those who receive it not only on the physical and psycho-emotional levels but also the subtle level.
First and foremost, the words that leap to my mind when someone says Indian Head Massage are; stress relief, and time-out.
Obviously massage has many benefits on the physical level, as muscles are given their due for all the hard work and effort they perform at our behest; circulation is improved, toxins are released and tensions are eased. But considering the lives we lead, taking time out for a massage has much larger implications than simply soothing aching muscles. On a mental level we are taking the time to stop the mad rush of our lives, even if for just half an hour, and saying, this is ‘Me’ time. This is me giving back to myself for all I’ve put in.
One of the largest tell-tale signs of high stress is the inability to sit still and not do anything, i.e. relax. I am not talking about sitting in front of a television in the dreamy non-brain state so many of us crave at the end of a long day, since there is a big difference between relaxing, and distracting.
Massage encourages a meditative state in which the mind is free to wander as it chooses, and yet in most cases will choose to relax. This in and of itself makes massage an incredibly powerful tool for stress relief, and so it would stand to reason, for many of the associated symptoms and disorders related to stress.
On the subtle level, Indian Head Massage assists in the release of built up negative energy in a number of ways. Simple body-mind associations will tell us that we store all emotions we are not prepared to deal with in our backs, putting them all behind us so that we do not have to look at them.
We carry the burdens of others on our shoulders (the weight of the world as it were), and we store anger or certain childhood issues between our shoulder blades. Moving up into the region of the neck we get spasms as a result of swallowing our truth in an attempt to keep the peace, or by a refusal to acknowledge or see certain things in our lives (by the inability to look in a certain direction).
Headaches, migraines, and sinus and jaw problems, all alleviated by Indian Head Massage, have their roots in the energy of the associated head chakras, and it is through the release of energies in these areas, and those mentioned above, that so many of the symptoms of dis-ease are alleviated, or simply disappear.
The approach to the body in Indian Head Massage is generally a much more holistic one, intentionally taking the body on all levels into account when performing a treatment, as opposed to simply treating the person in a mechanical fashion.
Physical Benefits
- General and specific relaxation for muscles, providing immediate relief.
- Fibrous adhesions (knots) can be broken down.
- Disperses toxins from tense, knotted muscles.
- Relief from chronic neck and shoulder stiffness.
- Loosens the scalp.
- Promotes hair growth.
- Relaxes the whole body and eases muscle tension.
- Increases oxygen intake into the body.
- Improves blood circulation in previously congested muscles, providing additional oxygen to the brain.
- Stimulates and improves the circulation of the lymphatic system – eliminating toxins from the body.
- Stimulation of the lymphatic and circulatory systems may promote healing as well as prevent illnesses that would occur in the case of improper flow in these systems.
- Provides relief from earache, eyestrain, tinnitus, aching jaw (from clenching or grinding teeth), sinusitis, headache and migraine.
- Provides relief from hair disorders associated with stress such as alopecia, dandruff and psoriasis.
Mental Benefits
- Provides a sense of calm, peace and tranquillity.
- Releases anxiety.
- Stress relief.
- Increases levels of alertness and concentration.
- Improves sleeping patterns.
- Lifts feelings of depression or despondency.
Subtle Benefits
- Assists in balancing Chakra energy.
- Releases stagnant energy.
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