Stress Relief Technique: A Study Proves Massage Causes Biological Changes

In today’s fast-paced world, who isn’t anxious once in a while? Unfortunately, stress is very damaging to our entire system and is the culprit of over 75% of our health problems. When we fail to manage stress, our body’s defense mechanism begins to break down, making us more susceptible to illness and disease. Recently, a study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine proves that massage does more than just soothe muscle tension but, in fact, causes biological changes that relieve stress.

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recruited 53 healthy adults and randomly assigned 29 of them to a 45-minute session of deep-tissue Swedish massage and the other 24 to a session of light massage. All of the subjects were fitted with intravenous catheters so blood samples could be taken immediately before the massage and up to an hour afterward. To their surprise, the researchers, sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, found that a single session of massage caused biological changes.
Volunteers who received Swedish massage experienced significant decreases in levels of the stress hormone ‘cortisol’ in blood and saliva, and in ‘arginine vasopressin’, a hormone that can lead to increases in cortisol. They also had increases in the number of lymphocytes, white blood cells that are part of the immune system.

Volunteers who had the light massage experienced greater increases in oxytocin, a hormone associated with contentment, than the Swedish massage group, and bigger decreases in adrenal corticotropin hormone, which stimulates the adrenal glands to release cortisol.
The lead author, Dr. Mark Hyman Rapaport, chairman of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai, said the findings were “very, very intriguing and very, very exciting — and I’m a skeptic.”

While not everyone can afford to get a 45-minute deep-tissue or Swedish massage, there are many massage techniques that you can do at home. Reflexology is extremely effective for calming and balancing the nervous system. Here’s a reflexology technique that everyone can do at-home to bring about some much needed stress relief:

For a quick route to stress relief, stimulate the reflex area to the SOLAR PLEXUS, which is considered the “nerve switchboard of the body.” This area is located on both feet, in the center of the foot just beneath the diaphragm line. This is a great starting point to relax yourself or your partner. Press the solar plexus point for twenty to thirty seconds to balance your nervous system and begin the process of reestablishing inner calm. Repeat this several times on each foot. Stimulating the solar plexus can relax the entire body and bring overall stress relief.
What is it?
The SOLAR PLEXUS is a network of nerves, located behind the stomach and in front of the diaphragm, which sends energy impulses to the upper middle part of the abdomen. Its purpose is to help balance the sympathetic nervous system, regulate the functions of the organs, and restore calm. The solar plexus has been called the abdominal brain because it influences the nerves in the abdomen. It’s often affected by stress, anger, and depression.

The solar plexus reflex point is also the center of the third chakra, the Solar Plexus chakra, which relates to your personal power. This chakra is where the personality is formed. Stimulate this area to better express your individuality and strength.