Women’s wellness is something none of us can take for granted.

It impacts our stress, our happiness, and our quality of life. We take women’s wellness very seriously at Girlfriendology – female friendship makes us healthier – and we want our friends to be healthy. Sometimes that health and happiness can come in the form of something as simple as an act of self-care – in this case, a massage!

      When you treat your body with love and respect, she’ll love and respect you back. Alexis Meads

Girlfriends – we are one stressed-out gender! We suffer stress when others in our home experience stress. We juggle jobs and lives with little time for ourselves. A lot of us experience stress eating which can lead to more unhealthy issues. How do we take better care of ourselves?

Recently after returning from a busy and tiring trip, I scheduled some self-care – a massage at MassageEnvy (in Mason OH). I haven’t had a massage in years and rarely treat myself to any pampering. I’ve experienced some back strain due to exercise and thought a massage would help that too.

The environment is very soothing and spa-like! Every client is paired with a massage therapist or facial esthetician based on the client’s needs and the therapist’s skills. (For example, if you wanted a deep-tissue ‘sports massage,’ you would be matched with a massage therapist who specializes in that type of care.) I was paired with Jenn – a wonderful massage therapist who has done over 7000 massages in her eight-year experience with MassageEnvy! She explained everything to me in advance, then I was left to disrobe and get under the covers on the massage table.

Let’s just have a little girlfriend talk right here! I know one thing that stops some women from massages is the comfort level in having someone touching them and their degree of disrobing (aka: to wear underwear or go naked!). Jenn explained that I was to disrobe as much as I felt comfortable with – so it was very low stress! I figure she has seen it all so I was comfortable just wearing some panties – but I’ve gone without in the past if I felt like it! Also, touching is a very effective way of relieving stress – it actually releases stress-relieving hormones in our female bodies!

One of the treatment options, the one I chose, was aromatherapy. Like the quote above, I love lavender – it makes me happy! She had mixed up a scented lotion that helped me relax even further and enjoy the massage! (And, bonus! I got to take home the remaining lotion after the massage was over!) They do offer other treatment options and scents – everything is geared at making the experience relaxing and personalized to your preferences.

The massage I received was an hour and was wonderful! The entire staff was accommodating and the facility was clean and welcoming. It was a great treat for me, my stress (which disappeared!) and my healthy, pampered body!

I learned that MassageEnvy has memberships so you can have a regular massage or facial at a member rate. In addition, if you’re just interested in a treat without a commitment, you definitely can make an appoint without a membership. Also, I found out that you can use your HSA (health savings account)! That was a huge bonus – I have an HSA and will be back to MassageEnvy! They are a national chain and have over 1100 locations (and expanded into Australia recently).

A couple girlfriend options and ideas … some women come with their friends – one might have a massage while the other has a facial, and then both switch pampering treatments. MassageEnvy memberships or Gift certificates make great girlfriend gifts (or Mother’s Day, Holiday gifts, etc. – wouldn’t it make a wonderful gift for a milestone birthday or as a special way to thank a friend for being there for you?!) Massage Envy does welcome men too and offer couples massages. (Check them out on Facebook!)

Thanks to the wonderful women at MassageEnvy for allowing me to experience a massage so I could share with you how to (as the quote above says): ‘treat your body with love and respect.”

Are you stressed? Or is a girlfriend? Check-out MassageEnvy for locations near you. Be well, my friend!

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