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Health & Fitness

Don't End Up Hanging From Your Neighbor's Tree

When you work too hard, your neck and shoulders get tight.  When your neck and shoulders get tight, you get stressed.  When you get stressed, you do something fun to de-stress.  When you do something fun, you decide to try out your kid’s trampoline.  When you try out your kid’s trampoline, you end up hanging from your neighbor’s tree.  Don’t end up hanging from your neighbor’s tree.  Get a massage instead.

Rather than think of massage as a luxury, I’d like you to think of it as something practical, a preventative way to improve your overall health and well-being.  Something that will keep you out of your neighbor’s tree.

Stress has become normalized in our lives – we expect it and deal with it.  It causes muscular tension and pain.  It can increase blood pressure, create migraines and headaches, and weaken our immune system.  Daily stress contributes to insomnia, depression, and can aggravate conditions like fibromyalgia.

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Getting a massage regularly can help alleviate all of the conditions above.  Here’s why: when I massage your muscles, tendons and ligaments, the blood flow to those areas is increased.  Blood carries in oxygen and nutrients and carries out toxins.  Generally speaking, massage reduces the effects of stress and fosters relaxation.

There are a myriad of benefits from massage.  Massage improves your immune function to help ward off illness.  It improves your muscle tone so you don’t get injured as easily.  It can improve your posture, your mood, and your blood pressure.  Getting massage regularly can help you sleep better, increase your range of motion, and improve your overall outlook on life.  How much more productive would you be –not just at work, but also at home – if you didn’t have to deal with the chronic pain in your neck, shoulders, back, etc.?  How much more fun would you be having if you felt better, more relaxed, in balance?

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If you think you can’t afford regular massage, think about this – how much is your co-pay for each doctor visit?  How much are your medications?  How much does it cost you to feel lousy?  Having good physical, mental and emotional health is a necessity, not a luxury.  And therapeutic massage can help you achieve that goal.

If you have a flexible spending account through your health care plan, check to see if it covers massage therapy.  Some plans do, with a note from your doctor specifying that you would benefit from regular massage.   Incorporating regular massage into your routine is an investment in yourself.  This is one investment that is worth making, will yield returns that will last a lifetime, and may help you stay out of your neighbor’s tree!

Until next time,

Stacie Beard, LMT

Stacie is a Nationally Certified and Licensed Massage Therapist at Cheveux Salon and Day Spa in Bel Air.  You can reach her at 410-569-3299.

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