Experts estimate that 80 percent of disease is stress-related. Thankfully, therapeutic massage and bodywork are available to combat this frightening statistic. The profound physical changes that massage has on your body will affect many areas of your life. Besides increasing relaxation and decreasing anxiety, massage lowers your blood pressure, increases circulation, improves recovery from injury, helps you to sleep better, and can increase your concentration. It reduces fatigue and gives you more energy to handle stressful situations.

Massage is the feel-good elixir for optimal health, and it also provides an integration of body and mind. A quality massage from a skillful bodyworker who is very present with you will help you move into a meditative state, with heightened awareness of the present moment. This nourishes your emotional and spiritual balance, and encourages deep relaxation and peace.

And the good news is that regular massage will increase these incredible benefits. Dr. Maria Hernandez-Reif from the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami, as well as other researchers, have proven the long-term benefits of massage. While their studies have shown we can benefit from massage even in small amounts (15 minutes of chair massage or a half-hour table session), Hernandez-Reif says they know from their research that receiving bodywork 2–3 times a week is highly beneficial.

It’s wonderful when your therapist at Massage Therapy Center Palo Alto begins unwinding your stress-tightened muscles and connective tissues, and it’s even more powerful to know this ‘medicine’ gets better with frequency. It will make you feel calm and happy as a bluebird at the beginning of Spring!