“There Are 31 Reasons For Why You Need A Massage …”
“Scientific evidence both supports and explains the beneficial effects of massage which has developed into a sophisticated and specialised tool in today's treatment of muscle, tendon, ligament and joint injuries.
Massage therapy helps maintain healthy skin by:
2. Improving oxygenation and nutrition to the basal layer of skin.
3. Increasing skin flexibility and elasticity and loosening scar tissue to maintain skin health and movement.
4. Improving sebaceous secretion to lubricate the skin, improving its condition and texture.
5. Relaxing the fascia on the scalp, decreasing tension and some forms of headache.
It also maintains muscular functioning and health by:
6. Helping to maintain muscles in the best possible state of nutrition, flexibility and vitality … speeding up muscle recovery after activity or injury.
7. Relieving muscle restrictions, tightness, stiffness and spasm which may limit full movement.
8. Delaying muscle wasting due to disuse, for example, after a stroke or during lengthy bed rest.
9. Encouraging better muscle activity through increased movement of nutrients and removal of waste products.
10. Relaxing muscles and other tight tissues. For example tight muscles can press on nerves causing pain and nerves can also become trapped in connective tissue. Massage relaxes muscles and other soft tissues decreasing pain due to nerve entrapment.
It promotes cardiovascular health by:
11. Increasing local blood flow without putting additional strain on the heart.
12. Mechanically propeling blood towards the heart in sedentary people and those on long term bed-rest.
13. Stimulating nerves that control blood vessels. Widening the blood vessels can increase blood circulation and lower blood pressure in some cases.
14. Increasing delivery of oxygen to muscle and other tissue cells and removal of waste products.
15. Decreasing accumulation of metabolic waste and by-products from tissue damage and inflammation thereby assisting healing.
16. Decreasing heart rate through decreased stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system ("relaxation response").
Massage therapy aids in respiration by:
17. Slowing down the rate of respiration via reduced stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.
18. Increasing lung capacity and pulmonary function if these are decreased by tight primary and secondary muscles of respiration.
It supports the lymphatic system by:
19. Stimulating the lymphatics when the person is immobile due to pain or when injury interferes with lymphatic drainage.
20. Reducing some forms of swelling (lymphoedema) by mechanically stimulating circulation.
21. Decreasing swelling after injury which encourages repair and faster return to activity.
22. Increasing presence of natural killer cells and their activity, suggesting that massage may strengthen the immune system.
It influences the nervous and endocrine systems by:
23. Providing a sedating and relaxing effect on the body by normalising nerve activity.
24. Stimulating muscle activity through specific forms of massage.
25. Promoting relaxation, decreasing insomnia and improving sleeping patterns by stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system.
26. Decreasing pain with release of pain-reducing neurochemicals. It can provide stimuli to modulate pain perception and decrease pain directly with some massage techniques.
27. Decreasing stress levels by activation of the relaxation response. The many physical stress-related problems of everyday life can be soothed away by slow rhythmic massage. Massage recipients show an increase in dopamine and serotonin levels which suggests a decrease in stress levels and depression.
Massage therapy assists the digestive system by:
28. Increasing movement of the large intestine, helping to relive colic and intestinal gas.
29. Promoting activation of the parasympathetic nervous system which also stimulates digestion.
30. Decreasing constipation by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system and by direct movement of faecal material around the bowel. This will aid in
elimination without drugs.
It influences other soft tissues by:
31. Assisting with proper alignment of connective tissue fibres after injury.
32. Increasing movement at a joint by decreasing muscle tension and connective tissue thickening and rigidity.
Classes of massage therapy:
x Cranio-Sacral is a technique for finding and correcting cerebral and spinal imbalances or blockages that may cause sensory, motor or intellectual dysfunction.
x Deep Tissue releases the chronic patterns of tension in the body through slow strokes and deep finger pressure on the contracted areas, either following or going across the grain of muscles, tendons and fascia. It is called deep tissue because it also focuses on the deeper layers of muscle tissue.
x Reflexology (zone therapy) is organized around a system of points on the hands and feet that are thought to correspond, or "reflex," to all areas of the body.
Though the massage is specific to an area, it is intended to affect the whole body.
x Shiatsu and Acupressure are systems of finger-pressure massage, based on Oriental healing concepts, which treat special points along "meridians," the invisible channels of energy flow in the body. Energy blocked along these meridians can cause physical discomfort, so the aim is to release the blockage and re-balance the energy flow. They can be used for the full body or for specific areas of the body.
x Sports Massage Therapy is classified into three main categories: maintenance, event and rehabilitation. Maintenance massage is a regular program of massage to help the athlete reach optimal performance through injury-free training. Event massage takes place before, during and/or after competition to supplement an athlete’s warm-up, readying the athlete for top performance, and/or to reduce the
muscle spasms and metabolic build-up that occurs with vigorous exercise. Such techniques enhance the body’s recovery process, improving the athletes return to high-level training and competition, and reducing the risk of injury.
Rehabilitation massage techniques are effective in the management of both acute and chronic injuries.
x Swedish Massage uses a system of long strokes, kneading, and friction percussive and vibration techniques on the more superficial layers of muscles, combined with active and passive movements of the joints. It is used primarily for full-body sessions and promotes general relaxation, improves blood circulation and range of motion, and relieves muscle tension. Swedish is the most common type of massage.
x Trigger Point Therapy (also known as Myotherapy or Neuromuscular Therapy) applies concentrated finger pressure to “trigger points” (painful irritated areas in muscles) to break cycles of spasm and pain.”
After creating an educational process in our marketing collateral, we then looked at seting people’s buying criteria. An example is as follows:
“When it comes to selecting a personal trainer, there are many questions that you should be asking before going ahead with any provider:
x What will the trainer bring to you in terms of results that you can’t produce on your own?
x What level of education has the trainer attained: Is it the minimum level necessary to get insurance and work in gyms and fitness centres (ie. approximately ten days of
education), or, is it a significant list of certificates and/or degrees (ie. hundreds of days, or more, of education) reflecting a deep level of understanding of exercise physiology and prescription?
x What experience do they have that compliments their education, and, does it match what you require?
x Can they demonstrate their ability to help you create the specific results you want through testimonials / endorsements / case studies from other clients who’ve achieved what you’re looking for?
x Will they put you in contact with other clients who have attained similar results to what you’re wanting to attain?
x What is their approach to writing health and fitness programs, and how ill you know that it is customised to your needs?
x How often will your health and fitness program be reviewed and upgraded as you progress towards your goals?
x Will the trainer educate you so that you can train independently, or, will the trainer simply oversee what you do without providing you with the training activities that you can do on your own?
x Can or will the trainer give you an estimate of how long it may take and how much it may cost for clients to achieve their health and fitness goals (assuming your commitment to the programs designed for you)?
x Does the personal trainer have education and accreditation in nutrition and dietary assessment and programming that truly works along with your health and fitness goal?
x How interested and committed will the trainer be to your goals later in the relationship?
x Will their commitment to you and belief in their abilities and experience come in the form of a guarantee of results, where reasonable, with a money-back policy?
x Are they currently insured for public liability and professional indemnity?”
Once the selection criteria was set, the next process in the business was to use the many “Abraham-isms”
to create unfair advantage …
76. Mike Gilgan
--- Original Message --- From: Mike Gilgan To: Jay Abraham
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 1:07 AM
BCNetwork is a small Internet based Inbound Tourism Portal for British Columbia Canada. The company is currently the #1 portal in British Columbia in terms of inbound tourism traffic for British Columbia.
Earlier this spring the President's Executive Assistant suggested he visit www.abraham.com for marketing ideas.
(The Executive Assistant makes a percentage of the revenue as her income).
The company is a "medium" in it's own right with nearly 2,000,000 unique visitors annually. This means that there is a "free of charge" market to test and market to. The company also used fax broadcasting to it's main client base and ironically very little email marketing.
Upon visiting Abraham.com the President listened to the Tony Robbins interview with Jay Abraham tapes. What immediately began delivering results was the concept Jay refers to as "upside leverage". This means essentially, that before spending more on advertising and promotion, get better results with what you already do.
The President thought this was a good idea and the price was right. No increased spending on marketing. The problem was, he found that his existing marketing was getting such low results, it was hard to come up with "test results". Using some of the "successful headline approaches" noted at abraham.com and realizing from what Jay and Tony talked about that "risk reversal" was a good strategy, the President decided to offer a money back guarantee.... to his entire list. The response was amazing!! Almost every single respondent wanted to be removed from the list!
The President was amazed. He had never had this volume of response. Good or bad, it was a response that was measureable. He decided to look back to the small, but positive responses he had received in the past. What was the difference? He now knew how to get a big bad response. He now focused on getting a big GOOD response. The copy he developed for the new piece was shot down by his Executive assistant as being slanted too far in the other direction.
The next fax blast received a 6% response and they were almost all positive! The sales staff were inundated. In fact, the President noticed that the sales team were now so busy, they weren't taking the time they used to with prospects on the phone. This resulted in a lower than usual conversion rate.
The company is now taking a scientific approach. Testing. Testing. Testing. and with the new knowledge and skills resulting, is beginning to gain market share. All of this without spending any more money on advertising!
77. Mike Salmond
--- Original Message --- From: Mike Salmond
To: Jay Abraham
Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 12:19 PM