A few years ago, one of my good friends struggled with a life-threatening illness that destroyed his body's immune system.  Since the human immune system is what fights off germs, bacteria and other seeds of disease, he was just as likely to die from a bacterial infection as from the disease itself.  His response to his body's inability to protect itself was in his resolve to stay well.  To not only be mindful of wellness, but to actively seek and embody wellness.  This awareness and commitment to his body helped him live well for many years.

There is so much talk these days about health and wellness that we can be overwhelmed, unable to see how to develop a more healthy way to live.  Perhaps, we have been taught that we need to eat right, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep.  This would be correct teaching, yet incomplete teaching.

What is missing in this education of a healthy lifestyle is teaching about the human body, what it's made of, how it functions and how our choices impact the health of our body.

Did you realize that by now your respiratory system has inhaled and exhaled at least 20 times carrying life-giving oxygen to the millions of cells that are your body?  Your heart has been pulsing blood in and out of itself and throughout the body without your conscious input.  Your facial muscles may have organized themselves into a frown as your brain wonders what in the world this article is attempting to say.

The human body is perhaps the most amazing and fascinating witness to Creation.  Unless we are sick or injured, we tend to give little thought to the work our body does every moment of our life.  It is easy to develop an expectation that our bodies will function properly without our input, because they do.   However...

Think about an automobile.  Without gas, it will not go.  Without oil to lubricate the engine, the various parts will stiffen, rust and stop working.  If the car is not cleaned, the paint may chip off which increases the chances of a rusty exterior.  If it's not driven regularly, again, the engine is not lubricated and break down becomes more possible.  We know these things about cars and so we take care of our cars personally or we take them to mechanics.

How much more precious and important is the human body?  There is no trade-in with our body, we only get one per lifetime.  What a body looks like pales in comparison to the quality of its health.

It was during my study of massage therapy and human anatomy that I began to understand what a body needs to be a healthy living organism.

Though massage therapy may be considered alternative healthcare, actually it is traditional medicine.  It has been around as long as humankind has walked this earth.  In the beginning, before pharmaceuticals, we had hands and we had plants.  The healing remedies of our early ancestors included plants and rubbing and kneading the body, massage.  As we have developed what we call Western Medicine, which also heals, we must remember that it came later and is, perhaps, the complimentary medicine.

Massage therapy is not just for the rich and famous.  It is for every person and is a form of healthcare that addresses the body as a whole and not just in parts.  For example, if a client comes in with low back pain, the therapist understands that it may be from the back muscles, or it may be from very tight hamstrings in the upper legs.  Not only will the massage therapist work to relieve those muscles, but they will work with other muscles covering the body to assist in the healing process.

There are many benefits to receiving massage therapy and many reasons to include this in your own wellness plan.  Massage helps muscles to relax, it increases mobility in shoulders and hips, it helps free up and loosen joints, and the skin is lubricated and nourished while in a massage session.  A few other benefits would be the enhancement of immune responses, a lowering of blood pressure, and promoting healthy circulation of bodily fluids.

In this New Year, much as you would tend to your car and change the engine's oil every 3000 miles, consider tending to your body, your spirit and your mind all in one hour.  Check out a book on human anatomy from your local library and read all you can about how your body functions.  Learn more about massage therapy.  Locate a massage therapist in your area, schedule an appointment and deepen your understanding of what it means to live in your body.  Make massage your health-wise activity for the month and begin to learn about that amazing living organism that is your body...that is you!

-Deborah Lynn is a licensed massage therapist living and working in Nashville, TN.

published by the Caswell Messenger, 2004 Health & Wellness Edition, vol. 79, no. 04, Wednesday, January 28, 2004