Massage is one of the passive forms of attaining wellness. We all have experienced relief and lowering stress when massaged. We discuss here the essential wellness massage as part of our daily schedule.
Massage is the second best care of your body if you are not able to do any physical exercise. Rather, that is the only option of wellness who are confined to not doing physical activities- like a bed ridden patient or infants. It is customary in Indian culture to thoroughly massage an infant several times a day.
The benefits of massage are no lesser than physical exercise to keep the muscles and skin supple. For people indulged in regular physical activity, a massage relieves the tired muscles and rejuvenates the body. It is recommended for all to take massage 1-2 times at least every week. Even if one is not able to manage a full body massage on a regular basis, it is recommended to massage your head, ears and bottom of your foot daily.
Various massage forms are a local specialty around the world. Right from Turkish Massage to Swedish Massage to Thai Massage- all of them hold their own appeal. The Ayurvedic Massage is called Panchkarma where essential oils are used to relax and heal the body.
Body types as per Ayurveda
Ancient Ayurveda classifies the body into three main types- Vata, Pitta or Kafa, I.e. Air, Gastric Acids or Cough or Phlegm. All the 3 are present in humans and a person is healthy if all the three are balanced. However, a number of factors leads to a dis balance within the three. A characteristic of a person can be easily identified with the predominance of the three. Essential wellness massage must be chosen to suit a particular body type. Click here to read my earlier article on Ayurveda and Wellness.
A person with predominance of Vata or air must embrace massage as an everyday activity. Warm oils like mustard is highly recommended for these people. Cold oils like coconut is best suited for people with predominant Pitta. While both mustard oil and higher warming sesame oil is recommended for people with predominant Kafa.
In order to determine your body type, consult an Ayurvedic Doctor online. My next articles will give an easy guide to determine one’s body type as per Ayurveda.
Essential Oils for Massage
The question when choosing a Massage therapy is which oil is best for Massage? It must be remembered that different types of oils have different healing power. Oils like mustard oil had a heating effect on the body while coconut oil has a cooling effect. Sesame oil again has a warming effect while substances like clarified butter have their own therapeutic effect when massaged.
It is best to choose oil based on your condition-:the region where you live and what benefits you expect to derive from massage. People living in warmer climate should use oil with a cooling effect like coconut oil while people living in warmer region should use mustard oil. Sesame oil is for extreme cold climates. The essential wellness massage must be customized by making the right choice as per present condition.
Choice of oil also depends on your body type. As explained above, everybody has all three elements of Vats, Pitta or Cough but any of these three takes precedence over the others due to climate or lifestyle followed by individuals. Hence, a cough dominant person would need an oil with warming effect like mustard oil. This is normally the case with children below seven years of age. They require regular oil massage in the upper part of the body- chest to head right a warm oil like mustard oil. This calms the cough and they are less likely to suffer from diseases generally seen in children of this age.
Massage the Right Way
The question often arises whether one should massage before work-out or after it. Can I shower immediately after taking massage?
Massage should be taken before bathing to read maximum benefits. There are no restrictions as to which time of the day you should massage. Early morning, late afternoon or in the evening- massage is relaxing anytime and has equal benefits. Infants should be massaged as many times as possible throughout the day. Adults can also massage as many times as practically possible.
The direction of massaging should be towards the heart. When massaging the thighs, it should be massaged upwards while neck should be massaged downwards. Sore areas should be massaged with ease at less pressure while stiff muscles calls for higher pressure.
Massage for Dental Care
Dental Care is often the most neglected one in adult life. Regular chalk laden toothpaste has become the norm since Lady century. Chalk scrubs the tooth crown but how it contributes to the total dental health besides maintaining hygiene is a matter of discussion. We don’t get into that discussion here.
Dental health involved the good healthy condition of teeth, gum and the tongue. Dental massage has been recommended to maintain the total health of these three components. It has proven to be effective in maintaining a strong enamel, healthy gums and an overall oral hygiene.
A small amount of mustard oil or mustard paste in mixed with sea salt. It is gently applied to the teeth with fingers. Then massage the teeth and gum thoroughly for at least two minutes. Wait for sometime before washing your mouth with water. Practice Dental massage in case you experience loose gums. Do not practice this in case you are already suffering from bleeding gums.
Cleaning tongue of infants is a big challenge. It is often the cause of tooth decay initiating at a very young age. One of the ways in which young mothers used to overcome this was massaging using some clarified butter on a soft cloth. Gently rubbing tongue used to both clean while lubricating the tongue simultaneously. Same method can be used whenever your feel blisters on your tongue. It will not only clean but also provide relieve in tongue blisters.
Conclusion
Massage goes a long way in promoting wellness. Be it called in any form, it is effective in relaxing the body and repair back the damaged tissues. Using essentials oils gives a glowing look to the skin. The knowledge of your body type as per Ayurveda would help you to extract maximum benefits from massage.
To summarize, massage is recommended for all at least 1-2 times a week if you are serious about your wellness. To read about some of the simplest exercises to implement in your daily life click here.
Do leave your experience with adopting massage to your daily lifestyle in the comment box below. I will love to see you attain wellness and benefit from my articles. Your comments will motivate me to research more on this subject and many more interesting articles to help you be healthy and well.
Reading this post was very informative on how often we should get massages. I also like the fact that you revealed to us that massages are also important to get in life and everyone should get at least one massage a week.
It’s surprising in India that infants should get at least 7 massages a day throughout the day on their bodies. Working thoroughly the joints in the baby. I find that fascinating that an infant needs massages daily, isn’t it already tiring to have a baby.
Massages do work and help it form out the body and release any tension in your limbs. it’s great to learn new stuff on the internet every day and I’m glad I came across this site, definitely gonna book mark and use it later in the future or something when I want to learn something new!
Thanks for your thorough review and comments. Yes, both infant and mothers need massage innthe first few weeks after childbirth.
Thanks for book-marking.
Cheers,
Rohit
It is a highly helpful and well-thought article about massage therapy.
I truly enjoyed every bit of it. Massage as a form of exercise is a great knowledge to carry in mind.
It needs little oil depending on your body and the environment you live in. In the worst case, you can do it.
Just wondering how long typically your massage to get kind of an optimal benefit?
Is there knowledge one has to carry not to get the message wrong to badly impact your body?
In India, mostly infants and older adults get messages from their family members, and mustard oil is mostly used as far as I have seen. Are there benefits to massage with the essential oil?
Hi Anusuya,
Thanks for comments. Massage should last till one feels sweaty indicating thar your body has been sufficiently warmed up. Massage is not really too complicated but knowing about the right ways enhances the experience. The basic knowledge one needs to remember is to Massage towards the heart which is the most fundamental thing to know.
There are benefits of using essential oils. My forthcoming article will address this subject.
Stay Safe, stay healthy.
Rohit