Drinking Water - Massage can release a large amount of metabolic and nitrogen wastes. Water helps to move these out of the body. Additionally hydration and massage assist in the movement of lympathic fluid which helps to maintain our immune system and clears out a number of other cellular debris and toxins including viruses, cancer cells, and bacterias.
Rest and Relaxation - It is reccommended to schedule your session around when you have time to relax following your session. Or at the least, unless getting pre-sports massage, try not perform any heavy lifting or manual/repetitive labor. This allows the relaxation of your muscles and tissues to sink deeper into your body. IT can take many years of using your body in certain ways to cause imbalance. It can take many years to work through the layers of imbalance to find a true state of homeostasis once again, Of course it is up to you; however the effects of massage will last longer when you have more time marinate in the relaxation that your body has allowed during your session.
Breathing Exercises - Our Breath is the one of our most powerful tools. It can create states of panic or relaxation. We are born innately knowing how to breath, but as we age and go through periods of stress, our breath gets more shallow and we tend to not breath as deeply into our diaphragm. Shallow breathing into just the lungs is hard on them and retraining ourselves to take deeper breaths is done by practice. Studies have shown that the longer and deeper our breath, the long our lives can be.
Stretching - Fitting in 10 minutes of intentional stretching every day. Our bodies need to be moved and stretched to maintain supple muscles and joints throughout our lives. By intentionally showing up for ourselves we develop the capacity to deepen our connection to our bodies and increase the level of healing and longevity that we crave. Sometimes it is as simple as taking a few minutes here are there throughout the day as we feel stress building. Being aware and present with your body in these crucial moments allows us to relax before causing any unneeded tension. This practice of being present will translate to many area in our lives, not just catching tension patterns in our body before they arise.
Practicing Gratitude - Wake up and name reasons you are grateful. This simple practice can be a great catalyst for changing the way we see our lives, which in turn can help us see new and greater opportunities for ourselves. Many of us have heard that our mind is our most powerful tool. That is true wether we feed ourselves negative and judgmental thoughts or loving and grateful thoughts. We can decide for ourselves which are going to help us archive our dreams and stay healthy. Practice and commitment are how we get the most out of this practice.
Foam Rolling - This is one of the easiest ways to stretch and strengthen our muscles and tendons at home. Most of us are not able to maintain a regular practice of receiving massage as it can be very expensive, For those of us that can, we also know that working our areas of dysfunction every day is how we can achieve long term results and heal from chronic dysfunction. This is another tool to utilize at home to assist keeping the body stretched out and able to carry through your life.
Intention - Having a goal or intention for our day this is attainable is another good practice to maintain. Keeping your intention clear and simple is the most beneficial. When we get to convoluted it can distract us from our true purpose and our goals.
