“Recent and thousand-year-old techniques which, through the fascinating potential of touch, aim to re-establish psychophysical balance. Studies from Cedar's Sinai in Los Angeles demonstrate how massage can significantly improve immune defenses and reduce blood levels of stress.”
This is the splendid introduction to an article recently published in the scientific journal “The other medicine”, n. 127!
We bring you an extract here, since autumn has just begun, it is more essential than ever to take care of our immune system!
Holism: a term that seems to have become fashionable in recent years…
[…]
A philosophy that contemplates the human being as an inseparable unity of body, mind and spirit, in symbiosis with the more or less healthy environment in which he lives, and the society in which he is inserted. It is a continuous interchange between the parts: the body with its organs and systems cannot be independent from the mind and the emotions that thoughts generate, just as our thoughts and moods, our values and our choices cannot do nothing other than reflect our spiritual part, the culture and beliefs of the place where we are.
[…]
A perspective, this one of holism, in clear contrast to that of classic Western-style allopathic medicine which tends to look at the symptom rather than the underlying cause that generated the disease, reducing the complex human system to a sum of parts and functions disconnected from each other, to be fixed or replaced just as one would with a machine. Nothing remains of that natural process of self-healing and rebalancing of which the body is the master if placed in the right physical and mental conditions.
[…]
There are countless holistic approaches aimed at rediscovering psychophysical harmony, and among these massage represents the oldest form of therapy and prevention that man has experienced, exploiting its analgesic and pain-relieving action in a all instinctive and natural.
[…]
There has been much scientific research in favor of massages, in particular according to a study by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences of the Cedar's Sinai hospital in Los Angeles "massage not only makes us feel generally better, but can do us real good", for to use the words of Mark Rapaport, the coordinator of the study. In fact, it has been learned that 45 minutes of classic Swedish massage, the basic massage par excellence, are able to increase the quantity of lymphocytes circulating within the immune system, strengthening the defenses against illnesses and diseases, as well as significantly reducing the blood levels of the so-called hormone stress, cortisol, as well as several inflammatory cytokines. Other benefits that holistic massages can provide include a general alleviation of muscle tension, improved bone and joint mobilization, less water retention followed by a release of toxins in circulation, a more correct functioning of the blood circulation, kidneys and respiratory system. and digestive functions, without forgetting the pleasant sensation of softer, brighter skin with a healthier complexion.
As you lie down on a comfortable massage table, with a few pillows and a soft towel, the ritual begins to take place once again. The person massaged through the comfort of contact enters a safe space, the heartbeat slows down, breathing becomes deeper, thoughts dissolve and time seems to reach a peaceful and immobile stillness.
