The healing touch of massage therapy is cathartic! Because emotional pain can manifest itself in actual physical pain, if a skilled therapist can relieve physical manifestations, it can help cleanse the emotional self as well. Bodywork therapies arose from the belief that the body contains memories of every experience ever felt. According to Gloria Arenson, in Binge Eating-How to Stop it Forever, "Much energy and many feelings can be impirsoned in muscles habituated through years of restraint and posture control. This control is often the cause of specific body types and chronic body tensions."

By working out the knots and kinks in the body, an improvement in both the physical and emotional self can occur. The beauty of the natural body is mind boggling. By releasing tension through massage, the client can feel taller, more relaxed and "open." It can also restore homeostatis (the body's natural state of existing) to an unbalanced body. Dr. Andrew Weil reports that at the top of the list for causes of headaches is muscle tension. The best way to get rid of this common stress related disorder is to practice relaxation techniques or to get a massage.

Massage can also relieve many other kinds of physical pain as well as remove toxins and stimulate circulation of both blood and lymph flow. If the body's built in mechanisms for cleansing itself become blocked or don't function properly, toxins and waste matter build up. To maintain a healthy body, one needs to take out the "garbage" regularly!

There a many different types of massage and bodywork. One technique that I practice regularly, Barefoot Massage, is great at loosening up tissues. In fact, this type of barefoot massage has a tendency to make clients more ooey-gooey than a traditional hands-on massage. Clients report a significant increase in their state of well-being after just one session! And as one client commented, "This was really the most luxurious massage I've ever had."

Want to learn an anatomy based barefoot massage that's intuitive? Study with us at the Center for Barefoot Massage.