Make Massage Therapy... One of Your New Year’s Resolutions
By Heather Piper, LMT
Who knows? Perhaps being too busy during the holidays and hav- ing too many parties to attend might have something to do with it. Whoops. Wow! Ten pounds crept up in eight weeks. Whatever the reason, massage therapy can help you achieve weight loss goals. Isn’t massage just for relaxation? Not necessarily. Research
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has shown that massage can be a weight loss tool by aiding muscle fl exibility and supporting your mental as well as emotional well being. It can improve fl exibility, range of motion, injury prevention, and healing. If you are exercising in your quest for weight loss, reg- ular massage may improve your performance and help to keep you pain free. Massage may very well assist in your weight loss plan! A 60-minute massage impacts the circulatory system by
improving blood fl ow to muscles and joints. This increases the availability of oxygen and nutrients to muscles, which they need to recover from strenuous exercise. Massage also assists your body to more effi ciently remove metabolic waste from the tissues and may also reduce soreness. If you reduce soreness, this will allow you to get right back to working out. Swedish massage relaxes the nervous system. By doing so,
ones’ body enters a restorative time. The same thing happens as you sleep, which allows your body time to work on healing. When you receive massage, your body is also in this restorative state. There- fore, you’ll need less recovery time, which means you can get back to your fi tness routine faster. How do you incorporate massage therapy into your plan for weight loss? It is important to fi nd the therapist who is right for you. Word of mouth or a referral from a friend is typically the best way to fi nd a massage therapist. Once you get there, it is important to share your goals, weight loss plans, and other details about your health. Don’t forget to address specifi c areas of discomfort and have a comprehensive medical history available. Your therapist needs to know this so they can make adjustments to the massage. Now that you’ve found the therapist, how do you fi t this new appointment into your already busy life? You have to consider it a
ue the music. It’s a New Year and a new you! One of, if not the most popular New Year’s resolutions, is to lose weight. Why do we wait until the New Year to resolve to do this?
priority along with exercise, and commit to at least one massage a month. A 60-minute massage is the most common. What about the mental and emotional aspects of massage?
Consider your massage therapist as part of a team engaged in helping you to achieve your goals. They’ll celebrate your victories, ignore your defeats, and help you to stay unwaveringly committed. Massage therapy is not only a calorie free way to treat your- self without guilt, it’s also a powerful way to love and respect your body. It makes us feel safe, comfortable, and at peace. Touch is such an important part of life. It connects us to others and ourselves by keeping us less isolated and remaining engaged. When there is a lack of touch, self-esteem lowers and we sometimes resort to unhealthy habits.
Massage is a great way to rebuild a healthy life. Regular mas-
sage allows time to reconnect to your body and relax. You’ll be- come more aware of the needs of your body and motivated to reach your goals. It helps to frame the large picture of your journey to better health. So off to the gym and off to see the Massage Therapist, Happy New You!
Heather Piper is the owner and primary Muscular Therapist at River Bend Therapeutic Massage in Kennebunk Maine. She has worked at two well-known spas, The White Barn Inn, and the Cliff House Resort & Spa; she had worked with athletes and performers all over New England. She is licensed to practice massage in Maine and Massachusetts. She has a keen knowledge of anatomy and kinesiol- ogy. Heather uses her skills to assist the client’s return to physical health. She can be reached via email:
heather@ksystems.us, or at her website:
riverbendtherapeuticmassage.massagetherapy.com. See ad on page 12.
www.EssentialLivingMaine.com
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