I became a massage therapist almost by accident, yet I haven’t looked back since. Every day I’m amazed by how our bodies respond to a good massage.

All humor aside, massage is not a luxury. At least it shouldn’t be, considering all the things it can help with.

• Massage can knead away the tension in your muscles. I haven’t yet met one single person that didn’t have some kind of tightness in their back … or neck … or legs. Massage can help get rid of that tightness. Having the feet and hands massaged feels great also;

• Massage can help you relax and get rid of stress. Maybe that’s why people associate it with being pampered … I’m not sure. What I am sure of is that being stressed is not a good thing. It doesn’t feel good either.

Short term stress might make you more productive. It might help you deal with an emergency. Stay stressed for too long though, and you start feeling drained … not energized. Long term stress will take its toll. I don’t like bringing up grim statistics, but I will tell you there are many studies which show that stress is the main underlying cause of most serious health problems.

So, being stressed is not healthy. Being relaxed is. Not only that, but being relaxed feels much better. Plus, it makes you a nicer person to be around too. That’s why I get massage so often. I need all the help I can get to be nice.

• Massage can help prevent or heal muscle related injuries. This is one massage benefit that athletes and very active people are always very interested in. I never get this type of massage … I’m not active enough.

These are some of the benefits of massage. There are some more that I haven’t written about yet for two reasons. First, this post is getting too long. Second, some of the benefits don’t make sense to me. I’ll write about that in a different post.

So, whether you’re a massage novice or a seasoned veteran, massage might help you and your body feel better. And, if it feels like pampering … how is that a bad thing?!?!

P.S. The “how is that a bad thing” line came to me from a movie. I can clearly hear the character’s voice in my mind and his shocked tone when he says those words … yet I have no idea what movie they are from. Hmmm … I hope it’s a PG-13 rated one.