On an average day, at least one of my clients will tense up, wiggle about, and apologize for a grumbling tummy, and truth be told it doesn't bother me! Honestly, in the clinic room a sign of relief, a snore, and a rumbling tummy are all some of my favourite noises I hear on an almost daily basis!
Now you are probably thinking why, well I'll gladly tell you!
Our bodies are equipped with two nervous system responses. You may have actually heard reference to them a time or two before, they are the flight or fight response and the rest and digest response. These are the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system responses that our bodies react to. A majority of people spend their days in a sympathetic (fight or flight responses) state. While these responses are important for survival we are not meant to spend numerous hours in this state.
When you come in for a massage to manage your stress, one of the main priorities I have as a massage therapist is to ease you into a parasympathetic state. This is where a majority of those healing changes happen in your body happen. One of the first signs that you are slipping into a parasympathetic state is that your tummy begins to growl.
Getting regular massages, meditating, and other activities aid in activation of the parasympathetic nervous system.
In short whenever I hear a growling noise, it’s a sign I’m doing my job and it makes me feel great! So, the next time you’re getting a massage and you find your tummy growling, yourself snoring, or falling asleep please don’t be embarrassed, as its completely normal.
