Unlocking the Benefits of Massage Therapy: How Regular Sessions Can Help Relieve Stress and Improve Your Health

For thousands of years, people have used massage therapy to relieve pain, encourage relaxation, and enhance general health. It is still widely used today and accepted as a secure and efficient form of complementary and alternative medicine. 

If you're looking for a natural way to improve your health and relieve stress, regular massage therapy sessions could be just what you need. Here are some of the many benefits of massage therapy: 

1. Reduces Stress and Anxiety: It helps to promote relaxation and reduce muscle tension, which can lead to decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body.

2. Improves Sleep: Studies have shown that massage therapy can increase the production of serotonin, a hormone that promotes relaxation and helps regulate sleep.

3. Relieves Pain: It can also help to reduce inflammation and improve range of motion, making it a useful treatment for conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, and sciatica.

4. Boosts Immunity: Studies have shown that massage therapy can increase the production of white blood cells, which play a crucial role in defending the body against infection and disease.

5. Improves Circulation: Massage therapy can also help to improve circulation, which is essential for transporting oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. This can help to promote healing, reduce inflammation, and improve overall health.

In addition to these benefits, massage therapy can also be a great way to promote relaxation and improve your overall sense of wellbeing. Whether you're looking to relieve stress, reduce pain, or simply take some time to relax, regular massage therapy sessions can help you achieve your goals and improve your overall health and wellbeing.

How to Get Warmed Up Before a Workout

For most people, athlete or not, stretching is something that you’ve heard the benefits of. Increased flexibility, range of motion, and lower chance of injury are all important in the world of fitness, which are all things stretching can provide. What is relatively unknown however, is that there are two types of stretching, dynamic and active, and that doing one before the other may actually be harmful to your health rather than beneficial.

         Dynamic stretching, the more unknown of the two, encourages active movement, rotating your joints through their full range of motion and engaging your muscles by moving and stretching at the same time. This type of stretch is encouraged to be used before an athletic event or workout since these types of movements increase muscle temperature and decrease muscle stiffness. Oppositely static stretching requires you to stay in place, moving a muscle as far as you can go and then holding it for anywhere between fifteen seconds and a minute. These stretches are to be repeated, about two or three times, and aim to improve your flexibility. Static stretching is more beneficial post-workout since they prevent injury but limit the muscles ability to perform at its peak potential. Getting a massage is also very beneficial following a hard workout. Book with us today!

Open Daily 10am-9pm

423 N Azusa Ave, West Covina, CA 91791

Hot & Cold Ways to Combat Muscle Soreness

For quite a while now it has been common knowledge that hot and cold therapy can be used to treat swelling, inflammation, and soreness. Knowing which treatment to use in certain situations, however, can be where some people get confused. With the boom of fitness culture, people across the world are looking for more efficient ways to not only workout but recover as well. In fact, the most recent academic articles regarding muscle growth state that recovery is essential to make progress in the gym. With this newfound knowledge, athletes and influencers alike have both been searching for ways to rest properly, using both hot and cold therapy to repair muscle tissue and grow muscles faster.

         Cold therapy, or cryotherapy, simply refers to the application of something cold to a targeted area. This could include something as simple as a cold compress or ice bath, or the more complex, newer treatment of nitrogen gas chambers. The idea behind these types of treatments is to slow the blood flow, reducing pain and inflammation in the targeted areas. Conversely, heat therapy improves blood flow, aiming to reduce pain, relieve muscle tightness, and improve mobility. Applications of this method include saunas, warm compresses, and steamed towels. Cupping and hot stones are also forms of heat therapy we offer here at Serenity Zen. Coupled with a massage, this is a great way to relieve any tension or muscle soreness you are experiencing from the gym, work, or anything giving you stress. Book with us today!

Why CBD Balm?

CBD oil gets a bad rep. Oftentimes people misconstrue topical CBD oil with marijuana, leading them to associate the negative aspects of marijuana with the oil. This, however, is inaccurate and studies go on to show the positive effects of its use by people around the globe. Although hemp plants and cannabis are similar in looks and smell, the level of THC, the psychoactive element, is drastically lower in hemp plants.  Experts are able to draw out the health benefits of CBD oil without affecting the clients mental state.

         With this relatively recent discovery, there has been a boom in the industry, with oils, creams, and lotions flooding the shelves and being more accessible for the average person to purchase. More and more people have been experiencing the benefits CBD oil has to offer; some of which include reduction in anxiety and depression, pain relief, and better heart health. Holistic pain treatments have been very common since humans first discovered medicinal treatments thousands of years ago. Some of which include the application of eucalyptus and lavender oils or the consumption of ginger and turmeric to aid pain relief or improve wellness in general. CBD oil is much like this in the sense that it is a natural element aiming to be a remedy for pain or anxiety. This has become a good alternative for people when their medication fails to do the very things mentioned above. This is not to say that you should do this spontaneously, and as always get approval from your doctor before trying a new product on yourself.

         Here at Serenity Zen, we offer a topical-CBD oil cream as an enhancement to your experience. Follow your body massage or foot reflexology service, with some of the topical cream, and find yourself relaxed and relieved. Book with us today!

Open Daily 10am-9pm

423 N Azusa Ave, West Covina, CA 91791