I’ve said it before: One of the best ways to strengthen your mind is to get out of it. Another great way to do that is to have some body work, especially some type of touch therapy, like massage. You know, Bob Hope used to brag that his fountain of youth was getting two massages a day. I think most Americans are touch deprived. Here at the Wellness Center, we have group hugs, actually I call them “group grope,” but that’s beside the point. The term makes our clients laugh and that’s very healing, too.
if you’ve never had a massage, there are all kinds: deep tissue, rolfing, Swedish, hot stone, Trigger Point, you name it. To get the best results, be sure to tell your potential therapist what you’re looking for. Me, I can’t stand deep tissue or rolfing. I am not a believer in the “no-pain-no-gain” theory of life. But Veronica, our massage director, says it’s the only way she can get her body back in alignment after a week of giving other people massages.
You can even try Hypno-Massage, if you want to really zone out during the massage. At our place, the therapist will play one of my hypnosis cds while they do the massage. We even have Hypno-puncture (hypnosis and acupuncture.) So if you’re coming in for pain management, they might play a pain CD while they work on you, or a general healing cd, or one for stress. You really get the double whammie this way.
Another great way to bliss out is to combine aromatherapy with massage. Find out if your massage therapist does Raindrop Technique. I recommend it to all my anxiety clients, smokers, people wanting to lose weight, or anyone wanting a gentle detox.
Years ago, when I went through psychotherapy for workaholism, my therapist said, “Kathy, you are not a spirit dragging a body around. Go and find some type of body work and get it done.” That was how I got involved in massage.
So to improve your mind, you need to lose it for a while.