I follow a lot of blogs and Facebook pages and one of my favorite pages is MindBodyGreen. This blog post inspired me to write a similar one.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5262/5-Ways-Yoga-Helped-Me-Beat-Anorexia.html
I’ve been pretty sick most of my life. I had a difficult childhood that left me with PTSD and the anxiety from it overwhelmed my body so much that I developed several autoimmune disorders and severe chronic pain. I had no idea how to deal with life until a good friend of mine, who had taken a few massage courses, introduced me to Yoga, Meditation, and Massage. For the first time, I felt like I had control in my life. When my friend and I drifted apart in life, I decided to go back to school and learn about Massage and Holistic Health. Massage healed me in so many ways. Both giving and receiving massage has changed my life in a postive way. Here are 5 ways giving and receiving massage has made me be a better person:
1) Giving massage gave me an opportunity to focus and be centered and have a calm place to be for an hour.
Part of having severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress is that my mind is in a million places at once. I simply can’t concentrate and focus. For me, I couldn’t focus because I was literally scared of everything and everyone, including myself. Having an hour (or a few!) every day to just be with the person on my table and focused on them and not my issues, in a safe and relaxing, therapeutic environment was like having mini-vacations every day.
2) Being a Massage Therapist made me feel obligated to be the best person I can be and a leader by example for my clients.
One of two of my concentrations at massage school was in Mind-Body Body Psychology and much of what I know about the body in this regard is from applying the principles of Body Psychology to my own recovery process from PTSD. Healing myself gave me tools to help heal others.
3) Being a Massage Therapist reminds me constantly of the things I need to do to take care of myself whenever I recommend those same things to my clients.
I have learned a lot by healing myself and its difficult to remember them all, all of the time. When I recommend tips and tricks to my clients, its a great reminder for myself as well!
4) I now consider myself an expert in dealing with extreme stress and the conditions that stress causes.
I always laugh to myself when someone takes a bad picture of me (at least what I think is bad) and my friends say that I look like my normal Zen self. Looking back at myself from before I began my massage journey feels like looking back at someone that I totally don’t recognize. I no longer have PTSD or even daily pain or anxiety anymore and my autoimmune problems no longer control me. I consider massage to be one of the major reasons why. I use the same principles that I learned each day with my clients and many report similar experiences, which I think is just amazing!
5) I was able to let go of the past.
Anyone who has received a considerable amount of bodywork knows that massage helps you process past emotions and events. There is a saying- “The issues are in the tissues”. Massage Therapy has pushed me to find myself. No matter what happens, I will always have myself and will never loose that again. Some terrible things happened to me, but massage opened several doors for me to help me move on and reach for a better life; a life full of helping others and being the best person I can be.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5262/5-Ways-Yoga-Helped-Me-Beat-Anorexia.html
I’ve been pretty sick most of my life. I had a difficult childhood that left me with PTSD and the anxiety from it overwhelmed my body so much that I developed several autoimmune disorders and severe chronic pain. I had no idea how to deal with life until a good friend of mine, who had taken a few massage courses, introduced me to Yoga, Meditation, and Massage. For the first time, I felt like I had control in my life. When my friend and I drifted apart in life, I decided to go back to school and learn about Massage and Holistic Health. Massage healed me in so many ways. Both giving and receiving massage has changed my life in a postive way. Here are 5 ways giving and receiving massage has made me be a better person:
1) Giving massage gave me an opportunity to focus and be centered and have a calm place to be for an hour.
Part of having severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress is that my mind is in a million places at once. I simply can’t concentrate and focus. For me, I couldn’t focus because I was literally scared of everything and everyone, including myself. Having an hour (or a few!) every day to just be with the person on my table and focused on them and not my issues, in a safe and relaxing, therapeutic environment was like having mini-vacations every day.
2) Being a Massage Therapist made me feel obligated to be the best person I can be and a leader by example for my clients.
One of two of my concentrations at massage school was in Mind-Body Body Psychology and much of what I know about the body in this regard is from applying the principles of Body Psychology to my own recovery process from PTSD. Healing myself gave me tools to help heal others.
3) Being a Massage Therapist reminds me constantly of the things I need to do to take care of myself whenever I recommend those same things to my clients.
I have learned a lot by healing myself and its difficult to remember them all, all of the time. When I recommend tips and tricks to my clients, its a great reminder for myself as well!
4) I now consider myself an expert in dealing with extreme stress and the conditions that stress causes.
I always laugh to myself when someone takes a bad picture of me (at least what I think is bad) and my friends say that I look like my normal Zen self. Looking back at myself from before I began my massage journey feels like looking back at someone that I totally don’t recognize. I no longer have PTSD or even daily pain or anxiety anymore and my autoimmune problems no longer control me. I consider massage to be one of the major reasons why. I use the same principles that I learned each day with my clients and many report similar experiences, which I think is just amazing!
5) I was able to let go of the past.
Anyone who has received a considerable amount of bodywork knows that massage helps you process past emotions and events. There is a saying- “The issues are in the tissues”. Massage Therapy has pushed me to find myself. No matter what happens, I will always have myself and will never loose that again. Some terrible things happened to me, but massage opened several doors for me to help me move on and reach for a better life; a life full of helping others and being the best person I can be.
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