Understanding the Emotional Release of Deep Tissue Massage

Deep tissue massage can unlock emotional energy trapped in your body's soft tissues. Learn why people feel emotional after deep tissue massage and how therapists can help.

Understanding the Emotional Release of Deep Tissue Massage

When you get a deep tissue massage, your muscles and tissues are not only physically released, but also emotionally. As the massage therapist works on the muscles and penetrates deep into the soft tissues, oxygen and nutrients pass through the cells, expelling toxins and detoxifying those areas. This can unlock the emotional energy trapped in the fabric and cause you to feel an intense rush of emotions. The release of painful or hurtful emotions can cause customers to react in many different ways.

They might burst into tears, adopt a fetal position, curse, shiver, laugh uncontrollably, or even hit the massage table. The phenomenon of emotional release during massage is known as Somatoemotional Release (SER). SER was specifically designed to release trapped emotions and allow the physical ailments that often accompany them to be resolved naturally. You know that your masseuse talked to you at the end of the treatment, but you were too sleepy to really take it in. During an emotional release, the most important thing a therapist can offer is a safe environment while supporting the client's process. The brief explanation of emotional liberation is that, since massage can deeply access the soft tissues of the body, it can unlock the emotional energy trapped in those tissues.

Special nerve fibers in muscles and joints constantly send information to the brain about how much weight they bear, how much they stretch or shorten, and how much pressure they feel. The blood needs water to keep moving and to perform its function of carrying oxygen and nutrients to muscles, organs and other tissues. Today, it's more important than ever for practical practitioners to understand the options for releasing trapped emotions. If this happens during a massage session and you feel too uncomfortable to continue, let the therapist know. If the emotion continues, if they continue to struggle with it, or if it turns into depression or anxiety, they should seek help.

However, if you're a therapist who wants to grow and better understand persistent distress, I highly recommend that you learn more about somatoemotional release. Even therapists who aren't trained in this special technique learn the basics of emotional release so they can recognize when one occurs and help the client return to the present moment. Understanding why people feel emotional after deep tissue massage is key for both clients and therapists alike.

Meagan Furgerson
Meagan Furgerson

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