Moms and Massage, a Perfect Marriage

Mother's Day is approaching, and if your celebration includes gifts, it's not too early to start dropping some hints (or better yet, ask for what you want). Yes, I love surprises, but I also love getting a gift that I’ll use and love...and to ensure that, I've learned to ask. After all, a gift is worth asking for: It’s something special; something you wouldn’t normally buy or do for yourself; something that stays with you a long, long time. And the older I get, the more I’m learning that we have to ask for what we want.

This year like every other, it's the same ask: A massage.

Mother's Day, 1986: My very first. My first child was just four months old, not yet sleeping through the night. I was suffering (along with all the other new mothers) with the new-mother-blues: Tired and grouchy, achy and out of shape, I craved some comfort and tension relief.

My ask: A massage. I remember the thrill of opening the envelope that contained a perfume-scented, engraved gift certificate to a nearby day spa. I returned from a blissful massage, renewed and bolstered by the pampering greatness of it all.

Motherhood has been - and continues to be - a wonderful journey. From having my first baby, to watching my children grow up and hope to see them have babies of their own, it's joyful and heartwarming.

But as wonderful as it is, motherhood - with its different stages - also comes with its many challenges. The good news: We all can - and do - get through them. Things have a way of working out, and when they don’t, we figure out a way to make them work.

The better news: Massage can help get you through every stage of motherhood. If you are celebrating a new mother, your own motherhood, or your own mother, here's why.

Massage to relieve everyday aches and pains

Each one of my babies was pretty large (the younger one really tipped the scales as a newborn!) - and cranky, too. They were happiest when I held them, which of course, I did - a lot. The outcome might have rendered less-cranky babies, but on the flip side, it brought me lots of aches and pains, especially in my neck and shoulder area. And I’ll let you in on a not-so-secret-secret: I was always a sucker for picking up my children and carrying them around, even after they left that baby stage…which made for major aches and pains, not only in my upper body but my lower, as well, thanks to a few cases of sciatica. (I’m not so sure how mothers in other cultures manage to carry huge baskets on their heads and have kids hanging off their backs, although I suspect they suffer from the occasional aches and pains, too.)

If I had had this Wahl Deep Knead Massage Wrap at home, I would have had lots of help right at my fingertips, and saved many painful days, sleepless nights, and trips to the chiropractor. This massager offers both heat therapy which increases blood flow and loosen muscles, while its special shiatsu massaging nodes simulate the sensation of real fingers kneading at different pressures.

Massage to ease chronic pains from aging

Sure, the aches and pains in my neck, shoulders and legs eased once my children stopped using me as their personal transportation …but alas, the irony is that they returned (not the children, the aches and pains) on their own.

With age come the inevitable aches and pains from things like osteoarthritis, disc degeneration, overuse injuries, and general wear and tear. There are always things to try: acupuncture, tai chi, physical therapy, stretching exercises and medications to relieve pain and swelling. And of course, massage. But why wait until Mother’s Day? The Wahl Deep Tissue Massager is one of the most powerful handheld massagers on the market; its high-penetration percussion massage attacks muscle pain that hides below the surface. Keep it on your shelf, and any time you need or want it, like a loyal pet, it’s there for you.

And then, every day will be Mother’s Day.

Isn’t that only fair?

Posted by Sheryl Kraft (HealthyWomen.org)

Original Article can be found http://www.healthywomen.org/content/blog-entry/moms-and-massage-perfect-marriage