Massage for Your Health - Hometown Focus

[massage]

By Susan Santi

HTF Columnist


Luxury or necessity? That really is the question, isn’t it? Just this last week I met two people who were struggling with thinking of massage as a necessity rather than a luxury. They know that massage does great things for the body, both physically and mentally. And at the same time, they had to justify in their minds that their bodies deserved to get a massage. This thought has been prevalent as long as massage has been around I am sure. I am thinking in the beginning, only the wealthy got massages. As more and more people are recognizing the benefits of massage, the whole luxury vs. necessity idea is slowly changing. People are figuring out how they can get that massage.

Let’s look at the definitions of luxury and necessity. Merriam-Webster states, luxury is a condition of great comfort, ease and wealth; something that is expensive and not necessary; something that is helpful or welcome and that is not usually or always available. Necessity is something you must have or do; something that is necessary. When we as a society gain more knowledge of what massage can do for us, we realize it goes from just a luxury to a necessity pretty quickly. As we feel firsthand how it helps our very own bodies, how can we ignore the benefits we gain from massage? We feel less stressed, we sleep better, and we have a decreased pain levels. Now who doesn’t want to experience all that?!

I just worked on a gentleman last night who has low back pain due to his job. He drives a truck delivering packages all day long. He says the seats are generic and don’t last long, especially on the country roads his route takes him on. So, unfortunately for him, he takes the shock in his back and truly feels it. At the end of his massage, when he got off the table, he said he felt almost pain-free. Also, I have a company office I go to once a week. The employees work with the public and then follow-up with sitting in front of their computers doing documentation. For them, necks and upper backs seem to take the hit and I see some of them on a weekly basis and others as their schedule allows.

For some, it’s a financial constraint and they budget it in as they can afford to. For example, I have one elderly client who is in her early 80s and sees me every three-four weeks. Another one is about 70% retired and comes in every six weeks. My understanding is, they know it helps them so they get a massage as their finances allow. They know it to be a necessity for themselves. And, really, that pretty much goes for anyone I see - they understand the value of a massage and are willing to do what it takes to get that massage.

As Mary Kay Ash from Mary Kay Cosmetics used to say, “Find a way, make a way.” Have you found your way?

Susan Santi is a certified massage therapist and owner of Ahhh Massage in Virginia, MN. Feel free to contact her with questions at 218-410- 2144.

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