Three Tips To Enhance Your Next Massage
Professional massage can transport you to another world. Soothing, blissful, regenerative—you feel the weight of the world being lifted from your aching body. A high quality massage requires a skillful practitioner, but have you ever considered the art of being a skilled receiver? A little bit of intention on your part during a massage can go a long way. These three simple tips will not only take your massage to the next level, they will prolong its healing benefits.
Breathe
A hyperactive mind can keep you distracted even during something as luxurious as a massage. Consciously breathing in and out can calm your mind while also helping to relax your body. Breath awareness gives you insight into how your body is responding to the massage. You will notice that you hold your breath whenever you feel anxiousness, discomfort, or pain during a massage. Awareness of your comfort level during a massage will strengthen your relationship with yourself and with your massage therapist.
Communicate
Your massage therapist cares about your experience and it is important that you feel free to ask for changes. You have the power to improve the quality of your session by communicating any discomfort, whether it’s environmental (room temperature, music choice or volume, lighting), emotional (anxiety, insecurity, upsurge of grief or trauma), or physical (sensitive areas, speed of hand movement, too little or too much pressure). Take whatever measures necessary to feel as comfortable as possible during your massage. Discomfort triggers your body’s stress response, causing your muscles and your mind to tense up, counterproductive to releasing tension and receiving healing.
Savor
You are absolutely allowed to talk during your massage. Some people feel safer or more at ease by talking. Consider, though, that we sometimes compulsively feel we need to make conversation just to fill the silence. Talking distracts your mind from the symphony of pleasurable sensations that makes massage such an exquisite experience. The silence that a massage session can offer in our noisy world can be a source of tranquility. Savor the quiet, savor the physical sensations, savor the joy of being nurtured through touch. By consciously attuning to your massage experience, you help to facilitate your own healing.