How Often Should You Be Getting a Massage? The Experts Weigh In

glamour.com:

or being an overachiever—your guess is as good as mine. But body aches, , stress in the shoulders, headaches…it’s all there and intermittently throughout the month alerting me, “Hey, something may not be right” before my brain does.We all carry stress, emotion, and even trauma in our bodies, and that can really impact how they move, regulate, and feel.

According to t, stress affects everything from our cardiovascular to our gastrointestinal to our reproductive systems. That has been highlighted even more so these past few years as a focus on releasing trauma through (and, in particular, the hips) gains popularity thanks to more research and best-selling books like .“Massage is a lot like exercise in how it helps to relieve stress in the body and mind,” says LA-based massage therapist and health educator , CMT (Certified Massage Therapist), NMT (Neuromuscular Massage Therapist). “It's one of the best ways to help your body release hormones and neurotransmitters like endorphins, serotonin, and oxytocin that speed up healing, promote relaxation, stimulate contentment, lower blood pressure, strengthen social ties, and reduce inflammation.

When our bodies feel good we function better, physically and mentally.”And yet, I'd never had a massage until I was in my 20s and given one as a gift.

I was initially tentative to try, but soon learned that massages are—or at least, can be—blissful. After that first massage, I'd have them occasionally, often as gifts or as a way to test new beauty products, and would feel immense relief.