Water - WHY do I need it so much?

Drinking water before your massage, is just as important as drinking water afterwards!

After your massage you have heard me say it every time. Blah blah blah, you may think! But im still off to the pub after this for a beer, thats got water in it!

But seriously, drinking water is an important factor before and after a massage, and will help you get the most out of your relaxation.

But why is water so important?

Massage helps your circulation, amongst affecting many other things as in the picture above.

Soft tissue stimulation provides an increase of blood flow to your muscle tissues. Those “feel good” moments happen because I am increasing the blood flow to a specific area that has been nutrient deprived or circulation blocked by constricted muscles or trigger points. You could also describe it as a release of blocked energy. And indeed in acupuncture for example, the Chinese way is to unblock that energy along your meridian lines. Whichever therapy, whatever belief, the goal is the same; to help you feel better.

The blocked area is usually from muscle tightness, which comes from stress, physical activity, emotional distress (yes, pain is stored in body and mind in all forms, whether its physical or emotional trauma) and dehydration (which is what this blog addresses in particular), to name just a few examples from the strains in our lives.

You also notice a difference in muscle tone. You can lift all the weights you want, but if your muscles are not hydrated you won’t see a big difference in your appearance. When your muscles have all the water they need, then they contract more easily, making your workout more effective, and you’ll look and feel better for it. It helps out with the lubrication of your joints. It’s an ingredient in the makeup of the synovial fluid, which is the lubricating fluid between your joints. If your body is dehydrated, even for a brief period, less fluid is available to protect these areas.

And it’s not just about your muscles or achy bits being helped out;

The liver is a close friend with the Kidneys, which need plenty of water to function properly.

If the kidneys are not getting enough water the

liver goes into overdrive and does it’s own work as well as pick up the slack from the kidneys, which lowers the functioning of the liver. Feel bad after a drinking binge? You know why, you don’t need telling, it is because you are dehydrated. You’ve created a lot of extra work for your liver and kidneys to flush out all the ‘poison’ you just drank (I'm not putting you off your little inhibition lowering pleasures in life, I drink too). This then adds to the liver not being able to metabolize fat as quickly as it should, therefore fat is stored.

Drinking plenty of water is also great for your skin. It flushes out all the impurities, which will leave you with a glow and a great complexion. You’ll also notice your skin looking younger and healthier, because its hydrated, think of your body like a sponge, you are mostly made of water, no water in the sponge means you dry up and crack up, in more ways than one!

So try to think more holistic, you are a natural living being so go for a natural healing/helping method instead of reaching for the headache tablets and gap filler for the wrinkles, just try increasing your water intake. Feeling hungry, tired, bad skin complexion, as well as a grumpy personality complexion; then drink water before you opt for synthetic poisons to ‘cure it’

So as you can see, there are many reason I ask you to drink plentiful amounts of this essential basic element to your life, especially after a workout or massage, or you will become dehydrated, ache and set off a chain reaction to other parts of your body & soul's delicate balance.

Listen to your therapist,

I care about you.