What is the difference between Eastern and Western massage?
In the U.S., most people seek out deep tissue, Swedish or relaxation massages. These types of Western massages work the muscles, using circular movements and kneading to promote healing and relaxation. Eastern massage, on the other hand, is focused on restoring optimal energy flow throughout the body. Eastern massages include Shiatsu, Ayurvedic and Thai yoga massage.
Eastern medicine practices are based on the theory that all of the body’s organs mutually support each other. To maintain health, an individual must keep their organs, or more specifically their organ’s functions, in balance. This is accomplished by keeping yin and yang, two complementary energies, in balance. Vital energy, called chi, flows in channels throughout your body. When a channel is either blocked or excessive, health problems may develop. Therefore, maintaining the flow of chi is essential to achieving wellness.
How do Eastern medicine practices impact fitness?
Eastern medicine brings a whole-body approach to treatment. In exercise, Eastern approaches similarly involve the body holistically. Consider yoga, which seeks to improve body alignment and to create new patterns of movement. Or Tai Chi, which is designed to cultivate the life energy within us to flow smoothly throughout the body. The essential principles include mind-body integration, controlled movement and breathing, and mindfulness. Eastern medicine applied to fitness also addresses how our bodies respond to the energy forces of each season.
Seven reason to infuse Eastern medicine into fitness and massage
- It taps into the body’s natural healing abilities
- Combining mental, physical and “energetic” exercises balances the body’s “systems” for optimal energy flow
- It addresses seasonal environmental shifts as they occur
- It can be tailored to specific seasonal and pre-existing medical challenges
- It generates “vitality”
- It reunites and strengthens a person’s “relationship” with “the natural world”
- It is centuries proven
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