I recently had a client who tragically lost her husband.  The shock of the loss, the immediate surrounding by friends and family, the memorial service, the reality of legal issues following takes a toll on a person.   Some folks say the grieving process takes two years; going through seasons, holidays, birthdays.  Grief is a process.  Massage can help.

As some time goes by and the day to day routines come back in to focus a decompression of the passed events happens with the body.  The healing touch of massage can ease the stress out of the body.   Occasionally, the client might experience a somato emotional release.   Just as muscles have memory; we always remember how to ride a bike, soft tissue can hold emotion.   Massage can be an integral part of the healing process.

Years ago I had an elderly client whose daughters were in town to visit over the Christmas holidays.  It was a Saturday and they had arranged to all have massages that day and then they were going to visit the husband and father the next day who was in a long term care facility.  They all enjoyed their massages and the hands on benefits of relaxation.  None of us were to know that later that Saturday evening they would get called to the care facility as the husband and father took a turn for the worse and passed away.   A week or so later, the elderly client came to see me and expressed her gratitude that the massages they received that day, she felt allowed them to process the death by being in a calmer state of mind and body.

If you know someone who is in the grieving process, consider buying them the gift of massage to assist in healing.