Try Massage Therapy. Your Body Will Thank You!

Who would have thought, five or ten years ago, that massage therapy would be as commonplace as it is now? It’s an important and powerful communication and wellness tool, and it can be simple or elaborate. But there should be no argument, that it’s an important component in the pursuit and achievement of wellness and health.

Not your grandparent’s massage anymore…

Massage has become much more accepted in the last several years – particularly in the Western world where it was often thought of as something only the wealthy or “health nuts” pursued. Yet with the growing knowledge and appreciation for alternative health modalities, massage is catching a wave of appreciation with its positive impact on physical and mental health.

Even in the United States, massage therapy is finally beginning to be accepted as a verified wellness modality. Did you know, that in the US alone, the massage therapy market is projected to rise from an estimated $65.23 billion in 2024 to a projected $146.13 billion by 2034? (1)

For those who understand its wealth of benefits, this is fantastic news.  For a good portion of the world, the positive effects are nothing new. Ancient African, Eastern/Asian, and some European cultures have a long history of massage and bodywork being used to heal and reset the body, mind, and spirit.

What’s massage good for?

First, there are the obvious therapeutic impacts; helping to address injuries such as tissue strains. But massage has also been linked to helping to address digestive issues, headaches, insomnia, nerve pain, fibromyalgia, and even depression.

Massage has several different modalities and definitions depending upon what part of the world it comes from, but most times it is the rubbing and manipulating of a person’s skin, focusing on tendons, ligaments, joints, and muscles.

The massage can include deep strokes, manipulations, or light pressure. It can be done with just the hands – with or without the use of oils, liniments – or a therapist can use other implements like heat packs, smooth hot stones, and other devices.

Massage helps to increase blood flow and circulation, releasing dopamine and serotonin while decreasing cortisol. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone.

Serotonin and dopamine are neurotransmitters, important for regulating a number of the body’s processes, including mood regulation, feelings of well-being, pleasure, and reward. These “feel good” hormones the body produces can go a long way toward alleviating stress, depression, and pain as well as giving a feeling of healing and wellness. 

A PubMed study even links massage to boosting the immune system.

“Preliminary data suggest that a single session of Swedish Massage Therapy produces measurable biologic effects. If replicated, these findings may have implications for managing inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.” (2)

Types of Massage Therapy

There are many different massage modalities, many of which are tied to the part of the world they come from. Probably the most recognized include Deep Tissue, Swedish, Sports, Trigger Point, and Lymphatic.

Some massage modalities from the east include Thai massage, which is active partnered stretching designed to increase or enhance vital blood flow and circulation throughout the body along with establishing greater flexibility and range of motion.

Africa has massage traditions as well, both in East and West Africa, reflecting the uniqueness of the region. The Maasai have a technique called “Emuratare” that incorporates kneading, slapping, and tapping. In West Africa, there’s the use of hand manipulation, stretching, and the use of implements and local oils and ointments including Baobab and shea butter.

Touch: Massage’s secret power

The basis for most forms of massage is simple, human touch. Touch is critical at every stage of life. Scores of studies have shown the importance of touch for the cognitive development of newborn babies. They’ve also shown the importance of human touch throughout all stages of life, not just within romantic relationships, but in most social contracts as well.

Touch is a powerful tool for communicating emotions, positive and negative. And its importance doesn’t stop there.

“It is possible that social touch could help maintain the multitude of emotional bonds humans have in all areas of life, ranging from intimate romantic bonds to kinship and friendships.”

“When you don’t get enough physical touch, you can become stressed, anxious, or depressed. As a response to stress, your body makes a hormone called cortisol. This can cause your heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and breathing rate to go up, with bad effects for your immune and digestive systems,” writes Alexandra Benisek in the article “Touch Starvation: What to Know.” (3)

Touch Starvation became very evident during the COVID 19 pandemic when people around the planet were isolated and physically unable many times to share the most basic touch.

Touched by sound

Most everyone is familiar with the benefits of physical touch during massage. But what about another form of massage touch, “sound?” Sound therapy or more specifically, “sound massage” is a modality that is gaining notice and popularity as more people experience it and understand its benefits.

Sound massage is not to be confused with music therapy although they both use sound. The effects of sound and music on the body and mind are well documented.  (4)

But touching with sound or more technically massaging with instruments that transmit sound, is in the early stages of study. The modality itself is ancient, perhaps the most known form of it, employing Tibetan singing bowls.

Pure Edenic Serenity, is the sister duo of Tmoonah baht Israel, Sound Therapist/Sound Massage Therapist, and Musician, and her sister Ahedahlyah baht Yehuda, Holistic Healer, Yoga Instructor, Midwife, Doula, Sound/Massage Therapist, and a Specialist in pre- and postnatal massage. Their studio, Pure Edenic Serenity, is located in the Village of Peace, Dimona.

These sisters, who are being increasingly recognized in Israel and being sought after by celebrities who visit the Village of Peace, can tell you without a doubt, that “sound” can touch and heal.

Tmoonah has been using sound healing/massage for over a decade using various tuning forks, gongs, drums, (both percussive and melodic), and Tibetan singing bowls. Tmoonah regularly sees clients and administers sound therapy and sound “baths,” surrounding the client with instruments of various pitches and frequencies, giving the effect of “washing the body” with sounds.

There are times though, when she has to go deeper.

“Sometimes I’ll have a client who I can tell needs more,” she explained. “Depending on how deep the need, injury or trauma they have experienced is, I’ll put the tuning forks or bowls right on their body. The sound vibrations literally move through the body’s pathways and reveal injury, blockages, and even trauma. Any time there is some sort of trauma, the bowls literally will go up in pitch and volume,” she explained. 

“When I hear that pitch and volume change, I know something has happened. I’ll ask the client if there was some trauma there, and invariably they will say yes.” The sisters have used this method in both group and solo sessions. The positive results are always undeniable.

Rofah (doctor) Ahedahlyah adds, “We’ve even had to do a two-person, four-hand massage on a client. I’ll physically massage one side of the body, while Tmoonah will apply the bowls or tuning forks to the other side, then we will switch. We can direct the vibrations from the bowls along with my physical touch to go into the areas needed and hopefully remove blockages and open up the free flow of energy again, which results in healing.”

“We’ve also incorporated our techniques into the birthing process. We use the sound to help comfort as well as stimulate the birthing “surges” or contractions as some call them, encouraging the baby to come down the birth canal.”

The sounds, placed directly on the body, decrease tension in the back, abdomen and uterus during the process.”

Here in the Village of Peace, we recognize just how vital massage therapy is in our journey to mastering the art of the living. For us massage therapy is essential at least once a month, but many of our community members will have more.

We invite you to investigate and explore massage in your health and wellness journey. Get guidance from your physician or primary healthcare provider if you have any medical issues. Also, make sure to look for licensed massage therapists in your area.

Share your massage therapy experiences in the comments for all our readers to benefit from.