(for me anyway). I find that it is nice to have the physical and inner parts and workings loosened up and freed. Although I live and enjoy life as a retired free man, massage has been a big bonus. Extra freedom and easier movement. Less restrictiveness, fewer knots, and diminishment or elimination of pain without drugs. Today there was just one poor area–left calf that was strangely tight and hurt with initial manipulation–but now it’s better, freer. And the rest, the overall unlimited affects in me feel very good, very free.
Now there’s more to this than first seems. I find also that my thoughts and thinking are freed in the process. That is to say, I have fewer limits to both my thinking and consciousness which makes it even easier to reflect, imagine, and express, both verbally and in writing (as in this blog entry).
Certainly I believe that the various levels–emotional, physical, spiritual, are all connected and related as much as the different parts of the body (e.g., during a shoulder release today, I felt a twinge on the instep of my left foot). What is good for one part, then opens up and frees these other levels. Everything is better, including hearing, smell, and taste. Lunches taste particularly good after a massage!
But all of this only works if you have a really good, knowledgeable therapist, and if you yourself are open, accepting, and go with the flow of the massage. If you have a good therapist, then she will find knots, blockages, and pain much easier so she can stop to work on problem areas. Also, she can tell from your sighs or expressions how the treatment is going. More information from you communicated to her always works.
My life changed forever in 1998 when I rediscovered my body and increased freedom and flow through massage therapy. I can honestly say that it has significantly improved my life, made me healthier and happier, and given greater life flow and spiritual awareness.
“Happiness can exist only in acceptance.”–George Orwell