Learning to Let Your Muscles Carry You

In addition to the naturally occurring 9.81 meters per second per second gravitational pull, stress weighs down every single human being on this planet. 

In our bodies, there is a natural exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen through our breathing. Our organs receive power from oxygenated blood. However, stress (the secretions emitted through your adrenal gland) tightens and restricts the flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Too much carbon dioxide leaves the blood powerless and muscles weigh heavy on the body. 

That is not the job of our muscles. Their sole function is to let us be productive in the world. In order to do so, they must not be tight and knots must be opened up and loosened to the extent that there is an increase of circulation of blood throughout the body. 

Roll your shoulders back, lift your chin, tuck your tailbone, and breath deep. You are already on your way to making your muscles carry you instead of the other way around. Staying in this state is a challenge. 

Exercise is the only way make this easier. The stronger your muscles are and the less fatty tissue it has to carry, the easier its job becomes. However, putting strain on your muscles will make them want to restrict back to their original position. This is where stretching helps. 

Finally, the best way to open up muscles is a massage. Massage is the best preventative way to combat stress. Relieving your body of excess adrenal secretions will help the blood flow a lot better to all of your organs. 

A licensed therapist will be able to flush our your lymphatic system and give you that light relaxed feeling. We call it a massage hangover. They are the best hangovers ever. 

Figuring out which therapy is needed is not too difficult as long as you are empowered by the knowledge of what they are:

Swedish Massage - using long circular strokes on the surface layer of the muscle tissue, the therapist is able to increase circulation and blood flow without getting a reaction from the muscle.

Deep Tissue - think about hitting a wall and the wall hitting back. That's deep tissue. The therapist uses pressure point techniques to release deep rooted knots and also manipulates the connective tissue for proper blood flow. This is best for people with chronic pain or athletes. 

Integrated - Everyone over the age of 25 should probably use this massage to their advantage. This is a massage that uses Swedish for most of your body and deep tissue for those knots that are deep rooted. 

These are just the basic therapies. There are others that help each and every ailment. The most interesting is Pfrimmer. This is a deep tissue technique that will help correct the tissue around your muscles. It is nicknamed the "Bloodless Surgery". Give it a shot! It's not for the faint of heart, but perfect for those who really need deep muscle relief.