So my massage session is over . . . Now what?

You've had a great massage and feel amazing!  You leave the office, get in your car, and go back to your day.  Then you think . . . I want to feel this way all the time!  What can I do to keep myself from getting back to where I was before the massage?Good question.  If you neglected to ask your practitioner what you can do, first of all, schedule another massage!  Regular massage is like going to the dentist.  Or getting tires rotated on your car.  These are maintenance activities we do without blinking an eye.  So, we eat every day, brush our teeth every day and go to the dentist regularly to keep our teeth clean from eating all the time.  We use our muscles every day, sometimes to excess, or we don't use them enough.  (Sedentary people sometimes have more problems than active ones with tight, sore, muscles.  Topic for future blog post.)
Drink water.  You do not need to drink an excessive amount.  Just drink some.  It will hydrate you and you will feel better.
Notice how your body feels after your massage and for a couple days afterward.  Notice when it starts to tighten up again.  Pay attention to what you are doing that causes it to do that.  The sooner you get another massage after you feel it tightening up, the more healing can take place.  When you get those muscles to relax more often, they will then stay relaxed for longer periods of time between massages.  Maybe after your first massage your body starts to tighten up in two days.  After your second massage, it might take a week before it starts to get tight.  After the third one, perhaps you can go two weeks, and so on.  Your muscles have memory and they will remember the relaxed feeling and reward you with longer periods of feeling good.  Just be sure to keep a regular schedule, and listen to your body to keep up on it.
Now is a good time to start a better eating program and move your body a little more.  Don't go all out if you haven't exercised before.  Just started moving around, go for a walk three times a week.    Your body will respond well to movement.

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