Vacation Revelation

I am in TopSail North Carolina this week enjoying the ocean, sun and family! (Yes: in that order)

Below is an actual picture that I took from the kitchen door. It is beautiful here.

TopSail NC

Yesterday was my favorite part of the week so far, as I had a deep tissue massage that quite literally squeezed all of the stress out of my body. It was fabulous. My sister had one too.

While we were sitting on the beach today we started to discuss our massages and the power of human touch. We have both sat in those million dollar mechanical massage chairs and there is just no comparison to the massage we had yesterday. A machine could never replace the instincts, experience and knowledge of our masseuse. There is something healing about human touch.

We even discussed the fact that babies who are not held and nurtured tend to become sickly and sometimes even die. The health of a newborn baby is highly dependent on the touch of other people. Infants who are held and nurtured on a regular basis tend to gain weight and grow at better rates than babies who aren’t, and these babies are much healthier in their first year of life. There is something in the touch of another person that is medically necessary.

It seems that this idea is starting to impact the medical community also. Massage therapy is not longer seen as a frivolous spa treatment. Most private and state insurance companies are now covering massage therapy for therapeutic treatment. Medical massage therapy is covering ground within mainstream health care. The medical industry has been changing in the past few years – welcoming less traditional approaches to health care. I can see how massage would be helpful for a person recovering from an injury. However, I would love for insurance to cover massages once a week for preventative maintenance!

So, my advice to you this week is, whether it is covered by insurance or not: go out and get a massage. You certainly deserve it!