About Massage...
The human body is a stunning, simple yet complex machine. It has more little intricate parts and processes than you could ever imagine. After getting into massage therapy, I was simply dumbfounded as to why we are not all given an in depth anatomy and physiology course in high school? I had no idea that my body had all this stuff going on all of these years! It has been talking to me (and sometimes yelling) about the various things that I had been putting it through. The main problem was that I didn't know how to listen to it.
One of massage therapy's aim is to normalize the body's tissues. Seek out that which is not in the acceptable range and work on changing that situation. If a joint has reduced range of motion, then the muscles surrounding that joint are usually involved (unless there has been joint damage). If a muscle is tight, loosen it. If a muscle is weak, stimulate it, etc..etc...etc.. The physical processes that occur as a result of a therapist's intervention allow the body to do what it does best - heal itself. One of the benefits of this is that it allows you to become more aware of what is going on in your body. Whenever you hear a massage therapist talk about sessions creating an 'awareness', this is exactly what they are talking about. You are in effect, taking mini lessons in learning how to listen to your body when you have a session.