When was the last time you actually relaxed?
Not sat on the couch while scrolling your phone.
Not watched TV while answering emails.
Not lay in bed while thinking about everything you need to do tomorrow.
I mean actually relaxed.
It seems like we’re surrounded by reasons not to.
Constant notifications. Constant advertising. Constant information. Constant work. Constant demands from other people. Even when nobody is actively asking anything of us, our phones are right there, ready to deliver the next message, headline, email, video, or reminder.
We’re always reachable.
And sometimes, when we finally get a moment to sit down, our bodies may be still but our brains certainly aren’t.
The grocery list.
Tomorrow’s appointments.
The thing you forgot yesterday.
The text you haven’t answered.
The email you need to send.
The notification on your phone.
The thing you saw online five minutes ago.
Did I lock the door?
You know what I mean.
Maybe you’re not bad at relaxing.
Maybe you’re just used to being “on.”
Our bodies have systems designed to respond to stress and perceived threats. When we’re stressed, our heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and other physiological processes can change as our bodies prepare to respond.
Relaxation is, in part, about giving the body an opportunity to move in the other direction—to settle.
Massage may be one way to create that opportunity.
Research on massage therapy has found reductions in things like state anxiety, heart rate and blood pressure following massage, and some research has observed physiological changes associated with relaxation.
That doesn’t mean massage is a treatment for anxiety disorders, and it certainly doesn’t mean one massage magically “resets” your nervous system.
But it does suggest something much simpler:
There may be value in giving yourself an hour to stop.
An hour without your phone.
An hour without someone asking you for something.
An hour where you don’t have to accomplish anything.
An hour where you can simply lie down, breathe, and let someone else take care of you for a little while.
And maybe that’s why I don’t think of massage as an indulgence.
We tend to think of self-care as something extra. Something we earn after everything else is finished.
But what if taking care of yourself doesn’t have to be a reward for finally getting everything done?
What if it can simply be part of taking care of yourself?
Massage has been used as a form of therapeutic touch for a very long time. Modern research is still working out exactly why massage can produce the effects people experience, and the evidence isn’t perfect or universal.
But you don’t need a scientific explanation for every moment of your experience to recognize that sometimes it feels really good to stop.
To be quiet.
To be warm.
To be cared for.
To not be needed for an hour.
At Fount of Wellness, my goal isn’t to teach you how to relax.
Maybe you don’t need to get better at relaxing.
Maybe you just need a place where you feel comfortable enough to unplug for an hour.
And if you happen to fall asleep on my table?
I’ll take that as a compliment.
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