Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/694071
As quintessential nurturers, massage therapists often have imbalance in their lives—giving of themselves but not receiving, which, ironically, can lead to the kind of stress-related health challenges that massage therapists address in others. To remain in equilibrium, and, therefore, in an optimal state of health, one must both give and receive in equal measure. Receiving is important for massage therapists, not only as individual human beings, but also as caregivers. Only when caregivers take the time for self-care can they acquire the energy to keep on giving. Fortunately, there are ways both big and small to give to yourself, receive from those around you, and otherwise restore your balance—even with a busy schedule. PRACTICE HEALTHY MULTITASKING Everything is interdependent—muscles and nerves, bodies and minds, people and planet—and each connecting thread has a domino effect on the other. Slow Medicine, a concept that looks to find balance in our hectic health-care paradigm, recognizes this interdependence and guides individuals in connecting the dots between all the moving parts of our health. To this end, I believe there are seven spokes in the Slow Medicine wheel of health: the physical (play tennis, practice yoga); the mental-emotional (recite positive affirmations, practice guided imagery); our relationship to others (go out with friends for dinner, play games with a child you love); our relationship to the natural world (hike through a forest, watch birds in your backyard); our community (attend a neighborhood block party, join a networking group for 84 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k j u l y / a u g u s t 2 0 1 6 Our wellness is not only the sum total of each spoke, or each moving part, it is also the synergistic relationship between them. Our mental- emotional health Our life's purpose work