Therapies in more detail: Holistic massage

This one I’ve been putting on hold for a while to write, as I wanted to really think about what to include, and make sure I covered everything that I think could be a possible question mark for some.

Let’s start with the basics…

If you google what holistic means, this is what it comes up with:

PHILOSOPHY

characterized by the belief that the parts of something are intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.

MEDICINE

characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease.

What I think a lot of people don’t really understand or make assumptions of when holistic massage is mentioned, is that it’s a whole ‘hippy dippy’ (as my mum likes to say!) concept, and it seems to scare people away and they think it’s all spiritual voodoo stuff, that the therapist might talk about your energies and auras, magical unicorns and then go on to take out their charged crystals and place them on your third eye to balance your chakras…!

As much as I think of myself as quite a spiritual person, that doesn’t mean that this is going to happen during a massage!

Of course, when something physical is happening it can affect the mind, or vice versa- think of stress and the billion and one ways it can manifest physically in the body, aka tight painful muscles, hunched up shoulders, migraines and maybe even digestion issues.

Holistic literally means whole, looking at every aspect. Has the muscle in your shoulder become painful because of bad posture? Sleeping positions? Desk set up at work? Or is that where you hold your tension under times of stress? Anything happening in your private life that has changed? Work situation okay? Family stuff? Moving house? Heartache? Loss? Has it built up over a long period of time or has it come out of nowhere?

These are all things to be considered when we’re looking at the body and how you’re feeling in a ‘holistic’ sense. So yes, in that way I take into account how your mind is, just as much as how your physical body is. Ultimately you want to get to the root cause of the problem, and having continuous massage is great, but if you’re not getting to the very root cause of what has started it in the first place, then that’s a lot of money that you’re spending to not really get ‘fixed’ so to speak. Massage is great on it’s own and to compliment other therapies, but to really reap the benefits of anything, it’s important to know what’s really going on so you can get the best out of the treatment.

(May I just add I am speaking in terms of someone coming with a specific pain problem, not someone who just wants a massage, because who doesn’t want a massage?!)

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Holistic also means a treatment that I give one person is not going to be the same for the next. After a consultation I will be able to understand what’s going on, your needs and what you would like to get out of the treatment, and ensure the session focuses on all these things mentioned.

It might possibly be that you do get a full body massage in the hour, but it might be that actually I just focus on your back, neck and shoulders and do a little bit of pressure work on the feet, in the time that we have.

It all depends on the client and then I see what I think will be the best way to make sure you leave feeling better than when you came in.

As a therapist I obviously know how long muscles can take to relax (to a certain extent!), timings, logistics and what not. If you come to me with a specific pain problem, it’s important to give that enough attention and time to make sure that you do leave feeling much better; rather than rushing everything, massaging you head to toe but not focusing on the problem.

It’s true what they say, ‘quality over quantity’!

I totally get that when people book a massage they want to feel good all over, trust me, I used to be one of them! And would feel a little disappointed if I didn’t get every inch of my body massaged. But now I’ve realised that us as therapists know what we’re doing and working in this way you will feel so much more benefit afterwards- which is what we all want!

Holistic massage can use all kinds of techniques from different massage practices, to get the best possible outcome. Every therapist is different from the next, and have different qualifications and styles under their belt. I know that my work is heavily Thai influenced, but I know that I use it with a combination of other teachings, because I think it gives the client both relief from pain, as well as relaxation.

I hope this has covered any misunderstandings you may have had about holistic massage, or made it more clear as to what the umbrella term means!

With love & health… and healing vibes (haha!)

Ali x

Ali Chandler