Latest / The Diva Details / Hands of Time: How Massage Rewrites Longevity
Transcript
- 0:01Welcome to the Diva Detail. Welcome to the Diva
- 0:05Detail, where bold, confident women embrace life
- 0:09unapologetically. From love and sex to wellness
- 0:13and reinvention, we keep it raw, real,
- 0:16and powerful. No filters, no limits,
- 0:20just fearless conversations to help you thrive.
- 0:23Let's dive in with Diva Mia and Diva Kat.
- 0:32Well, hello, beautiful people. This is Diva Mia,
- 0:35and today we're going to talk about living longer, living better,
- 0:38and looking and feeling fabulous while we're doing it. I'm so glad you're
- 0:42here. Today we are talking about something that most of us think is a treat,
- 0:46a splurge, the thing you book on your birthday or when a
- 0:49girlfriend gives you a gift card. I'm talking about massage,
- 0:53and I love myself a massage. I like to get at least
- 0:57one a week. Sometimes I do twice a week. And here's what I want to
- 0:59talk to you about. I want you to walk away with, after this episode,
- 1:02that massage is not just a luxury. And it's not just
- 1:06about working out a knot in your shoulder. Massage is a conversation with
- 1:10your nervous system. It touches your circulation,
- 1:14your lymphatic system, your joints, your sleep, your mood,
- 1:17and yes, the way you age. It's something that's really good
- 1:20for your longevity. So over the next half hour or so, we're going to
- 1:24cover a lot. So let's get started. We'll go way back into the history of
- 1:28massage, thousands of years back. We're going to talk about the chakras as well as
- 1:32the energy traditions that grew up alongside massage.
- 1:35And then we'll get into the science, what massage does for stress,
- 1:39for blood flow, for lymphatic drainage. Everybody's into lymphatic
- 1:43drainage right now and arthritis. We're also going to cover longevity
- 1:47and I'll answer some questions that I think need to get answered. How often
- 1:51do you need to have a massage? What type of massage should you get?
- 1:54So let's get comfortable. Roll your shoulders back, unclench your
- 1:58jaw, take a deep breath. It's just me. Take a
- 2:02deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. I love starting with
- 2:05history because when you realize how long human beings have been doing something, you start
- 2:09to respect it a little bit differently. Massage is not a spa trend. It is
- 2:12one of the oldest healing practices on the planet. It started
- 2:17back in Egypt in a tomb in Saqqara. There are wall paintings that show people
- 2:21working on the hands and feet of other people. Some of the earliest
- 2:24artwork of hand and foot massage, which some people call the ancestor
- 2:28of reflexology. So over 4,000 years ago, someone thought
- 2:33rubbing feet was important enough to carve into eternity. I respect
- 2:37that because I love a good foot massage. Now let's travel east to China.
- 2:41Massage there goes back thousands of years and is woven into traditional Chinese medicine.
- 2:45I'm big into Chinese medicine. I do acupuncture. I do other types of herbal
- 2:48medicines. It's very interesting that China's had it for a very
- 2:52long time too. The Emperor's Classic of Internal Massage, it compiled over
- 2:562,000 years ago and it describes massage as a treatment alongside herbs and acupuncture.
- 3:00Over time, Chinese massage developed into a discipline called Tui Na.
- 3:05Tui means to push and Na means to grasp or lift. Tui Na
- 3:09is still taught in Chinese medical schools today. In fact, they use it in,
- 3:13in medicine. It works along the same meridians that we're going to talk about
- 3:17later when we talk about acupuncture on our next episode.
- 3:21In India, there's Ayurvedic or Ayurveda system
- 3:25that dates back thousands of years. Ayurveda gives us a full body massage
- 3:29with warm herbal oils. And in Ayurveda, this isn't
- 3:32once a year treatment. It's not a spa thing.
- 3:35It's daily self-massage with oil. And it's recommended
- 3:40as part of your morning routine. And I've seen a lot of this advertised on
- 3:43Instagram. They have like little massage brushes with the oil
- 3:47that you use to just help your lymphatic system flow.
- 3:51It's also recommended as part of your morning routine. And the same way you brush
- 3:55your teeth, you should be massaging your body. The classical text describes it as nourishing
- 3:59the body, calming the mind, and slowing the effects of aging.
- 4:03So longevity and massage has been linked for a very long time to
- 4:06anti-aging and longevity. And that's what we're discussing today.
- 4:10There's also Thai massage, which traces its legends back to a physician named
- 4:14Baccarat. Thai massage, Indian, Chinese influences,
- 4:18and assisted stretching. And it's often called the
- 4:22lazy person's yoga. I love stretching. Because here's
- 4:25the thing. If you go for Thai massage today, they're not only, a lot
- 4:29of times they'll walk on you, but they also stretch you out because someone else
- 4:32is moving you into that position and stretching you in ways that maybe you don't
- 4:35have. And there's also stretch labs too. I'm not going to go too much into
- 4:38it, but there's stretch labs now that can put you into different positions
- 4:42as well that help your body flow and your lymph flow. Now to ancient Greece,
- 4:46Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine. He wrote
- 4:50in the 5th century BCE and said that a physician must be
- 4:54experienced in many things, but mostly assuredly in rubbing.
- 4:58He believed rubbing could loosen a joint that was too stiff and
- 5:01bind a joint that was too loose. The Greeks and Romans used massage with
- 5:05oils at the public baths, and they— the athletes were massaged
- 5:09before and after competition. So that's where sports massage actually came about.
- 5:13The Olympians were doing it first a long, long time ago.
- 5:16Fast forward to 1800s in Sweden, a man named Ling developed a system
- 5:20of movement and medical gymnastics, and his work became a foundation
- 5:24for what we now call the Swedish massage. Then a Dutch physician
- 5:27named Johann Mezger organized the strokes and gave them the
- 5:31French name that massage therapists will learn today,
- 5:34which is long gliding strokes, which is kneading, rhythmic tapping,
- 5:38and friction and vibration. When you get a classic massage at
- 5:43a day spa, you are getting a direct descendant of the system. In the 1930s,
- 5:46a Danish couple named Emil and Estrid Voder working
- 5:51in France. They developed massage manual lymphatic drainage, a very light
- 5:55rhythmic technique designed to move lymph nodes. Now, if you know anything about lymph
- 5:58nodes, a lot of people are talking that, you know, after we age, our lymph
- 6:02system does not flow as well as it did. There's a lot of lymphatic drainage
- 6:05supplements you can take, but massage is one of them.
- 6:09And lymphedema, there's different beliefs that if you
- 6:12can get the system to flow, you can cure some of the lymphedema.
- 6:16Now, not a 100% cure, but it does get it flowing and
- 6:19you did not have so much backup and inflammation. We are going to talk a
- 6:23lot more about this in a few minutes because it's a huge moment right now.
- 6:26Everybody's into lymphatic drainage. And in Japan,
- 6:29there's shiatsu, which means finger pressure, which grew
- 6:33out of the older Japanese massage tradition. In the 20th century, a practitioner
- 6:37named Namekoshi helped formalize it and gain it official recognition
- 6:41in Japan. So here's the takeaway after I went through all that history,
- 6:45because I am a little bit of a history buff. Egypt, China, India, Thailand,
- 6:48Greece, Rome, Sweden, Japan, cultures that never met each other all
- 6:52landed on the same truth. Human hands applied with intention help the
- 6:56body heal. It's not a coincidence. It's wisdom. So there's chakras
- 7:00in the body, and I promise you, we talk a little bit about the chakras.
- 7:03I wanna do this with respect for where the idea comes from and,
- 7:07and with honesty about this. The chakra system comes from ancient India.
- 7:10It's a spiritual tradition, especially tantra and yoga. The word
- 7:15chakra is Sanskrit for wheel. The idea is that there are spinning
- 7:19energy centers of energy called prana that run along
- 7:23the spine from the base to the crown of the head.
- 7:26Modern science hasn't found chakras as physical structures.
- 7:29It's more like energy. So think of this as a map, a framework,
- 7:33a beautiful language for paying attention to different parts of your body.
- 7:37Your inner life is important as well. A lot of massage therapists,
- 7:40especially those trained in Ayurvedic energy-based or holistic
- 7:44massage, use this map in their work. So let's talk about the spine together.
- 7:47There are 7 main chakras. Number 1 is the root chakra at the
- 7:51base of the spine. Its color is red. Uh, if you've ever had a chakra
- 7:55poster, I have one in my bathroom, but it shows you the different colors.
- 7:58And there's also a belief system that certain foods help those chakras as well.
- 8:02So it's red, anything red food. It's about safety,
- 8:05stability, being grounded, feeling like you have a home in your body.
- 8:09When you feel anxious, scattered, or like the ground is moving underneath you,
- 8:13people in this tradition say the root needs attention. In a massage,
- 8:16that's your feet, your legs, Your, your lower back and hips.
- 8:20You ever notice that how a really good foot massage makes you feel like you
- 8:24just landed back on earth? That's root energy. Number 2 is the sacral chakra,
- 8:29and just below the belly button, its color is orange. It's about creativity,
- 8:33pleasure, emotion, and flow.
- 8:35Massage work on the lower belly and hips is associated with this
- 8:39area. And so many of us hold tension in our hips without ever realizing
- 8:43it. You need to work those areas out too. And number 3
- 8:46is the solar plexus chakra. In, it's in the upper abdomen.
- 8:50Its color is yellow, and this is where your personal power,
- 8:53confidence, and your fire is. So if you're feeling insecure
- 8:57about something, you may need to have this area worked out. When you're stressed,
- 9:00where do you feel it? I always feel it right there in my solar plexus.
- 9:03Whenever I get a bad vibe about someone, I get it there too.
- 9:06A lot of people feel it right here as the knot in the stomach is
- 9:09called. Gentle abdominal pressure is a big part of some traditions for
- 9:14exactly this reason. I've even, when I get really stressed and knotted, I'll like lay
- 9:17with a ball. I'd lay face down with a ball right on my,
- 9:20my third, third chakra or my solar plexus. And it just
- 9:25releases so much stress. Might want to try it sometime. Then number 4 is the
- 9:28heart chakra in the center of the chest. Its color is green.
- 9:31It's about love, compassion, and connection to others and
- 9:35to yourself. Massage across the chest and upper back, opening up these rounded,
- 9:39hunched over the phone shoulder areas where you tend to get the little knot behind
- 9:43your, or that little bump behind your shoulder blades is associated with the opening of
- 9:46the heart. And honestly, physically, when you, your chest opens up and
- 9:49you breathe better, you literally take up more space. It really
- 9:53does free up the heart. If you're going through heartbreak or
- 9:56having issues, this may, the massage area might help. Number 5 is the
- 10:00throat chakra. Its color is blue. It's about communication,
- 10:04speaking your truth, being heard. And where do so many
- 10:07of us carry stress? In the neck. I know I always get a tight neck
- 10:11when I'm stressed out. Sometimes it's in my jaw. And the shoulders, massage of
- 10:15the neck and jaw can release so much stress. Sometimes literally swallowing our words and
- 10:18it shows up as tension in our neck. We say something and it just,
- 10:22we mess something up and we get that tension. Number 6
- 10:26is the third eye. So that's right between your eyes. It's between your eyebrows.
- 10:29Its color is indigo. It's about intuition and insight and clarity.
- 10:33So if you're needing clarity in an area, maybe you've got a new
- 10:37business you're starting, in a relationship. The third chakra
- 10:41can help. When a therapist gently presses or circles between your brows during a
- 10:45facial or scalp massage, this is the area. And in acupuncture,
- 10:48there's a point right there called Yin Tang that's used for
- 10:52calm. We'll talk about that next episode, but when I go for acupuncture,
- 10:56they always put a needle right there between my third eye. Number 7
- 11:01is the crown chakra, and that's the top of the head. Its color is
- 11:04violet or white. It's about spiritual connection and a sense of being
- 11:08part of something bigger. Scalp massage that is Criminally underrated,
- 11:12I will say, because I love a good head rub, is the crown chakra.
- 11:16In the acupuncture world, there's a point in the very top, and it means,
- 11:20which means 100 meetings. 2 different traditions, 2 different maps
- 11:24landing on the same spot. I love it because it's like, it's like that soft
- 11:27spot in the very top of your head where that's already healed over. And Thailand
- 11:31has its own version of an energy map, by the way. Thai massage works along
- 11:35what they call sen lines, which are energy lines running through
- 11:39the body. Traditional text describes many of them and practitioners
- 11:43focus on 10 main ones. Thai massage presses and stretches along those lines
- 11:47to keep energy and movement flowing. I love Thai massage because in
- 11:50Thai massage, they also walk on me, which is great because then you get extra
- 11:54pressure. So how do you actually use this? There's practical ways
- 11:58that we can use this. And believe it or not, that energy literally spins
- 12:02and wheels along your body. You can believe it or you don't have to,
- 12:05but the chakra map is a wonderful tool for just noticing where you're feeling
- 12:08stress and tension. Next time you're on the massage table or even lying in bed,
- 12:12scan your body from your root to your crown and see if you're holding
- 12:16stress somewhere. See if it's tight. See if it's, you've got tension. Where does it
- 12:20feel closed off? And then tell your massage therapist. You can even say,
- 12:23I've been carrying a lot in my throat and jaw lately, or can
- 12:27we spend some extra time on my solar plexus? That's not woo-woo. It's just an
- 12:31advocate for your own body. I think we have to be advocates of our body
- 12:34because we live in them 24/7. I think sometimes we entrust too much to
- 12:38other people. But it's our body. We have to own it. And if you want
- 12:41a massage that leans into this, look for therapists who use Ayurvedic massage,
- 12:46different types of oils as well. So let's talk about stress a little bit,
- 12:50because this is where massage goes way beyond sore muscles.
- 12:54Your nervous system has 2 big modes. There's the sympathetic mode,
- 12:57fight or flight. And if your heart rate's up, you're breathing shallow,
- 13:01your muscles are braced, stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline flowing.
- 13:05There's the parasympathetic mode, which is rest and
- 13:09digest. So this is what you get into when you're sleeping. Your heart rate slows
- 13:12down, digestion turns on, the body repairs.
- 13:15Modern life keeps us a lot stuck in fight or flight, even just
- 13:19driving in traffic or responding to emails or talking to a coworker
- 13:23can get us into fight or flight mode. Your body can't tell
- 13:27the difference between a tiger and an overflowing inbox of 20,000 emails.
- 13:31It just knows threats. So massage is one of those most
- 13:35direct ways to flip the switch and And your skin is loaded with sensory receptors
- 13:39and slow, moderated pressure sends signals that
- 13:42help activate the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the main highway of your
- 13:46rest and digest system. That's why sometimes you might even fall asleep while you're
- 13:50getting a massage. When it's activated, heart rate slows down and the body shifts into
- 13:54recovery mode. Um, Dr. Tiffany Field of the University of Miami,
- 13:58she found that moderate pressure tends to be more calming than
- 14:02very light touch. Which can feel tickly and actually stimulate
- 14:06you. So light touch is not necessarily the best massage. Sometimes a
- 14:10moderate pressure is. And massage drops stress hormones. Think about
- 14:14chronic stress, what it does to your body over time. Raises your blood
- 14:18pressure. It disrupts your sleep. It drives inflammation. It weakens
- 14:22your immune system. Some people have autoimmunes after chronic stress. It's linked to faster
- 14:27cellular aging. So when you lower stress, you are not just
- 14:30having a nice afternoon, you are protecting your long-term health.
- 14:34One more thing, sleep. So many people tell me they sleep like a baby the
- 14:38night after a massage. Massage has been studied for sleep in groups from
- 14:41people with chronic pain to postmenopausal women
- 14:46with insomnia, which encourage— it's got encouraging results. Deeper sleep
- 14:50is one of the most powerful longevity tools we have. So anything that helps you
- 14:53get there is worth paying attention to. So maybe get a massage
- 14:56in the late afternoon or early evening. Now let's talk about circulation
- 15:00because blood flow is important as well. When a therapist uses long
- 15:04strokes towards the heart and they knead the muscle tissue and warm up the area,
- 15:08local blood flow increases. You can see it. The skin flushes.
- 15:11It turns a little pink or a little red. More blood flow means more oxygen
- 15:15and nutrients reaching tissue and better removal of byproducts
- 15:19from the muscle. And they makes the muscles work better, but it gets
- 15:23more interesting than that. Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago
- 15:27studied people who did hard leg exercises and then got a leg
- 15:31massage. The, the massage group showed better blood vessel function,
- 15:34meaning that the arteries dilated more easily, and that benefits lasted
- 15:39for days after the massage. And here's the surprising part: they saw improvements
- 15:42even in the arms which weren't massaged. That suggests massage may have
- 15:47a whole body effect on how blood vessels behave. Healthy, flexible blood vessels
- 15:51are a huge deal for heart health and anti-aging.
- 15:55Another study took muscle biopsies after exercise and
- 15:59found massage reduced signals of inflammation in the muscle and boosted
- 16:03signals to build new mitochondria.
- 16:06Mitochondria, the little power plants in your cells. Everybody's talking about
- 16:09mitochondria lately with different supplements and keeping
- 16:12your mitochondria healthy, but it's a big theme in longevity research because
- 16:16the mitochondria tends to break down over time. Now lymphatic
- 16:20drainage. This is one of the everything that everyone is talking about on social media.
- 16:23So let's get the facts straight. Lymphatic system is like your
- 16:27body's cleanup and drainage network. So you have
- 16:30lymphatic system all over your body. It's not just in like your, a lot of
- 16:34people know about the lymph nodes under your arms, but it carries fluid called lymph,
- 16:38which collects excess fluid. It's got proteins, it's got waste,
- 16:42your immune cells, your tissues. It filters it through the lymph nodes.
- 16:46It returns it to your bloodstream. It's a big part of your immune system.
- 16:49Here's the key, your blood has a pump, your heart. So, you know,
- 16:53everybody knows how your blood is pumping from your heart, but your lymph
- 16:56doesn't have a central pump, but it moves through
- 17:00contraction of the lymph vessels, plus helps your muscles moving,
- 17:04and it helps with breathing. That's why sitting all day long
- 17:07or on a long flight and intact, you get really swollen and puffy and stagnant,
- 17:12and you might even hurt. Manual lymphatic drainage, the technique
- 17:16that Vodder's developed in the 1930s uses very light, slow,
- 17:20rhythmic skin stretching strokes, usually directed towards the
- 17:24lymph nodes in your neck, armpits, and groin. I mean, light touch.
- 17:28It's not deep tissue. The lymph vessels sit right
- 17:32underneath the skin, so heavy pressure actually isn't the goal.
- 17:35So then it's long, soft strokes, not super soft,
- 17:39but like medium pressure. The evidence is strong though for
- 17:44lymphedema, which is swelling that happens when the lymphatic system is damaged and it can't
- 17:48drain right. And there's cancer radiation that also can clog
- 17:52it, especially breast cancer. There's lymphatic drainage as part of a standard treatment called
- 17:56decongestive therapy when you have cancer, along with compression,
- 18:00exercise. And so it is important to have lymphatic drainage.
- 18:04It's also widely used after cosmetic surgery. So a lot of people will go
- 18:08in and they'll have liposuction or they'll have certain parts
- 18:12of their skin removed and then they need to go in for lymphatic massage to
- 18:15help reduce the swelling. And many people find it helps with puffiness from travel,
- 18:20helps with your hormones if you're going through menopause or sitting. And I
- 18:23want you to be careful because some of it's hype. Don't get me wrong.
- 18:26You'll see claims that lymphatic massage will melt fat, detox your
- 18:30whole body, or give you a new face. No, but it does help your liver
- 18:34and kidneys do the detoxing. Lymphatic drainage can reduce
- 18:38fluid and puffiness, which is real and, and can
- 18:41feel amazing, but it's not fat loss. And if you have an active
- 18:45infection, a blood clot, congestive heart failure, or kidney problems,
- 18:49lymphatic drainage is not going to be safe for you. So make sure you talk
- 18:52to your doctor if you're gonna do lymphatic massage,
- 18:55if you have some type of health condition. Now let's talk about arthritis,
- 19:00because so many of the people out here who have parents that have arthritis,
- 19:04or you may have arthritis yourself and you're dealing with it— osteoarthritis wear and
- 19:08tear of the cartilage in the joints, and it's very common in the knees,
- 19:11hips, and hands as we age. Rheumatoid arthritis is autoimmune,
- 19:15so if you have that, then that's related to your immune system attacking
- 19:18your joints. But for osteoarthritis, there's some genuinely interesting research.
- 19:22There's a Swedish massage for knee arthritis. There was a study published in 2006
- 19:27where people who got massage had less pain, less stiffness, and better
- 19:31function. Then they ran a follow-up to find the right dose.
- 19:34The sweet spot was a 60-minute massage once a week.
- 19:37Longer or more frequent than that didn't add much. Their protocol started
- 19:42with 2 sessions a week for the first 4 weeks, then dropped to once a
- 19:45week. Keep that pattern in mind because I'm going to come back to it.
- 19:49At least once a week is where we're talking about. A few rules for arthritis:
- 19:53never have deep pressure on joints that are in pain,
- 19:57hot, swollen, or active flaring up. And work around
- 20:00the joints, not directly on an inflamed one. And choose a therapist who has worked
- 20:04with people with arthritis before. So they'll understand your joints.
- 20:08Now we're gonna talk about longevity. Let's connect all the dots together. So the thing
- 20:11is that as we age faster, including chronic stress,
- 20:14chronic inflammation, poor sleep, our bodies, we feel immobile
- 20:18sometimes. This one surprises people. Even with loneliness,
- 20:22massage is good. We talked about this with the hug last podcast.
- 20:27Large studies have found that social isolation raises the risk of early death
- 20:31and some well-known risks like smoking. It's, it can be as high as that.
- 20:34Just loneliness. Human or humans are wired for touch. Many older
- 20:39adults, especially those living alone, can go days or weeks without
- 20:42being touched by another person. It's called touch hunger.
- 20:46If you're not touched often enough, you may be feeling like
- 20:50you need it. And I think this is more prevalent with men than women because
- 20:54women are more likely to give somebody a hug, but men, they don't get hugs
- 20:57all the time. It's in our society, and there's a, there's an epidemic
- 21:01of lonely men out there that just don't get physical touch on a daily basis.
- 21:05Massage speaks to every one of those people. It lowers your stress
- 21:10response. So if you're one of those single men out there that's not getting
- 21:14touched on a daily basis, maybe you need to get a massage once in a
- 21:17while. It can help with your inflammation as well. It helps improve your sleep for
- 21:21a lot of people. It does for me for sure. It keeps your tissues and
- 21:24joints mobile so that you can keep moving, and it gives you safe, caring human
- 21:27touch. Hopefully get a good massage therapist if they're not.
- 21:31But you know, you got to keep your body supple and moving. It's,
- 21:34it's how you stay independent as you age. And independence is the real goal of
- 21:39longevity, not just more years, but quality good years.
- 21:42And the big question is how often should you get a massage? Once a week,
- 21:45twice a week? I would like one every day personally, but here's
- 21:49how I break it down for general wellness and maintenance. If you're feeling pretty good
- 21:52and want to stay, stay that way, once a week, once a month is a
- 21:56great rhythm, but 2 or 3 times a month would be even a
- 21:59bit better. So I would say 1 to twice a month if you're feeling
- 22:03great. If you've got high stress or anxiety or not sleeping well,
- 22:07I'd say shoot for once a week. Now make sure you get this cleared with
- 22:11your doctor if you have a health condition, but once a week is, is great.
- 22:14Consistency matters though. It's more than intensity. A weekly hour does
- 22:19more than, you know, twice a year marathon. For arthritis or
- 22:22chronic pain, follow the pattern from researchers twice a week for the first
- 22:263 or 4 weeks and then jump to Maybe once a week after that,
- 22:29you can taper it to once a week. I really think that once a week
- 22:33is, is a great way, especially in your 50s, 60s, and 70s to get massage.
- 22:37And for a specific injury after surgery,
- 22:40sometimes your doctor wants you to wait a little bit and then go for
- 22:44a massage. Sometimes I really wish massage was covered by insurance. And now some
- 22:48insurances will, but only if it's a therapeutic massage. But I
- 22:52really wish that more people were getting massage. I think it would
- 22:55decrease everyone's stress load. So a short-term therapeutic
- 22:59phase can help people, but for most, once a week is kind of the gold
- 23:02standard for therapeutic benefits. And monthly is the gold standard just for
- 23:06maintenance. If you're feeling great, I love once a week massages. To me
- 23:10personally, I think that's the gold standard for me. It sounds expensive, but there's
- 23:13some ways that you can work around it. Try a 30-minute session instead of
- 23:17a 60-minute session. And sometimes there's massage schools out there that are
- 23:21giving clinics and You go in and a student gives you a massage and it's
- 23:25very affordable. It's very low priced. Depends on the school.
- 23:29But, and then there's also membership programs where you pay and you get a certain
- 23:33number of massages every month. And some health savings accounts allow it or flexible
- 23:37spending accounts can be used for massage. If you can get a letter
- 23:41from your doctor that you have arthritis, it can get covered by insurance.
- 23:44Well, a medical savings account that you can then write off. And between sessions
- 23:48you do a self-massage. I'm about to talk to you about, but self-massage
- 23:52is great too. Remember, in certain cultures
- 23:55you do a daily massage. So let me give you my rule for getting
- 23:59a great safe massage. Make sure you go to a licensed massage therapist.
- 24:02Don't just go to anyone. Now, if your partner's really good at massage,
- 24:06you can use that, but I'm talking about a really good long massage.
- 24:10Licensed, you know, licensing rules vary by state. So check your state's boards,
- 24:14but ask about the training. And if somebody has lymphatic
- 24:19drainage training or prenatal training, if you're pregnant, or sports massage
- 24:24or oncology massage, there's actually an oncology massage now for cancer
- 24:27patients. And tell them your health history every time. Talk to your doctor first
- 24:32and make sure your therapist knows if you have a blood clot, I would not
- 24:34be getting a massage or a history of them. You really need to be careful
- 24:38if you've had recent surgery, be careful as well, cuz you may have a blood
- 24:41clot that you didn't know of. Or if you've had cancer or osteoporosis
- 24:46or a fever, you gotta be careful. And if you have really
- 24:50high blood pressure or varicose veins, or if you're pregnant, talk to
- 24:55your doctor to make sure it's okay. Massage, it can still be fine in these
- 24:58situations, but the technique may have to change a little bit. You may have to
- 25:01go to a different type of massage person. Then speak up about the pressure.
- 25:04Use a scale of 1 to 10. Good therapeutic massage might feel like a
- 25:085 to 7. What people call a good hurt, if you're holding your breath,
- 25:12clenching, or wincing, it's too much pain because that's causing stress.
- 25:16More pain does not mean more gain when it comes to if you're clenching.
- 25:20You should be able to relax through the massage and afterwards drink lots
- 25:23of water. You gotta flush through your system. It helps the lymphatics
- 25:27move more gently and go— and go easy on yourself too. Don't go run a
- 25:30race after you get a massage. Some soreness for a day is normal after a
- 25:34deep tissue massage. Bruising is not the goal, although I've been bruised from massages.
- 25:38And one myth is, you know, massage doesn't flush toxins out of your muscles,
- 25:42but water is a great way to become hydrated. It's not because you're
- 25:46detoxing, it's because it just helps flush your muscles with lymphatic system as
- 25:50well as any other toxins you may have. Now your at-home ritual.
- 25:54So Ayurvedic massage, you have a soft, a warm,
- 25:58say tablespoon or so of oil. Sesame oil is good.
- 26:02You can do coconut or almond, but before you shower, Do long
- 26:05strokes on your arms, legs, and circles around your joints.
- 26:11And I like to circle my belly and do 5 to 10 minutes, just 5
- 26:15to 10 minutes of rubbing yourself down, then shower with warm water. It's very grounding.
- 26:18It feels really good. Um, your skin may get a little bit pink. You can
- 26:22even massage your feet. It's very grounding and it feels good in your root
- 26:26chakra, I will say. And it gives your skin a sense of glow. You'll feel
- 26:30the oil getting absorbed. You can do it before. If you have a lighter oil,
- 26:33you can do it after. But your lymph is going to love it.
- 26:37It's, it's a new habit that you can create. You also need to walk daily.
- 26:40I know a lot of people are into 10,000 steps. I think that's a little
- 26:44low because I get 7,000 without hardly doing anything, but you walk as much as
- 26:48you can, but you should be walking daily and take slow belly rubs
- 26:52or belly breaths because your diaphragm helps pump
- 26:55your lymph. So the deeper you breathe, the more lymph you're going to get
- 26:59flowing. Try dry brushing with a soft brush, using light
- 27:03strokes towards your heart. So when you dry brush, you always need to come towards
- 27:06your heart and And lie with your legs up the wall for 5 minutes.
- 27:08If you've ever tried this, it's, it's great. I like to just lift my legs
- 27:12up in bed, but light pressure with your legs up the wall, that helps with
- 27:16lymphatic drainage. I've seen people hang upside down. A foam roller can help, a massage
- 27:19ball, massage your glutes and your calves and your feet.
- 27:23Rollers and tennis balls help as well. You can get a
- 27:27stone for your face and neck that helps rub some of the areas on your
- 27:31neck that could be really tight. Do a scalp and a hand massage once in
- 27:34a while, 2 minutes of scalp and fingertips before bed, and then
- 27:38massage your hands, especially if you have arthritis. It really does
- 27:42help. I don't think we touch ourselves as much as we should.
- 27:45I think we should be rubbing our bodies more. It helps you also
- 27:49find problems if there's any lumps or anything like that.
- 27:52And touch someone you love, give them a 5-minute back rub or your partner,
- 27:56because human connectivity is also longevity too. Physical touch is good
- 28:00for you and your partner and massage. Is thousands
- 28:04of years old. I think it, it speaks to your energy,
- 28:07whether you think it's chakras or nerve endings or just calming your stress
- 28:12response, supporting your blood flow. It's good for you. It'll help your sleep.
- 28:16We need that human touch as we all age. We need the human touch
- 28:19even when we're younger. Monthly maintenance minimum,
- 28:23weekly therapy is if you're having any stress or high, high stress jobs.
- 28:27And then next time we have an episode, we're going to talk about acupuncture.
- 28:30And the meridians with acupuncture as well, because acupuncture is another way
- 28:34to help with longevity. I did do a podcast not too long ago with an
- 28:37acupuncturist. I think I'm going to bring him back on to go into more detail,
- 28:41but I think you need to be gentle with your body. It's your home.
- 28:44It's your place. You want to keep your body so you can live long
- 28:47with all the longevity treatments and peptides and everything
- 28:51else that are coming out. We may have, we may live to 100, 150 years
- 28:54old. You just don't know. Treat your body well. And enjoy yourself
- 28:59and take care of yourself. Don't push it too hard and try to get
- 29:03a weekly massage or at least every other week if you can afford it,
- 29:05or go to a massage school. I hope this helped. I hope
- 29:09that you got something out of this. I know it was a lot of history
- 29:11lessons, but I think that sometimes knowing the history helps us
- 29:15know where we're going in the future as well. I look forward
- 29:19to hearing from you. Anybody want to drop me a comment? Let me know if
- 29:21they get massages and how often they get massages. I'd love to hear it.
- 29:24In the meantime, stay strong, stay loved, be healthy,
- 29:28take care of yourself. Thanks for tuning in.
- 29:33Like, subscribe, and drop a comment. We love hearing from you.
- 29:37Visit thedivadetails.com to connect.
- 29:40See you next week for more.
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