Why Do We Deny Ourselves?
You may recall that I was going to use this next blog to explain some of the reasons why massage therapy may not work for everyone. You can save yourself a lot of time by going to the online book, SaveYourself.ca , written by Paul Ingraham in Vancouver WA. Paul’s website holds over 408 articles and other studies pointing to research on how massage helps pain or other conditions, such as plantar fasciitis, fibromyalgia, reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), or any other disease-driven pain conditions. As a health science journalist and former Registered Massage Therapist, Paul has been at this for awhile, and. now works full-time on this website that is chock full of everything you’ll need to know about therapeutic body work. One of the tutorials, Save Yourself from Low Back Pain, debunks the pain myths while reviewing all of your treatment options. That’s one handy-dandy reference at your fingertips.
More pressing, and the real focus of this particular blog is “Why do we continue to deny ourselves?” Let’s start with a few questions that I’d like you to answer, if you have the time and desire. What are your preconceived notions regarding massage therapy? Is it a luxury that you convince yourself you can’t afford? Do you drag your feet, or are you downright unwilling to care for yourself sufficiently? The answers to those questions are conducive to understanding more about you than a possible reprieve from chronic pain. How you see your self is indicative to what beneficial actions you are willing to take to encourage joy, peacefulness, and increased energy.
Sometimes it just comes down to trust, doesn’t it? Lying on a massage table, covered by a thin blanket with little to no clothes on, can be daunting for some. For me, it’s sheer heaven, but I’ve been enjoying regular massages for nearly 40 years. Finding a reputable masseur or masseuse is always a good start. If it’s your first time, there is nothing better than a personal recommendation when it comes to body work. Statistics cites “Massage therapy’s growing acceptance as a medical tool .” I’d say ‘AMEN to that, sister’. As someone who hasn’t been ill in over 20 years, save for the rare 24 hour-uninvited-viral-guest, I attribute that, in large part, to the healing I receive from massage. And that was long before I read the study in 2000, entitled “Psychosomatic Medicine,” where the data showed a significant boost in the body’s immune system functioning post regular massage.
So, with all the recent research pointing its compelling fingers at the effectiveness of massage for decreasing pain and fatigue in cancer patients, reducing low back pain, osteoarthritis symptoms, and headache reduction, the only real question is: “What are you waiting for?”
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