Massage has many benefits, to many parts of our body and this does not disnclude our immune systems.

To better understand how massage helps your immune system , you need to understand stress and how it affects your body.

Stress, strain or pressure put upon you mentally of physically. Right now we are focusing on the mental stress. that could be from work, kids, school relationship and pretty much just life.

Adrenaline and cortisol are our stress hormones. Which are great when you are in fact being chased by a tiger. But fortunately on a daily we are not being chased by large predators. We just mentally feel like we are when we stressed about daily life.

Excessive production of these hormones fatigues the body. And when the body is fatigued it has a weakened defense and lower immunity.

Massage therapy has proven to reduce stress, and the production of adrenaline and cortisol as well as increase the production of sarotonin and dopamine, our "feel good" hormones.

This reduction in stress and fatigue throughout the body strengthens our ability to fight off those pesky microbes.

Massage also improves the circulation of our lymphatic system. Lymph node and the lymphatic system work as filtration in our bodies. The glands that get swollen in our neck when we get sick are lymph nodes. And they are usually swollen when they are clogged and overwhelmed with pathogens.

Light touch massage to areas of lymph nodes and centripetal strokes throughout the body may help flush out this system and any disease lingering within it.

And finally, studies have shown that massage therapy has increase the activity of lymphocytes , a type of white blood cell. The cells in your body responsible for fighting invading pathogens.

So, add massage to your wellness routine and stay your healthiest all years!