General benefits of massage therapy:

• Massage feels good and it is a pleasurable experience.
  
• Massage increases your body self awareness and sensitivity.
  
• Massage reduces your stress, tension and  anxiety levels.
  
• Massage calms the nervous system and has a centering/balancing effect.
  
• Massage relaxes, focuses and clears your mind.
  
• Massage helps to improve and maintain your posture.
  
• Massage helps to fulfill your need for a caring and nurturing touch.
  
• Massage encourages self-esteem and a general feeling of well-being.
  
• Massage increased your awareness of the whole being connection and improves your emotional awareness.

Benefits to your muscular system:

• Massage increases the blood supply and nutrition to your muscles.
• Massage helps your muscles recover more quickly from exertion and fatigue.
• Massage relaxes your muscles, effectively reducing spasms, tension and cramping.
• Massage reduces and breaks down adhesions (knots) and fibrosis.
• Massage stretches your connective tissue.
• Massage helps to re-establish your proper muscular tone.
• Massage reduces your muscle and soft tissue pain.
• Massage supports increased work capacity and encourages your metabolism.
• Massage helps to prevent muscular atrophy (wasting from injury and paralysis).

Benefits to your skeletal systems:

• Massage improves the circulation and nutrition of the joints and helps increase your range of joint movement.
• Massage reduces joint strain and compression through releasing tight muscles and tendons.
• Massage increases the ease and efficiency of your movements.
• Massage helps to increase the retention of nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur in the bones and this aids in fracture healing.

• Massage increases the nutrition of the tissues via an increased exchange of fluids and materials.
• Massage, via the mechanical actions on the soft tissues, produces a dilation of the blood vessels which helps to improve your circulation.
• Massage helps to reduce the lack of blood and by direct pressure and stimulation reduces pain due to the irritation of  nerves that control your circulatory system.
• Massage enhances the elimination of the waste products of your metabolism.
• Massage helps to reduce any swelling and contusions.
• Massage increases the number of red blood cells in your circulation.
• Massage has the overall effect of lowering your blood pressure and reduces your pulse rate*.
• Massage facilitates tissue healing through the enhancement of circulation.
• Massage increases tissue fluid and assists lymphatic circulation thus reducing swelling and enhancing the immune and filtering activities of this system.
• Massage increases both your venous and lymphatic flow

• Massage can have a sedative, stimulating or even exhausting effect on the nervous system depending on the type and length of treatment given.
• Massage stimulates the touch, pressure and proprioceptive receptors of the skin and underlying tissue.
• Massage helps to balance the autonomic nervous system.
• Massage relaxes the muscles and helps to re-establish proper tonus through its effect on the neuromuscular reflex pathways.
• Massage is known to affect the neurotransmitters of the brain and increase endorphin secretion in particular (natural painkillers).
• Massage can help reduce nerve entrapment through the release of soft tissue or muscular binding.
• Massage can reduce nerve root compression caused by muscular tension.

Benefits to your digestive and excretory systems:

• Massage aides the normal movement throughout your alimentary canal assisting with many dysfunction's through its stress releasing effects.
• Massage increases the excretion (via the kidneys) of fluids and waste products of protein metabolism, inorganic phosphorous and salt in normal individuals.
• Massage can facilitate elimination through the large intestines by mechanically stimulating peristalsis and improving tone.
• Massage stimulates peristalsis and can reduce cramping or spasm in the digestive tract.

Benefits to your Skin:

• Massage helps to reduce tension in the skin and adjoining tissues as well as increasing its circulation and improve its nutrition.
• Massage depending on the medium used to apply it can help to re-moisturize, and soften dry skin.
• Massage can help with some skin conditions like eczema, but please check with your Doctor to make sure that what you have is not contagious.

Benefits to your respiratory system:

• Massage deepens and normalizes the breathing pattern through relaxation, and release of tension in the breathing structures, both the rib cage and the muscles of respiration.
  
• Massage can help to relieve congestion in the lungs through percussive and compressive movements.
  
• Massage increases the action of the heart, stimulating the blood flow to and from the lungs, helping with the elimination of waste and the absorption of oxygen.