Emotional & Spiritual Benefits of Massage Therapy

The physical benefits of massage therapy are widely known. They can include relaxed muscles, increased blood flow and improved healing, among others. However, there are other benefits that massage therapy can offer that should be considered: benefits for the mind, the emotions and the spirit of the person undergoing the treatment.

Stress

• Stress is an emotionally or mentally disruptive or upsetting condition that occurs in response to adverse external influences. It is capable of affecting physical health. So stress, which is responsible for many modern woes, begins in the mind and in the emotions of the person feeling it. This is key to understanding the benefits of massage therapy in an emotional and spiritual sense.

Emotions

• Your emotions come from your mental state. If you're worked up and tense, it affects your mind, and it translates into the body by creating high blood pressure andmuscle tension, for example. Massage therapy uses this process in reverse, relaxing the body and reaching into the emotional and mental state of the patient. It creates a cycle and eases both the body and the mind.

Touch

• Touch, especially in America, is not a common thing between people. Because we are humans, though, touch is very important to our emotional well being. Receiving human touch helps to ease us, and it can provide comfort and support in times of distress. Massage therapy provides the benefits of human touch and helps ease and improve your emotional state through contact.

The Spirit

• Your spiritual state is also affected by the stress that you feel. If you've ever tried to pray or meditate with sore muscles or emotional distress, it can be extremely difficult to focus. By relaxing the body and the mind, your spiritual state should see a similar improvement. The body, mind and spirit all affect each other, and if stress is relieved in the one, it can relieve stress in the others.

Trust

• With all of the impersonal and invasive medicine that's common in the modern world, massage therapy provides a personal connection. The care that's translated through the physical touch, letting clients know that their therapist is concerned for them, is important. Beyond the regular benefits of human contact, massage therapy builds a caring relationship between the client and the therapist. That relationship helps relieve emotional worry, and the trust that's built through massage therapy can also help your emotional and spiritual well-being.