Does Your Stomach Rumble During a Massage or Reflexology Treatment?

The truth is that in my treatment room, aside from sighs of relief, snores or relaxing music, a rumbling tummy is one of our favourite sounds!  This week at least three of my lovely clients have apologised for their rumbling tummies and asked me why it happened, so I thought I’d explain because it’s actually a really good sign.

 

If you find your stomach rumbling during a treatment, please don't be embarrassed - it's a real compliment to a therapist to hear your body respond to the work that is taking place, because you can't fake the fact that your body is quite literally shifting gear.

 

Our bodies are governed by our Nervous System which controls a lot of the things we can't consciously control, such as blood pressure, heart rate, digestion, sweating, breathing rhythm, etc.  It operates in two 'gears' - these two gears are also referred to as 'fight or flight' (Sympathetic Nervous System) and 'rest & digest' (Parasympathetic Nervous System).

 

Both states have an important role in our survival: in a stressful situation, for example when you are being chased by a dog, or just realised that you forgot about an important client meeting, your body is producing stress hormones to help you cope.  The three main stress hormones are adrenalin, norepinephrine and cortisol.  This is the ‘fight or flight’ gear - blood is pumping round your muscles, preparing you for action.

 

When the danger or stressful situation has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in, turns off the stress hormones and stimulates the release of the “feel good hormone” oxytocin, which shifts the body into the ‘rest and digest’ gear.  This stimulates various digestive hormones and gastric juices.  It is when the digestive system moves that the stomach makes noises.

 

As a therapist it's a wonderful thing to hear.  It means that the body has definitely dropped into a more relaxed state than we normally operate at in our modern society.

 

Did you know that high levels of stress will affect your digestive system, the way it operates and the effectiveness of your body at absorbing nutrients?  So relaxation is seriously important to our physical well being as well as mental and emotional health.

 

So the next time you are having a treatment and your tummy starts rumbling, rather than apologise, perhaps pay attention to it, to how your whole body is feeling and recognise that your body has shifted down a gear.  It's why sometimes we can feel really quite 'different' getting off the treatment couch, almost as though things have been reset.

 

www.barefoot-reflexology.co.uk