Massage Therapy and Emotional Release

Emotions that we do not process and release become trapped in the tissues of the body where they can end up causing pain, decreased range of motion, and other ailments. The Asian cultures have recognized this capacity of the human body for centuries, but the American culture is just now beginning to accept this reality.

The human body is an incredible recording device that holds onto every sight, sound, taste, touch and emotion we encounter in our lives. When we hold onto emotions, our bodies develop a tension around them to keep our hold on them until we are ready to process and release them. Negative emotions can cause many responses in our bodies, including ailments.

Emotions are designed to flow freely through our bodies, be processed mentally, and released. They are not designed to be captured and held hostage in the body. When negative emotions become lodged in our tissues, our muscles tense up with the immense effort at holding these negative emotions within us.

We hold negative emotions in our bodies so we do not have to bring them up into our minds and deal with them. Anger, sadness, feeling bad about ourselves, and fear hurt when we are forced to deal with them. They can even become so overwhelming they interfere with our everyday lives. That is why many of us suppress them.

 

Massage therapy and the release of negative emotions

 

Massage therapy can help release these negative emotions and reduce the tension in our bodies. When massage therapists are working on a client’s body, they often encounter areas of the body that are incredible tight. That is a clue that this is an area of the client’s body in which negative emotions are stored. These areas are so tight that the energy flow is blocked and craniosacral motion is restricted.

These areas of stored emotions often begin releasing when a massage therapist initially begin placing their hands in the area. Deep tissue massage can often bring about major emotional releases of negative emotions that have been stored in the body for years. Craniosacral massage techniques are also helpful in getting negative emotions to release.

Interestingly enough, when emotions are released in this manner, there is no intellectual processing required for them to be out of the body permanently. Many people who experience this type of emotional release during or immediately after massage therapy cry a little and then feel so much better without ever knowing why.

Releasing deeply buried painful emotions in this manner can also cause people to curl themselves into a fetal positon, curse, or shake or laugh uncontrollably. These responses are generated by the release of the emotions, and the person receiving the massage has little control over them.

Oftentimes emotional release that happens in this fashion provides valuable insights for the people getting massages. At times, though, there is just a deep sense of release accompanied by a lightness as if a weight had been lifted off. Most massage therapists are not trained to assist with the emotional therapy involved with these releases.