Massage is an instinctive and human response to pain or discomfort. When we hurt ourselves we instinctively touch the area where we feel the pain.

Massage therapy is the holistic application of physical touch to affect the systems of the body; ie. the muscular, skeletal, digestive, elimination, respiratory, circulatory, lymphatic, endocrine, emotional, mental and nervous systems. It is the manipulation the soft tissues of the body with the hands for therapeutic, healing, relaxing and pleasurable effects. It is the loving touch of the heart expressed through the hands. It is not physiotherapy or any practice of manipulation of the skeletal structure. In professional settings massage involves the client being treated while lying on a massage table, or lying on a mat on the floor. The massage subject may be fully or partly unclothed. Parts of the body may be covered with towels or sheets. It involves the use of light oils.

THE BENEFITS

Massage Therapy helps relaxation, releasing stress and tension in our bodies. Too much unresolved stress in our lives can cause constant muscular tension. This tension or tightness reduces the flow of blood and oxygen to the muscles and organs and also restricts nerve & lymph supply. Tension creates a tendency for a build up of toxins in the body, and reduces the flow of the more subtle energy or life force (Prana or Chi). Tension can lead to symptomatic feelings of fatigue, heaviness, aches and pains, tightness of muscles and stiffness. Muscular stress can increase the likelihood of strains and injuries. Muscular stress also distorts the skeletal structure which further compounds existing problems and creates new ones.

The following are some of the beneficial results that you can receive from massage treatments:

Improve circulation, increase blood circulation and the flow of tissue fluid (lymph)
Improve lymphatic drainage
Help breathing, stimulate breathing, assist the flow of nutrients & oxygen to tissues
Lower the heart and pulse rate
Detoxify the body systems, hasten excretion or waste products
Assist weight loss
Nourish the skin (with the right oils, promote nourishment, repair and renewal of body cells
Assist in removal of deposits of tissue
Stimulate activity in skin and its glands
Improve and induce muscle tone
Soothe and relax nerves
Relieve stress
Release emotional tension
Relieve pain in certain conditions
Relax mind and body deeply
Give pleasure
Create a feeling of well-being

Massage Therapy is a safe and effective treatment which benefit people of all ages and conditions.

AN INSIGHT INTO HISTORY

Professional therapeutic massage is an age-old healing art, which can alleviate physical, mental and emotional ailments. The practice dates to the Chinese in 3000 BC. Other references in the bible refer to anointing the body with oil. In 460 BC Hippocrates, who is considered a father of medicine, prescribed it as a beneficial treatment for his patients. In one form or another, it developed in all the nations of the old World. Hippocrates said that all physicians should have experience of the techniques of rubbing. It is recognised that rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose and loosen a joint that is too rigid. Furthermore, rubbing can make the flesh and cause parts to waste, it is these latter beliefs that are so important for those concerned with figure improvement. The development of Swedish massage is credited to Per Henrik Ling in the early 1800s. However, the term "Swedish" massage is not really known in the country of Sweden, where it is called "classic massage". In 1813, the Royal Central Institute was established in Stockholm, Sweden, and here the known massage movements were studied scientifically and systematised. This was the most important single development in the field in modern times and it is because of this that remedial massage is often called "Swedish".

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