Self-care: Why having regular massages is so important

By – Alan Magusara

So many of us spend most of our week working and experiencing all the stressors of daily life. One of the misconceptions of making time for a massage is that it’s just ‘indulging in a luxury’ or only for that holiday once every few years. However, having regular massage treatments is a form of ‘Self-care’ and what this means is to ultimately take care of your body and mind so that you can function optimally to accomplish more, live healthier and improve your overall well-being and quality of life. It also promotes positive health outcomes for the long term and can improve your ability to manage daily stressors.

When you make time for a massage, you are already on the right track when it comes to self-care. Even if having regular massages isn’t an option for you, there are a number of ways to practice self-care and enhance the benefits of massage in between sessions:

– Stretching daily
– Self-massage and trigger points with a massage ball or gun.
– Meditation
– Improving posture
– Making small gradual changes in lifestyle habits (exercise, rest, nutrition etc.)

Although self-care is not a cure for for disease or illness, it may help with managing symptoms, support other aspects of health and help prevent future health problems.