Massage – Nurturing the Body, Mind, & Spirit

Massage is another facet of taking care of ourselves and learning about ourselves. Most people think it is just for the body, however, like many things which are good for the body, they also feed other aspects of ourselves such as our spirit and our mind. I have recognized that massage therapy is a way I nurture myself.

Massage Therapy as an Early Experience

When I was barely in my teens, my mother would take me to a therapist for massage or a chiropractor to realign my spine. Because she found it helped her, she wanted to pass on the experience to me.

I have been most grateful for that because that is how I learned to give massage – from the hundreds of massages I have received in my life.

Touch: Giving & Receiving Love

I did not realize it at the time, but it was also a great lesson in giving and receiving love. Touch is so important to human beings. It has been scientifically proven that babies withdraw and can die without the touching and holding and hugging that they need to survive.

From the aspect of energy, touch is a transfer of the energy called Love – from one being to another. I have learned that all emotions are energy, and when we suppress them, we store them in our body, but they do not feel so good!

When we receive a massage or deep tissue bodywork, it helps to move and release some of the trapped energy (depending on your willingness!). Breathing is a big part of the release since breathing brings more energy (oxygen or chi) into the system, which helps to move the block out (on the exhale).

Balancing All Our Bodies

The more involved I become with bodywork, the more fascinating I find it. In the past, I learned that we must balance all our “bodies” to feel whole – our intellectual, spiritual,physical, and emotional.

With bodywork, I see the physical body being worked on, I feel spirit working through me as I intuitively sense the emotional blocks in the body, and with my intellect and my spirit, learn to give my energy or love as best I can. For me, the giving of a massage is complete and fulfilling when the person being massaged is able to relax and receive it.

However, there seems to be something inherent within us all that receives the sense of touch, something that possibly goes to our infancy – to that nurturing that reminds us of the love we all need.