Why is it Important to Drink Plenty of Water?
It is a recommendation that you drink a lot of water after your massage. In general, the body benefits from proper hydration anyways, but after your massage it is very important to drink enough water. Consuming water will help the kidneys and other organs process the various nutrients and eliminate toxins which move through our bodies on a regular basis. Drinking water before and after a massage is recommended as it makes it easier for the Massage Therapist to manipulate the body’s muscles and soft tissue.
Think Wet Sponge vs. Dry Sponge.
During a good massage the muscles are stimulated, circulation is increased throughout the body, and water, salt, and other toxins are released from the tissues. If your body is not properly hydrated, there is no way for the waste materials from the tissues to move and get flushed out of the body. Massage, much like a work out, dehydrates the body by displacing the fluids into the interstitial spaces (the space between muscles). It acts sort of like wringing out a sponge. You have to add more water to the sponge to make it soft and pliable again. If you don’t drink enough water, the muscles become more stiff and sore and will take away from the benefits of the massage.
Why Should I Worry about
The waste materials that are circulated back into the body instead of being flushed out can also cause other symptoms. Feelings of tiredness, headaches, body aches, and even low level fever can be symptoms of not properly flushing the toxins from the body after a massage. These waste materials are just that, TOXINS, so the body reacts to them if they aren’t properly eliminated. To borrow from an old adage, “The Solution to Pollution is Dilution!” so drinking plenty of water helps to purify and cleanse the body. Having a glass of water immediately after your massage is also a good idea. Many people feel spacey or light-headed shortly after a massage. Drinking a glass of water after the massage can help you center your body and mind and bring them back together.
How much water should I drink?
You may say to yourself “I already drink plenty of water every day so I should be fine.” Unfortunately that doesn’t work in this case. Yes, it is great to get plenty of water on a daily basis. On the flip side of that, the body develops equilibrium to whatever amount of water you drink regularly. You will notice if you start drinking more water than you are used to in a day, you have to use the bathroom more often. If you stay on that same set amount of water every day, you will equalize and not have to spend all of your time in the bathroom. Since the point of “why should I drink water?” is to get the body to flush out the toxins and waste material, you will need to drink more than your regular daily amount of water to tip the balance and get the body into a flush cycle. The easiest way to achieve this is to drink your normal daily amount of water, but also add a full glass of water every time you visit the bathroom for about 24-48 hours after the massage. This should tip the balance and flush the body to clear out most, if not all, of the toxins released during your massage.