Work You Love That Loves You Right Back | Massage Therapists Share Many Benefits With Their Clients

We are aware of the tremendous benefits that regular massage can provide for our clients, such as improved circulation, increased joint mobility, and reduction in pain, body tension and anxiety.

These benefits we provide with our caring touch to our clients transform us as well. When we talk about doing work we love and how it can transform ourselves as practitioners, what do we mean?

I recall a friend I met in massage school who was suffering from M.E., (Myalgic Encephalitis) an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, following a viral infection. An Ayurvedic physician had prescribed massage as part of his therapy – here’s the surprise; the prescription was not for receiving, but rather giving massage. In “Ancient Indian Massage” Harish Johari writes about massage as a beneficial practice for wrestlers. He recommends giving at least two massages and receiving one massage daily for strength and flexibility.

Tiffany Field, PhD of the Touch Research Institute in Florida has thoroughly researched the effect of massage therapy in a wide and varied range of situations. She has documented the benefits massage can bring to aggressive adolescents, children and teens with ADHD, those suffering with Anorexia Nervosa, Alzheimer’s, hypertension…. the list goes on. One study however has intriguing results. Field compares a group of elderly retired volunteers who received massage, with another group who provided massage to infants. The group who massaged the infants showed less anxiety and depression, as well as lower levels of stress hormones.

The touch receptors in our skin do not differentiate between touching and being touched. I felt this just today when I was performing abdominal work on my client and found myself in the same meditative and relaxed state of mind that she was in during the massage. I call this “dropping in” with my client, or as Milton Trager called it “hook-up”. The movement of our bodies can be a meditation, whether we are practicing Swedish massage, Shiatsu, Thai or Deep Tissue. The rhythm and flow creates a harmony within our own body as well as our client’s.

It is true that not all of our client’s may have soft and tender musculature, like the infants in the study… some indeed may resemble an old walnut tree more than a newborn, and require a little more physical effort on the part of the therapist… but nevertheless, massage facilitates a deep human connection.

Many are the days when I have begun my day tired, grumpy, distracted by some small irritation… my allergies, a disagreement with a friend, or a worry about something. Half way through my second client, I realize that I am relieved of preoccupation with myself, and instead focused on providing a positive experience for another human being.

At the end of my day, I may be tired, but also satisfied…and my work gives me a compelling reason to eat well, rest well and take care of my body, so I can continue to have the incredible privilege of being in the present moment, together with my client… where we both can be renewed.

~Julie McGuinness and Jen Fogarty
NHI Instructors

What do you do to maximize the health benefits of being a massage therapist?  How do you feel after giving a massage? Let us know in the comments below, or give us a shoutout @nhi_massage on Twitter, or post on our Facebook wall!