Living in the city is often exciting. The latest developments are concentrated in concrete jungles and the most competitive people live in urban areas, which is why those who have big dreams believe that taking to the city will bring them closer to them. Basically, cities are lands of milk and honey for a lot of people — the place where they will achieve success.

With such dynamics, however, urban living can understandably be quite stressful. In fact, studies have found that mental health issues are more common among city-dwellers. This is due to a myriad of factors such as professional expectations, lifestyle, cost of living, and many others.

Researchers also point out that city culture alters the ability of urbanites to process problems, and they tend to deal with stress less effectively than people from rural environments, where life’s more laidback and family-oriented.

It’s because of stress that modern urbanites are advised by wellness professionals to take relaxation as seriously as they do work. If they don’t, they’ll be strongly prone to both physical and mental breakdown.

Using relaxation to beat the stress created by living in the city comes in many forms. There are those who choose to get pampered at spas, an environment where people can just disconnect or switch off. Spas offer everything from facials to hydrotherapy baths to mani-pedis – treatments that are focused on the restoration of one’s joy and energy.

And there are also those who go to established wellness centers that concentrate on the body’s recovery. These wellness centers meticulously design programs to accurately target the specific rejuvenation or recovery needs of clients. They prescribe an appropriate diet, recommend lifestyle changes and exercises, and provide therapeutic messages.

And speaking of massages, they are a crucial component of most wellness programs. This ancient art of healing is a versatile solution (it can even enhance the results of healthy practices like yoga and diet) to the majority of health issues suffered by modern urbanites. It doesn’t matter what kind of urbanite you are (young or old, professional or student); you can trust massage to provide you relief from whatever physical, emotional and mental stress you’re experiencing, according to a massage school in London.

If you’re a tired modern urbanite seeking wellness, here’s why you need massage and how it will help you.

1. Work limits physical movement, making your body feel stiff and sluggish. Massage restores flexibility.

When you don’t move much due to work, you prevent blood, the carrier of oxygen and nutrients, from reaching its intended destination. Massage improves circulation, allowing oxygen and nutrients to be delivered to vital organs. This then restores balanced physical energy and the body’s natural ability to heal itself and move properly, shares an instructor from one of the best massage schools in London.

2. Competition, a fast-paced life, and demands create anxiety. Massage promotes relaxation to control anxiety.

Anxiety is one of the manifestations of stress created by work and other demands of city life. Massage is able to treat anxiety by boosting levels of oxytocin and serotonin in your body. These two hormones battle cortisol, the stress hormone.

The feeling of relaxation created by massage improves the mood, lowers blood pressure, and even induces sleep.

3. Professional outfits and various work activities create pain. Massage will knead the aches away.

Dressing sharply but uncomfortably, holding a bad posture while doing work, carrying a heavy bag during long commutes – all these can create pesky physical aches that can be treated by reflexology (a type of massage that’s been around since 2500 BCE).

Reflexology can stimulate the central nervous system and interrupt or change the way your brain interprets pain. It can also undo tension knots created by restrictive clothing, bad posture, and uneven distribution of weight on the body so you can move more comfortably and feel free from pain.

4. Long work hours, a bustling social life, and a noisy environment make it difficult to catch nighttime zzzz’s. Massage creates restful slumber.

Getting enough sleep is often a luxury for city folks because of job demands and the pace of life. Massage can help improve quality of sleep and even treat insomnia by promoting musculoskeletal relaxation, which can restore regular sleep patterns.

Massage has been proven to also improve digestion, skin and hair, as well as promote weight loss – health benefits that tired city people will certainly enjoy. So, if you wish to improve your quality of life despite the stress of living in the city, treat yourself to massages. They’re some of the best things you can receive for your personal well-being.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marc Innes is the Owner and Principal of the School of Natural Therapies, a training school for Massage & Holistic Therapies located in London. Marc began his career in the NHS, working in a number of managerial and training roles within the Ambulance Service in London. Marc spent much of that time educating and coaching medical staff. Over time he developed an interest in all things complementary to Allopathic Medicine, in particular, Reiki Healing, which along with EFT, culminated in Marc running a successful teaching and ‘energy healing’ practice. Marc is passionate about the massage and complementary therapy industry.