Just caught the wonderful Laura Allen’s YouTube ‘chat’ about toxins. Not only is the clip an extremely funny and well put togther presentation, the woman is also a rock of sense and respresents a growing band of therapists across the world challenging some generic massage therapy training claims.
No, I am not on a mission to trash the respected massage educating authorities, but I do reguarly fight for the right to question inertia in any aspect of training (See my ‘Tools in the Trade Crusade’ posting below).
I too was taught by ITEC about massage helping to “flush out toxins” and I think that the teaching has become a case of ‘crossed wires’. Massage may help to increase circulation but it does not flush out toxins – your body is designed to do that naturally and ‘toxins’ is a far too wide a term that can mean anything from tobacco to poison to lactic acid. What massage DOES do is that it helps release constricted muscles and related fascia to improve the flow of nutrient-rich fresh blood in and metabolic waste material out. Also, massage feels great and is brilliant at relaxing both the body and mind.
As Laura Allen, a massage therapist herself, asks with regard to massage treatments “Has anybody ever called you to book an appointment because they wanted to flush out their toxins?”; but I digress, let the woman tell you herself at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwTDw1kXpo8&feature=youtu.be
