How often should I get a massage?
Howdy folks,
Well, I've put together some things to add to the web site, now I just have to get over the techie hurdles of posting them. In the meantime, I thought I'd answer an FAQ today, namely: how often should I get a massage?
Like most things, massage frequency is a personal choice, depending on your taste, your goals, understanding what massage is great for, and what it's less good for.
First, as a man of business, I feel obliged to tell you that you cannot overdose on massage. If getting 4 massages a week is your thing, I'm all for it. Although admittedly, for the massagaholic, once a week may be more sustainable over the long term. I've had numerous clients get one a week for several years. They enjoyed it, and it made them feel better week to week. Likewise, if you have a short term injury, stress, or life change, getting a number of massages close together can be of great help.
The issue tends to come when people get very regular work for a short period of time, in the hope of fixing a chronic problem. This is usually going to be ineffective for the long term. Massage is great for giving the body a jump-start, re-stimulating the muscles and getting stiff tissues warm and active, but it cannot very well rebalance the body's strength/flexibility ratio (don't ask me what that ratio is, I just made it up; sounds good, though, don't it?). This is largely because massage doesn't strengthen anything. After a couple of months, these people usually give up and don't come in for anymore massages.
The good news is that these chronic imbalances can generally be fixed by finding the right physical workout for them. If you are lucky, this involves a life-long quest of inner contemplation, self-discovery, and the development of awareness within the infinite universe that is your body. Or you can just go swimming. Regardless, massage is then great for working out all the new aches and pains that come with that process. It's a win/win for everybody.
So, for the average person, I would say the ideal is to spend most of a month developing awareness and balancing your strength/flexibility ratio on your own. Then come in regularly, once or twice a month as suits you, and let me work out the stuff that has accumulated in the meantime. Massage never feels better than after you've worked out, and it will be a reward for your efforts. I think my clients who do this get the most out it, in terms of enjoyment and benefit.
Hope that helps.
cam
Cameron Aiken
www.cameronaiken.com
Well, I've put together some things to add to the web site, now I just have to get over the techie hurdles of posting them. In the meantime, I thought I'd answer an FAQ today, namely: how often should I get a massage?
Like most things, massage frequency is a personal choice, depending on your taste, your goals, understanding what massage is great for, and what it's less good for.
First, as a man of business, I feel obliged to tell you that you cannot overdose on massage. If getting 4 massages a week is your thing, I'm all for it. Although admittedly, for the massagaholic, once a week may be more sustainable over the long term. I've had numerous clients get one a week for several years. They enjoyed it, and it made them feel better week to week. Likewise, if you have a short term injury, stress, or life change, getting a number of massages close together can be of great help.
The issue tends to come when people get very regular work for a short period of time, in the hope of fixing a chronic problem. This is usually going to be ineffective for the long term. Massage is great for giving the body a jump-start, re-stimulating the muscles and getting stiff tissues warm and active, but it cannot very well rebalance the body's strength/flexibility ratio (don't ask me what that ratio is, I just made it up; sounds good, though, don't it?). This is largely because massage doesn't strengthen anything. After a couple of months, these people usually give up and don't come in for anymore massages.
The good news is that these chronic imbalances can generally be fixed by finding the right physical workout for them. If you are lucky, this involves a life-long quest of inner contemplation, self-discovery, and the development of awareness within the infinite universe that is your body. Or you can just go swimming. Regardless, massage is then great for working out all the new aches and pains that come with that process. It's a win/win for everybody.
So, for the average person, I would say the ideal is to spend most of a month developing awareness and balancing your strength/flexibility ratio on your own. Then come in regularly, once or twice a month as suits you, and let me work out the stuff that has accumulated in the meantime. Massage never feels better than after you've worked out, and it will be a reward for your efforts. I think my clients who do this get the most out it, in terms of enjoyment and benefit.
Hope that helps.
cam
Cameron Aiken
www.cameronaiken.com
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