As a massage therapist who works with people who have pain, I have noticed that many of us have a tendency to push what we call negative feelings (anger, sadness, jealousy, fear, etc.) into our bodies and resist dealing with them outright. The body does us a great favor in storing these feelings for future processing when we are unable to deal with them in the current moment. These unexpressed, unacknowledged emotions create tension and stress in the body and then can manifest as chronic pain, illness, immune disorders, and so forth. We then curse our bodies: “my stupid back is acting up,” “that’s my bad shoulder,” “damn foot,” and yet, our bodies are simply speaking up to remind us that we still need to work through these unrecognized emotions. Pain acts as the voice of the body and can get louder and louder the longer we ignore it.

To change our suffering….

The simple, yet complicated answer is - it depends. Manual Lymph Drainage is beneficial for a range of conditions, but it depends on what you specifically need to address and what your goals are. Your daily habits and everyday lifestyle also factor into how quickly your body will respond to this technique. More active people typically require fewer sessions to detoxify and boost their immune systems. People with a more sedentary lifestyle may require more frequent sessions. If lymphedema or edema is present, and depending on the severity, it will typically take more than one session for the swelling to minimize to a satisfactory level. The more often you address it in a shorter period of time, the faster the fluid will move and diminish.

It is typical to notice positive effects within…

Lymphatic massage, also known as Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD), is a gentle, rhythmic massage technique that stimulates the lymphatic system and assists the body’s natural detoxification process by circulating immune cells through the body to help flush toxins from the tissues. It reroutes fluid around blocked areas into healthy lymphatic regions and lymph nodes, and facilitates the movement of lymph fluid from edematous (swollen) areas to non-edematous areas, which then filters back into the venous system.

This type of massage is performed using very light pressure to stretch the skin, along with …

What is it about a hug that feels so good? Why is a warm touch on the hand or arm so comforting? Why is receiving a massage one of the most calming and beneficial things we can do?

Touch, especially skin-to-skin contact, releases a beautiful hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin has been dubbed “the hormone of love and bonding”. While it is often thought of as a female hormone, known for its role in labor and lactation in women, oxytocin offers a whole host of other beneficial effects for both women and men alike. Oxytocin reduces anxiety, blood pressure, cortisol levels, fear, and even decreases pain sensitivity.