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….

One of the most iconic and most often requested essential oils in our massage therapy sessions is Lavender (lavandula angustifolia).  It is obtained through steam-distillation of the flowers of the Lavender plant.  Clients who are in need of relaxation often request it as their go-to oil for massage sessions.  Certainly, Lavender is best-known for its relaxing properties, but there are many other uses for this classic oil.  Here are seven of the myriad of benefits of Lavender oil:

In a typical Reiki session, the client is fully clothed and is seated in a chair or reclined on a treatment table. A Reiki practitioner first assesses what areas in the energy field are imbalanced. Then, using a technique called palm healing they transfer "universal energy" through their hands to the patient through the light laying of hands or hovering of hands above the body. The recipient of the energy simply rests and receives the energy Recipients of Reiki often report feeling…

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.