Scheduling

Of course there are many reasons for muscle tension, but when it comes to stress, it’s a special kind of soreness. When your muscles reach a certain level of tightness and tension and remain this way for any length of time, the brain will start to interpret this state as “normal.” The brain will tend to “hold on” to this tension even after the circumstances that caused it to occur in the first place are gone. Thus, muscles feel tight, sometimes painful, and tender to the touch. Many times mobility is decreased. Often when this is going on in the body, the mind is also experiencing the same condition, and we feel “stressed” or “uptight.” After a while, our brain/muscles forget how to relax. Our bodies get tight, and we experience sore, achy, and restricted muscles. When our minds tense up, we may emotionally react to the physical tension by being snappy, irritable, thinking less clearly, and having difficulty sleeping.   

If we calm our muscles, our minds can also quiet down. Relaxing our own muscles can be difficult to do. Through Swedish massage, we can soften and relax the muscles, release the physical tension in the body, and thus break the stress cycle.   

When the muscles and connective tissue relax, the mind can follow, and we get that good “Ahhhh” feeling of being calm and centered once again. Even if we don’t feel tense or stressed, when touched by someone in a healthy, safe, respectful, and caring manner, it feels wonderful; Swedish massage just plain feels great!