Essential oils have been used for centuries for natural healing and were once the primary form of medicine for our ancestors. But whilst our medicinal technology, knowledge and chemical manipulation has grown more advanced over the years, some of the most basic herbs and oils can still have fantastic results.
Making the great decision to hold onsite massage treatments at your office will bring a plethora of benefits, ranging from the physical and psychological gains for participants to the extrinsic benefits for your company, such as a reduction in absenteeism and a boost in productivity.
As well as being thoroughly enjoyable for your employees, rewarding your workforce in this way pays off. Depending on your company’s ethos, you could be looking to optimise your workforce, beef up a stress management program or simply wish to make your staff feel valued in the organisation.
Massage is often known for it's relaxing properties. Most know massage has the power to calm us down, to make us feel good and to relieve tension in our muscles - but why exactly is this?
What happens in our bodies? And why does it make us feel the way it does? Today our massage experts answer these questions and more as we look through the physiological effects of massage on the body, and exactly why and how these effects occur.
Stress at work is growing to be an almost accepted part of modern life - potentially something even to commended, as individuals strive to show their dedication and hard work, obsess over the need for perfection or are driven by competition with others to an unhealthy level. Society expects us to show that we find our work taxing to prove that we are working hard, but this needn't be the case.
We do not need to be stressed to be productive, and in fact, being under the stressed guise for an extended period can take a serious toll on our body.
When you’re under stress, your body reacts by releasing hormones such as adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine (read more about these here) – this assists the body with the “fight-or-flight” response. Your heart rate and breathing rate go up and blood vessels narrow.
Whilst this can sound like an intense physiological response, occasional stress is a normal coping mechanism and can be good for us in the short term. However, chronic excess stress can begin to impact our bodies in a number of negative ways.
In April organisations will give advice on how to reduce the causes and risks associated with workplace stress. Tackling stress at work can be very difficult and it is estimated to cost the UK industry £5.2 billion.
The Health and Safety Executive have published a step-by-step workbook on tackling work-related stress - download your copy at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wbk01.pdf
If you find yourself starting every day stressed out, it's going to start taking its toll on you. The American Psychological Association (APA) warns that chronic stress can 'trigger other reactions of the body and even promote stress-related disorders' due to prolonged tension in the muscles. These include headaches, respiratory problems, cardiovascular issues, excessive stress-hormone secretion, increased appetite and decreased sex drive.
Luckily there are a few things you can do to make the morning madness go away!
