Benefits of a Massage for the Body and Mind

If you’ve ever enjoyed a relaxation massage, you know just how therapeutic it can be physically, but do you know that massage therapy also benefits your mind? There’s a beautiful tandem between the body and mind, as many diseases, stresses and tensions affect both equally. Few practices are able to mend these two parts of us, but massage therapy brings great benefits for you - mentally, and physically. 

Physical Benefits of Massage Therapy

We all know that a massage feels good. Have you ever enjoyed a massage before? If you haven’t, the sensation of utter relaxation is incomparable. More than just feeling good though, there are multiple physical benefits to massage therapy, or a relaxation massage as simply a treat for yourself. 

• Relaxes the Body

What happens when your body is full of tension and stress? Your shoulders are tight. Your jaw is locked. Each muscle in your body is connected, and the tension we feel in one part of our bodies may affect another in a way we can’t quite imagine. Massage therapy relaxes the body as a whole.

• Improves Circulation

Especially in our bodies’ furthest extremities (feet, hands etc.), our circulation may become poor with factors like diet, age, weather, or any other causes. If you’ve been a sufferer of ‘cold feet’ or reached for fuzzy gloves in your life, you can likely relate to this. Massage therapy stimulates body circulation by increasing blood flow. 

• Reduces Stress

Stress manifests as physical symptoms brought on by generally a mental ailment. While we can take care emotionally of what’s troubling us, the damage that stress does to our bodies can be significant. We all wear our stresses physically. Relaxation massage reduces our overall stress, and helps to soothe our bodies when we don’t even acknowledge or see the pains. 

• Improves Blood Pressure

Do you know your blood pressure? Next time you’re in a pharmacy, try getting a self-test. If your blood pressure is high there can be many causes - diet is a factor, smoking, or high stress. When the cause is stress, relaxation massage can help safely lower your blood pressure. 

• Promotes Muscle Relaxation

A relaxation massage soothes aching muscles, improves flexibility, and repairs muscle damage, but it also increases the production of serotonin and dopamine, two ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitters responsible for your overall happiness and health. 

• Strengthens the Body’s Immune System

One of the best things we can do for our bodies, especially during this time where keeping our immune systems in check is more important than ever. By providing our body with relaxation, decrease in stress, increase in good blood flow, and taking care of our physical needs with a simple massage, we can increase our immune systems.

Mental Benefits of Massage Therapy

Our mental, emotional, and physical bodies are connected in a way that we can’t always see or understand, but that connection is there. In fact, it’s all intertwined. So while you may think that a massage is great for your muscles, it actually provides these benefits for your mental health as well: 

• Decreases Anxiety

Anxiety is so common and so prevalent these days. While it’s becoming increasingly common, it doesn’t make the sensation any less bearable, enjoyable, or fun. Massage therapy can put your body into a relaxed state and help you shed some of the anxiety you may be feeling. 

• Helps You Rest

You know how it feels when you wake up after a good nights’ sleep, and how GOOD that sensation is? How at ease you feel, how your body feels, and how your mind feels? Massage therapy can help you get the rest that you need. Sometimes we can’t immediately tell a bad nights’ sleep - until we experience a great one.

• Alleviates Mental Stresses

We carry our mental anguish, stress, and tension in our bodies. Some people feel tense in their shoulders. Others grit their teeth. Some tap their toes, or clench their jaws, tighten their stomachs, or wear their mental stress physically - whether we feel it or not, we all have a space in our bodies where our stress lives. Massage helps to locate our stressed out centers, provide relief for our muscles and bodies, and alleviate our stresses mentally. 

• Improves Relaxation Response

Most people find incredible difficulty in relaxing. It’s not something that we’re geared to do unless we train ourselves. This can be done through meditation, yoga, and other relaxation practices. When you enjoy massage therapy, it helps to improve our body and minds’ relaxation response time, and makes the process of relaxation more easier and natural. 

• Increases Serotonin

Serotonin is one of our feel-good brain chemicals that is produced when we’re happy - or conversely, creates happiness within us when it is produced. It’s been physically proven that massage therapy releases serotonin into our brains, therefore leading to more happiness as an overall.

Book Your Calgary Massage Therapy Today

While there are many mental and physical benefits of massage, there are also medical conditions (chronic/ongoing/recurring) that require routine massage therapy. Note that all types of massage are not the same! At Why Knot we offer a multitude of Calgary massage therapies such as:

• Therapeutic Massage

• Treatment Massage

• Deep Tissue Massage

• Pregnancy Massage

• Sports Massage

• Hot Stone Massage

• Trigger Point Therapy & Release

• Swedish Massage

• Myofascial Mobilization & Release

• And more

Not sure which massage therapy is best for you? Contact our team today and we can walk you through the specifics of each massage treatment we offer in our Calgary massage therapy clinic. You can reach us by email, or telephone at 403-270-0854, or popping by our Calgary office at #203-2212 4th St SW. We’re open from 9:00am - 9:00pm every day, depending on appointment availability.

PS - we also offer gift cards! 

Contact us today to book your massage.