The Benefits of Therapeutic Full Chest & Breast Massage
Original Article written 10/17 - updated 5/2019 with resources
UPDATE / PART II TO AN ARTICLE WRITTEN 10/17
With this subject coming up more and more online and with clients, here are some further thoughts utilized t.
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Breasts aren’t usually invited to the self-care party—despite the fact that there’s a restorative practice for pretty much every other part of the body (hair included). But there’s an argument, more than one, for incorporating full chest and breast massage into your treatment.
“Massage is a wonderful, stress-relieving, detoxifying practice for the whole body,” says natural beauty expert Jessa Blades.
“It’s odd that we don’t massage the breasts [in the West].”
—Jessa Blades
And no, you don’t need to be pregnant or nursing to reap the rewards, a fact the holistic wellness world’s been clued in to for ages. “In Ayurveda, if you get a full-body massage, your breasts are massaged too,” Blades notes. “It’s odd that we don’t massage the breasts [in the West].”
Breast massage may provide huge psychological and emotional benefits, especially for those recovering from breast disease and the aftermath of invasive treatments.
While this work is not even close to being mainstream at the moment, that’s starting to change as word gets out about the physical and emotional benefits the practice produces. And lets not forget about choice. There is an emotional long tail effect about subconsciously feeling the need to "hide" them.
Breast health is too often ignored until after a problem arises. It’s an area of the body with powerful associations that sometimes makes women hesitant to seek care, despite the fact that the vast majority experience discomfort at some point.
Breasts are often compressed with sports bras, constrained by underwire, or enhanced with padding. This can restrict the flow of lymph, the clear liquid derived from blood that contains disease-fighting cells called lymphocytes. It is widely speculated that chronic impairment of lymph drainage may be implicated in many breast health problems, including cancer.” This is the case for not wearing a bra.
Therapeutic breast massage also loosens the tissues of the chest, shoulders, and neck, using a combination of deep-tissue massage techniques, movement, breathing, and stretching. Whether your breasts are healthy or compromised, every woman can benefit from this work, and it can be a powerful aid to emotional healing or healing after surgery or radiation therapy.
If you are It is important that you find a therapist who is qualified; trained and experienced with this work. Just as it is surprising to many clients, it is surprising to many therapists. A qualified therapist will be able to explain the work, discuss benefits, address curiosities, fears and or/concerns, go over the protocols for consent and choice - and ultimately help determine if you might be a good candidate for this work.
I have created an FAQ page that for the moment is password protected. It contains further discussion, FAQ's, and other information along with testimonials. If you would like to access it, please go here
Here is a list of prior blog posts for further reading on this topic:
If you have had breast massage and would like to share your story, it may help others - please send me an email.