Wouldn’t it be great if we could book massages as often as we wanted! Unfortunately time and financial constraints can often determine how frequently we see our massage therapist. Although these reasons are perfectly valid, maybe before we decide not to schedule a booking we should also contemplate how often we prioritise our physical and mental health, and just how effective massages are on an irregular basis.
So you’ve just had your relaxing massage and left feeling less stressed and wonderfully light. Or you’ve injured yourself or have arthritis and opted for a sports massage and experienced a reduction in discomfort, pain and an improved mobility. That’s great, but realistically, unless you book in for regular sessions these benefits will quickly disappear.
Often after their first massage a client will experience the benefits I mentioned above. It’s amazing for me when this happens and also for the client. They think their money has been well spent and maybe they don’t really need to rebook, and I suddenly become godlike in my clients eyes, with my magic hands and wealth of knowledge But these improvements are unlikely to last long term. Why?
Well, sadly, as magnificent as I am, I’m not a miracle worker. Outside of my session you have all manner of things going on that impacts on you mentally or physically. You lead busy, stressful lives. You go hard at gym or participate in regular sports, or maybe you don’t exercise at all. You have emotional situations that you have to deal with daily that impacts on you physically and mentally. Maybe your diet isn’t great. You have a painful chronic health condition that affects your mobility. You’re not sleeping well due to pain or worry. All these things are realities of everyday life which have a huge impact on our overall health.
So because of all these other internal and external factors you should consider your massage an adjunctive alongside other therapies or activities to help, rather than an overall solution, and for your massages to be effective they need to be regular. One massage every six months will not get rid of years of built up stress, tension, or pain. If you hired a personal trainer would you expect to see an immediate improvement in your physique, muscle gains, weight loss etc after one session? Of course not. It’s the same for massages; it can often take time, dedication and sometimes a bit of detective work all rolled in to regular sessions before things may start to improve.
So what is considered regular? Between once or twice a month for maintenance massages depending on your lifestyle, but for those who have more acute issues like an injury or chronic conditions such as arteritis a weekly massage is optimal and will help to alleviate ongoing pain and discomfort.
Sounds like a lot? Well put in perspective how being in discomfort or feeling chronically stressed may impact on work or family life. Time off due to pain, being unable to get good quality sleep, tension headaches and poor mental health* can all have a huge impact on your quality of life, so it really is worth investing in your health in one way or another. A massage can not only help you physically, it gives you time out and *me* time. And we all need that.
So are you ready to start investing in your health on a regular basis? I offer a 20% reduction on a package of 8 weekly bookings** or 10% off a package of 4 fortnightly bookings**. If this is something that interests you, drop me a message.
One last thing if you’re still reading! I am back in London for a few days from the 1st -5th of June and have a few available slots left. Drop me a message if you’d like to book!
Michelle
*A future blog will cover how massage can improve mental well-being.
** T&Cs apply.