Enjoy our guest blog featuring Cypher member and Certified Massage Therapist Leslie P.!
“This feels incredible. Why don’t I do this more often?”
I ask myself that same question after each and every massage I receive. Which is ironic given the fact that I massage folks for a living. I mean, c’mon.
So for everyone out there, myself included, who need a gentle nudge, I have compiled a short list of some of the completely awesome things about getting a massage.
- Massage. Feels. Good.
And massage makes you feel incredible. What could be better than feeling incredible?
- Regular massage could lead to better lifts.
If your lifts are restricted in some part by tight or bound soft tissue, bodywork can absolutely help with that. For example, in order for our arms to reach full extension overhead, a lot has to go right. The scapula must be free to rotate and move over our ribcage. The clavicle must be free enough at the sternal end in order to allow the arm to extend overhead, not to mention all of the rotating and gliding the head of the humerus has to do. The list goes on and on. If any one of these movements is restricted, the entire motion is compromised to some degree. Free up these restrictions and who knows what’s possible.
- Faster recovery and less pain.
There has always been a ton of anecdotal evidence to support this claim. Athletes the world over get massages regularly for this very reason. However for a long while there was no scientific explanation for this phenomenon. Well, some brilliant person circa 2012 decided to poke holes in a bunch of legs and test some tissue. Turns out massage helps speed recovery and reduce soreness caused by inflammation and now we know why.
Although I have some, ahem, issues with bits and pieces of this article, it is very much worth having a look, which you can do here.
- You will be better person for it.
Although I lack the scientific data to fully back up this particular claim, I still maintain that massage makes the world a slightly friendlier, gentler place. No biopsies needed.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the many benefits of bodywork. I encourage you all to go forth and get some work. ( It can even be with me! )
Leslie Louise Price, CMT
leslielouiseprice@gmail.com