Massages and Meditation: The Perfect Pair
Sep 26, 2019

Reading time less than 1 minute

“Health and wellness” are words often used together, because they compliment each other well; alone they are good, but together they’re great. The same goes for massages and meditation. It makes sense to read these two together, since they both deal with health and wellness, but have you ever heard of using the two techniques at the same time?

Using meditation, or “mindfulness,” with massage therapy can benefit and enhance both practices as well as create a whole new therapeutic experience.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a mindset of being completely aware of the present moment and fully accepting of one’s thoughts, feelings, and current experience. One of the books that I’ve read about meditation called, Get Some Headspace, by Andy Puddicombe, teaches its readers about mindfulness and how to obtain it. It explains how meditation and the achievement of mindfulness can not only bring clarity to the mind, but it can also bring the mind “to its natural state of awareness, which is free of any bias or judgment.”

Benefits of Mindfulness

Why should someone meditate or seek mindfulness? Meditation is the practice of training the mind; creating a state of consciousness, and mindfulness is accomplished through meditation.

Achieving mindfulness can have some great benefits on one’s health and wellbeing. It can help manage stress, alleviate anxiety, improve one’s quality of sleep, enhance personal relationships, and increase brain function.

Achieving Mindfulness

From the book, Get Some Headspace, I learned how to approach, practice, and implement mindfulness through meditation. In the approach to mindfulness, Puddicombe instructs his readers to allow the mind and body to think and feel however it naturally wants to. He says that it’s not about controlling your thoughts and feelings, but about recognizing and accepting them. In one of the exercises, Puddicombe tells his readers to sit for a few minutes and focus on one physical sensation. He says it can be a pleasant or unpleasant feeling, but to focus on it for the duration of the exercise. I think that based on this exercise, using massage therapy on your body before meditation would be helpful in creating a more comfortable experience.

Massage Therapy and Meditation

Practicing meditation and implementing mindfulness promotes mental and physical awareness and acceptance, which can help you understand your body better. Body awareness is necessary for diagnosing and treating yourself with massage therapy. Using massage therapy before practicing meditation and mindfulness can prepare the body externally for the inner-self journey — making the pursuit an easier process by relieving your body of physical discomforts to create a more relaxing and comfortable experience — so that you can focus on other thoughts or physical sensations instead of pain or discomfort.


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Jonathan Tayron
May 19, 2021

Wow, wow. Never thought about it! Sounds very cool, if only because I love massage and meditation, but to combine them ?! How could I not have thought of this before?! Thanks for the information, I will remember it and try it out!

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Swedish Massage
$70 USD
healing session
Relaxation Massage

Overview

Relaxation massage is a gentle and soothing massage technique that aims to promote relaxation and reduce stress. It involves long, flowing strokes, kneading, and circular movements to help release tension and promote a sense of calm and well-being.

Target audience

Individuals who work high-stress jobs, such as executives, healthcare workers, or first responders, who may be in need of a therapeutic, stress-relieving massage to help them relax and unwind.

Benefits

Reduce stress and anxiety, boost immune function, improve circulation, promote better sleep, reduce muscle tension and pain

Session

•Consultation: Before the session begins, the I will ask you about any specific areas of the body you would like to focus on, as well as any injuries, medical conditions, or concerns you may have.
•Setting the atmosphere: I will create a relaxing atmosphere, dimming the lights and playing soft music to help you feel at ease.
•Comfortable positioning: You will derobe to your comfort level and lie down on the massage table, covered by a sheet or blanket, in a comfortable and supportive position. Nothing will be exposed except the areas I'm working on.
•Application of oil or lotion: I will apply a light oil or lotion to your skin to help facilitate smooth and soothing massage strokes.
•Gentle massage strokes: I will use gentle and flowing massage strokes, such as effleurage, kneading, and circular movements, to help promote relaxation and release tension.

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Erica Turner
Myofascial release
$10 USD
healing session
Massage Therapy

Utilizing many massage modalities to support your body throughout its healing process with a hands on approach.

Working with infants to the elderly, all ages can experience bodywork to support their physical body.

Krysta Montville
Deep Tissue Massage
$110 USD
therapy session
Remedial Massage

Remedial Massage Therapy is the manual application of deep pressure massage therapy in the aim to release tight muscles, restore spinal balance and reduce muscle pain, joint stiffness and nerve symptoms.

Massage pressure is often firm to release trigger points and sometimes more gentle for relaxation purposes for stress and anxiety.

Motion Myotherapy Northcote Remedial Massag…
Medical Massage
$60 USD
therapy session
Sports Massage

Sports massage is suitable for all, not just athletes. People often think of massage as a nice way to occasionally pamper themselves, but regular massage provides a powerful tool to help you take care of your health and wellbeing. Clinically based musculoskeletal and neural techniques are used to provide a bespoke treatment targeting muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia and the pressure may vary from a light stroking or kneading to deep pressure. Regular massage can improve your quality of life and aid recovery from training. Kinesiology taping is also offered to support injury recovery.

Sarah Sewell

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