Post Massage Care

Thi week I wanted to share some of my practices I have after I get a massage.

Getting a massage can be a taxing experience. After most massages, I feel like warm jello. I'm Mushy and all too happy to spill into myself. I just want to lie on a soft couch and watch the sun go up and down a few times. While I can’t and suspect most other people can't indulge in this slothful urge, doing what we can to slow down will maximize the beneficial effects of our bodywork. So here are some strategies I use to accomplish this.

The first thing I do is do take digital cleanse for the rest of the day. Simply stepping away from wifi consciousness, is great for our mental hygiene. I am fully confident that as we better familiarize ourselves with best practices concerning internetting we are going discover like most things less is more.

The power the internet gives us shames whatever past pharaohs or monarch could dream of but, it is not without it's barbed hooks. More agile minds than mine are working diligently and in tandem with large groups to ensure our web surfing adventure is addictive as possible.

How do they do this? Outrage. For whatever reasons our body self addicts to the concoction of hormones our body produces during outrage. It's fun, thrilling, and we get to feel self-righteous without any of that rigorous self-improvement work. And since it doesn't seem like we are going to decouple outrage and free information anytime soon, I think it's best to be mindful of the time we dwell in cyberspace. After a massage, I am more open, so I want to simply avoid that realm.

Another realty we should be present after a massage is our need for food. As well as providing us nourishment, we ground into our bodies is through food. After a massage, it's common to be quite hungry. Anticipating this need can benefit the overall massage experience. I encourage anyone to have some tasty leftover or some easy to cook meal waiting in your kitchen when you get your massage. Taking a pan from the fridge and placing it in an oven is about the most work I want to do. I like something hearty but I also want it to be healthy. I want it to be something I cooked with some intention earlier. Something I can now fully appreciate.

Finally, I think one of the best things we can do after a massage is to go for a walkabout. Walking is such a primal part of who we all are as a species. Having the ability to walk on two legs is one of our most defining characteristics. Walking naturally puts us into a mental state where we are connected with our nature. Whatever problems are cluttering our minds can be at least exposed to our innate authentically animalist perspective. This in itself may not solve the problems we should honor what wisdom we gather from this perspective.

Aside from easing the grip, our thoughts can have on our consciousness, I find walking requires the right amount of muscle engagement to integrate new movement into my life. Walking is, for the most part, a leisurely activity. It does require much muscle coordination and complex stabilization patterns. Every time we lift our leg we have to create neuromuscular lines of force throughout our body in order not to fall.

We often do this without too much thinking about it. We simply recreate the same movement patterns, regardless of whether they are good for us or not. We walk in the same fashion we always walk in. Often many of our problems are caused by repetitive motion. Massage should break up some of our kinetic habits. Walking or other low impact activities that incorporate a wide array of physical positioning can allow us the opportunity to establish less taxing movement patterns. Maybe we notice our pelvis is twisted, or that an ankle is inverted. Whatever we notice we can play with. When we try to adjust this one aspect of our body we often will send ripples of subtle augmentation throughout our body. By untwisting our pelvis our ankle naturally straightens out shoulder have to drop and whatever else is out of alignment returns to its center.

Of course other things we can do to maximize the benefits of massage, which I encourage everyone to explore.

Anthony Bruni