Everything we experience we experience through our body. How we perceive and feel about ourselves is shaping that experience to a great extent. Our body-awareness depends not only on our ability to sense our surroundings, on how we move and with how much effort, but also on how well we can sense what is going on inside of us. This is important because we derive our sense of well-being largely from our inner perceptions, which then guide our actions.
We know that there are a high number of sensory nerve endings in our skin, connective tissue and muscle. These are responsible for our inner perception, which can be stimulated to generate greater well-being, body-awareness and responsiveness. Massage therapy therefore is unique in that it gives us immediate access to positively enhancing body perception and motivating change. By learning to feel, a deeper connection with the body can be fostered, helping to recognise current patterns and making change a more readily available option.
When pain and discomfort are present they tend to dominate our inner perception and change the way we move. Often it is an indication that we have lost sensitivity in the affected areas. Stimulating a different nervous system response, and freeing up movement in the soft tissue at the same time, can make a big difference.
