Why animal massage?

Why human massage?  Bodies are bodies... our blood circulates bringing hormones and nutrients necessary for normal cell growth to each cell in the body, while transporting all of the waste products to the organs that filter them out.  Our lymph is pumped through our lymphatic system by muscle contraction and movement.  Muscles get overworked and tight sometimes through regular exercise, and sometimes due to structural imbalances.  Massage opens blood vessels and improves circulation leading to enhanced  performance and shorter recuperation time.   With enhanced performance comes increased lymphatic flow, and an overall increase in well-being.  Massage relaxes tight muscles, releases fascial restrictions, and helps correct structural imbalances.  From a behavioral standpoint, who among us is not better behaved and happier when we’re physically more functional, comfortable, and relaxed?

Indications for massage include:

• Muscle or joint problems
• Arthritis
• Recovering from injury or surgery
• Athletes (pre- and post-event)
• Stress (recent move, new baby, newly adopted, grieving, etc)
• Sedentary animals

Why acupressure?

An educated selection, and deliberate stimulation of specific acupressure points based on either an animal’s history and presentation OR full meridian assessment helps bring an animal’s body into a more balanced state by balancing the flow of Qi and assisting smooth neural connectivity.