Can a Full-Body Massage Impact Your Daily Life?
Have you ever thought about a full body massage including your Full Chest and Breast? I am not talking about anything sexual or illegal. I am talking about a missing part to an otherwise lovely experience. After over 25 years of licensure as a massage therapist in NY, it is the most profound work I have ever felt or given. Why? Keep reading.
Just a minute to explain a bit about how your body works. Muscles only pull. So, each muscle has a counterpart pulling in the opposite direction to bend and straighten your arm for example. When one of those opposing muscles is constantly over stressed, over stretched, or constantly in one position, that imbalance may lead to a limited range of motion, pain, or in the case of your chest and back a decrease of function in your internal organs.
With each breath the ribcage moves to expand the internal space for the lungs to fill. If you have been in an accident, ever had a respiratory illness, had a chest or abdominal surgery, drive extensively, sit at a computer daily, carry children, are a seasoned athlete or a weekend warrior, chances are your rib cage is not functioning to its fullest potential. During a full chest massage, your entire rib cage is mobilized in a way that traditional massage, deep tissue massage, and all other massages leave out. Adhesions and tight areas between the ribs are addressed to increase their range of natural motion. All the muscles of your torso are addressed. The result is deeper fuller breath potential which is necessary for optimal health.
If you have had any type of surgery in your torso, chances are you have scar tissue. Scar tissue is not just on the surface. It reaches deep, blocking lymphatic flow and decreasing your ability to fight infection. Scars leave a visible sign of the surgery that goes beyond physical. Scar tissue disrupts your nervous response, leaving areas of your body numb This can lead to a physical, mental, and sometimes emotional disconnect to parts of your body. It can be subtle, but scars can also be identity altering, especially in the case of open-heart surgery, breast enlargement or reduction, lumpectomy, or mastectomy. Survivors can feel ashamed of their scars and pull away from touch since the sensation is altered by the lack of attachment to the nervous system. Full Chest and Breast massage in combination with a full body massage can help to break up the immobilizing scar tissue, increasing the blood supply and lymphatic movement in the area. It is also an amazing way to regain the much-needed human connection through touch.
As a society, we lost so much during the pandemic, but especially the connection that human touch brings. During a full body massage, your body will release endorphins-yes, those feel-good hormones. In fact, a full body massage including the chest and breast will give you a sense of completion and wholeness that you may have been looking for and not even realized it. It did for me. It gave me back my body after surgery. It gave me a connection to myself that I didn’t even know I was missing.
Shannon Smith LMT, RMT, MLD-C, MS
