The Benefits of Massage Therapy

With modern life getting more and more hectic and subsequently stressful, massage therapy is gaining popularity as one of the ways to counter this stress.

Massage therapy has a range of both physical and emotional benefits.

The physical benefits

Massage therapy reduces muscular tension, aches and pains.

Both blood and lymphatic circulation can be improved by massage therapy. Blood circulation brings fresh blood to our cells and tissues, feeding them with nutrients and oxygen, while lymphatic circulation removes impurities and excess carbon dioxide from bodily organs. In this way the body is strengthened and the immune system is given a boost.

Our muscle fibers become twisted and knotted as a result of daily use, especially for those people in office jobs that provide limited movement or scope for stretching. Massage therapy will stretch out these tight muscles, ensuring optimum muscular function and range of movement. In addition scar tissue and muscle knots that have built up over time in the muscle fibers can be broken down, reducing pain and tension and helping to prevent injury.

Massage therapy can address tension headaches and even eye tension and strain caused by tension in the muscles in the head and spending more and more time on computers.

Massage therapy also has a range of emotional and psychological benefits. Massage therapy improves a person’s sense of general well being and promotes relaxation as it relieves stress, tension and anxiety. This results in easing insomnia and depression. The end result is that it energizes and stimulates both body and mind.

Engela

How to Cope in the Rat Race

A major cause of forgetfulness in the young and not so young is having too much on their minds. With cell phones, computers, email, Web pages, and other modern technology, we have worked ourselves into a non-stop frenzy.

Here are some easy tips to help you cope:

1. Focus on listening more and talking less. Listening requires greater concentration.

2. Avoid hanging around negative people. Thinking positive stimulates the brain as well as brightens your day.

3. Stick to a healthy diet of protein foods, fruit and veggies. It gives you brain power.

4. Avoid high fat foods. Fat clogs the arteries that supply blood to the brain.

5. Take vitamins, especially vitamin E, zinc and Ginko Baloba. Some tests show this can help aging and memory.

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6. Read, read, read and do crossword puzzles. It's exercise for the brain.

7. Avoid excessive alcohol. Too much may result in loss of brain cells.

8. Plan activities with others. Socialization offsets brain laziness.

9. Avoid unnecessary medication. Losing weight, lowering blood pressure and high cholesterol levels can often be achieved through diet and exercise instead of drugs. Learn the side effects of medication you take. Some types of sleep aids may cause memory loss.

10. Maintain a daily exercise and workout schedule. It improves blood circulation to the brain.