Getting a referral through an established organization is a good idea. And don't be afraid to ask about the qualifications of your massage therapist. Chronic stress, triggered by the persistent low level tension of everyday living, wears down your immune system and lowers your threshold of tolerance for the inconveniences of life. You are left not only short tempered but more susceptible to disease. A great deal of bio-medical research has confirmed this link between stress and physical illness.
Massage reduces stress and therefore, stress-related illness.
In addition to its therapeutic value, massage relaxes and invigorates even the healthiest of bodies, optimizing both physical and mental performance. It has also been effective in reducing anxiety and job stress as well as enhancing job performance. In a recent study, massages decreased anxiety, depression and anger among medical school employees. After the massage, subjects had more vigor and lower pulse and were able to complete math computations in half the time with half the errors. No, seriously, although there are those who are inspired to wrap their bodies in extreme ways, most yoga instructors prefer to use the postures for stretching and strengthening.