body awareness

During a massage therapy session, there are opportunities to (re)connect to body awareness, especially:

• Getting to lay down and rest in a different place, maybe during a different part of your day than you usually take rest, can be an invitation for many to notice how they are feeling.

• .External stimuli (touch from your therapist) communicates with your nervous system to help you connect and listen to your body. This connection can help you feel calm and present during your massage, and can also continue beyond your session.

Body awareness can enable you and your body operate more as a team. Learning to hear what our physical body is communicating, and to use that information in our lives, can help us feel more empowered and capable. Preliminary research is starting to articulate this, showing that body awareness is related to emotional regulation and improved mental health outcomes.

Information drawn from: Prentiss Hemphill and other Somatic Experiencing teachers, Dr. Tiffany Field, AMTA.org