Life has completely changed since the pandemic shutdown in March 2020, and the last eight months have been adapting to the new normal way of living: working from home, wearing masks in public and private spaces, and limiting off in-person social interaction. We are less active than ever but feeling more exhausted than ever: Zoom fatigue, quarantine fatigue, media fatigue, fatigue-fatigue.
For the families and employees struggling to balance working from home, parenting, or even finding ways to mentally and emotionally recharge yourselves, building in wellness habits like getting massages can elevate your mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
Nowadays, parents who can work from home are expected to be on back-to-back zoom calls, monitor their kids in distance school, and all while trying to find small ways to be happy and normal again; students are required to attend back-to-back zoom seminars, all while staying mostly indoors with little face-to-face interaction. The isolation and immobility has distanced our minds from our bodies, emoting socially with our faces and voices all without the rewarding sense of touch: a hug from your friend, a job-well-done handshake, or even the comforting bump of a stranger on a busy street.
The unforeseen duration of quarantine and shelter in place has exacerbated an all-too-familiar problem: isolation-motivated anxiety and other common mental un-wellnesses. Research shows that periods of isolation–let alone under pandemic circumstances–increase certain negative responses such as stress, depression, and anxiety. Despite isolation being the best safety precaution against further spreading COVID-19, the shelter in place is affecting everyone’s mental and physical well-being.
Integrating a weekly or even a biweekly massage will work to alleviate the stress and anxiety built up over the course of these last few long months. People crave touch and connection, particularly after a period of deprivation and solitude. Human connection is essential to mental health and for keeping loneliness at bay. Studies show that massage increases dopamine and serotonin, reducing cortisol levels, which, in turn, lowers stress levels. How everyone weathered the shelter-in-place will vary widely based on their circumstances, and the trauma from this world event could be stored in the body. Building into your schedule time for a regular massage can benefit you two-fold: dedicated time for mindfulness and reconnecting with your body, as well as a space to receive the healing powers of human touch safely.
In addition to rekindling your body and mind with the healing powers of human touch, one of the ways massage will reinvigorate your day to day is to stimulate your circulation. Your Zoom workday may be hampering your blood flow because your posture has become sitting or only barely moving for most of the day. Massage will circulate blood to your whole body, awakening your muscles, and recentering your mind. If you are suffering from aches and pains as a result of your new desk posture or the extended time at the computer, adding a CBD oil supplement to your massage can strengthen the pain relief. It has also been shown that a massage will heighten your attention and boost your immune system–a one-two punch perfect for working at home while staying safe from infection.
Another negative side effect of working from home and being on Zoom all day has been this increased exposure to screen blue-light which can affect your sleep quality. Not only has it become more difficult to distinguish work space from home space, but without quality sleep, it becomes harder to exist in either space. Disconnecting from the wireless and online world even just for an hour in an oasis of serenity by getting a massage can help you recenter your mind, re-engage your body, and restore your soul.
While massage has clear physical benefits, massage can soothe both anxiety and depression simultaneously: the moderate pressure decreases cortisol (your fight-or-flight) hormone levels, your blood pressure, and your heart rate; and the sensation of human touch ignites the feeling of connection and belonging.
Studies show that human touch is an essential element to wellness. Human touch releases oxytocin, which is known as the love hormone, in the brain. Because of quarantine guidelines and the safety precautions that have to be taken, the element of connection has fallen by the wayside. But as safety mandates begin to relax, finding safe ways to reconnect with your body and mind through human touch massages can be wonderfully restorative.
With modern access to natural ingredients, you can highlight the element of mental or physical restoration you need: to alleviate pain, adding a CBD oil supplement; for special attention toward anxiety relief, adding aromatherapy supplements. Touch to Heal Spa is excited and eager to once again help you find the relaxation and restoration you need.
Touch to Heal Spa is pleased to offer COVID-safe remedies for your physical and mental wellbeing. Because the Touch to Heal Spa mission is to create a haven of relaxation for the Bay Area community, the Touch to Heal family has worked hard to create a safe environment for you to be able to reconnect with yourself and reconnect with your body.
