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Mother’s Day Contest! Win a $75 Massage Envy Gift Card!*

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April 29, 2016

Mother’s Day Contest! Win a $75 Massage Envy Gift Card!*

http://goo.gl/forms/BdZvX7nZcc Follow this link to enter the contest! Winner will be selected on 4/29

Mother’s Day is right around the corner and that usually means a lovely card, beautiful flowers, a celebratory meal and a little gift.   Those are lovely things to receive on Mother’s Day and personally, they do make me feel special.   However, every year there is one thing that I really want and I have never received: a massage, in a quiet room with relaxing music and perhaps a candle burning.  I want to sit after my massage in an area designated as a “quiet room” and read a magazine without interruption.

Interestingly, I came across a study conducted about Mother’s Day which revealed that although mothers, do like flowers, a nice meal, and gifts, (although the study also showed that those gifts had an 80% return rate), mothers  also like one thing more than anything else: a day at the spa. This got my Macaroni Kid Mom brain thinking?  

What do Mom’s REALLY want for Mother’s Day?  

Tell us what you  really want for Mother’s Day and you could win a gift card to Massage Envy* valued at $75!  To enter simply post your comment below, AND a post on https://www.facebook.com/Glendora-Macaroni-Kid-460890360641608/ and include #MomsDay with your FB posting.  Winning a Massage Envy gift card for yourself would be fantastic, but wouldn’t it be just as nice if a friend of yours won?  So, forward this contest to your friends!

Why do moms need massage?  There may be a misconception that massage is just a luxury,  but new studies show that massage has a wide variety of tangible health benefits.

A 2010 study with 53 participants, found that people who got a massage had a large decrease in arginine-vasopressin, a hormone that increases with stress in their blood, as well as showing a decrease in cytokine proteins which relate to inflammation and allergic reactions.  The study also showed an increase in serotonin and dopamine in the body which decreases stress.  Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is secreted in the brain by specialized neurons and regulates mood, hunger, and sleep and it promotes a sense of well-being and contentment. Dopamine is also a neurotransmitter and its key function serves as a reward system to the brain. There have also been studies that include increased levels of Oxytocin during massage. This is the “love hormone”, and it is elevated in nursing mothers and people who fall in love. In general, it promotes the warm and fuzzy feeling.

Mark Hyman Rapaport, the lead author of the study and the chairman of psychiatry and behavioral science at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, says he began studying massage because, "My wife liked massages and I wasn't quite sure why. I thought of it as an extravagance, a luxury for only people who are very rich and who pamper themselves." Now, Dr. Rapaport says he gets a massage at least once a month. His group is now studying massage as a treatment for generalized anxiety disorder.

Reducing stress is an important benefit of massage, mostly due to the hidden health risks associated with high levels of stress.  However the list doesn’t stop there. Massage increases blood circulation in the muscles which can prevent injury as well as hasten the healing of an injury. Regular sessions can help lower high blood pressure, reduce pain and stiffness, increase range of motion and flexibility.  

Massage as a luxury?  Sounds like more of a necessity to this Macaroni Kid mom!

*Massage Envy Gift Card valid at the following locations: Pasadena, Monrovia, Glendora, LaVerne


Monrovia
123 W. Foothill Blvd
Monrovia, CA 91016
626-930-0444
Pasadena Hastings Ranch
3707 East Foothill Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91107 
(626) 351-9100
Gendora
1343 E. Gladstone St. Bldg. E. Ste. 101
Glendora, CA 91740
(909) 267-7515
La Verne
1369-A Foothill Blvd. 
La Verne, CA 91750

 

(909)596-3689