Many people think that massages are simply a treat only to be used to help you relax on certain occasions. It’s actually more than that. Massage therapy is one of those healthy habits to do on a regular basis that promotes overall wellness.
The main benefit of a massage is obviously stress reduction and can also help many people deal with pain, depression, and even issues from cancer treatment. Getting therapeutic massages was an integral part of my cancer treatment in 2014.
When you get a massage, you are improving the circulation in your body through the physical touch…manipulation of soft tissue…and chemicals are released as part of the body’s response to relaxation.
The two main points of how a therapeutic massage can affect your stress level is:
- it can help reduce the amount of cortisol in the body. Cortisol is a stress-related hormone;
- it can help lower your blood pressure and help manage pain by triggering subtle chemical changes in the body.
One of the main “reasons” people don’t get massages on a regular basis is because this service has to be scheduled in advance. I’m guilty of using that as an excuse myself before.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an on-demand app for scheduling a massage and then a certified massage therapist shows up in about an hour where you are, at that moment? Well there is one available now and it’s called Soothe.
An on-demand service like this can benefit many people, especially those that travel and are on the road a lot; stay-at-home moms with younger children; office workers; and for those that don’t plan ahead and like to be spontaneous. Another benefit is you won’t have to drive home with that “massage drunk” feeling afterward.
I wanted to learn more about Soothe and had the opportunity to briefly speak with the founder and CEO, Merlin Kauffman. He got the idea to start this business in 2013 after having a difficult time scheduling massages while on the road and traveling. (He was happy and thanked me for actually talking about massages and not running the business.)
Soothe currently has over 3000 licensed massage therapists in 25 different metro-area cities, including the Atlanta area where I’m located. Each city that Soothe operates in has an office that recruits and supports the independent massage therapists.
There are four main types of massages provided: Swedish, Deep Tissue, Sports and Prenatal. You can also schedule a custom therapy session based on your personal needs. Check out MassageTherapy to learn more about the different types of massages out there.
It’s great that Soothe offers chair-massage programs that are customized for corporate wellness programs as well. This is a significant way to provide stress reduction at work, increase productivity, and incorporate that massage habit. Another benefit for the employees is that the cost is subsidized by a wellness program.
As a caregiver myself, it’s important to remember that you can’t take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself first.
No more excuses. When’s the last time you had a massage?
