February 18th, 2014 • Posted by Beneficial Bodyworks • Permalink
While stress in large amounts is bad for you, a little stress here and there is actually good for you. A little stress motivates you to do better and reach your goals. When you get overloaded with stress, however, it can seem like everything is out of whack and off balance. The key isn't to eliminate stress, but to balance our lives so we don't climb out to the tipping point and tumble over, off the path, sliding down the walls of "negative stress canyon" and find ourselves rowing a makeshift raft down "poor me river." With balance, we can reap all the benefits of our motivational stress.
Look at it is having a relationship, really it kind of is. Stress is like a friend, or a partner, or maybe a parent or spouse who wants to see you do your best, which is great, lucky you for having such a good friend. But after a while you need some space. You need to say, "Look, friend, I've done my best for today, and now I need some time to rest and heal, so I can do my best again tomorrow. I appreciate your help, but I need you to go away now, before I start to hate you or go insane."
One of the healthiest and easiest ways to take some respite is massage with aromatherapy, using essential oils. Massage therapy with essential oils has shown not only to keep stress in check, but also lowers social anxiety and increases self-esteem. And the effects increase exponentially with regularity. In other words, the more often you get massage therapy the more the benefits increase.
In a recent study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience, women who were depressed received massage therapy with aromatherapy. All the women were in similar emotional state, and factors such as age, family, income etc. were all accounted for. The women received massage and aromatherapy with essential oils for 20 minutes three times a week for three weeks, had a break for one week and continued therapy for three more weeks. The control group carried on with similar lifestyle sans massage and aromatherapy. The women who received the massage with aromatherapy showed dramatic improvements with lower blood pressure, lower levels of anxiety and increased self-esteem.
Massage and aromatherapy helps people work with their struggles and the stress that comes. It offers respite to heal and recover, so they can confront life assertively and effectively. Don't try to beat stress and don't beat yourself up for getting stressed out. Find respite and balance with massage and aromatherapy, set up boundaries and allow stress to be your motivational friend.
