Massage therapy is the leading form of bodywork in the United States. Massage therapists rub the human body to feel for muscle knots, energy blockages, stiffness, rigidity, and for a sense of the patient's overall health. Not only does a good massage relieve many symptoms and conditions, it has been shown to improve a person's quality of life (several studies are currently being conducted looking into this same phenomenon). Massage involves stroking, kneading, and pressing the soft tissues of the body in order to induce a state of total relaxation.

The word massage is an Arabic word meaning stroke. This is exactly what the massage therapist does: she strokes up and down the body with varying intensity and force to correct any inadequacies in an individual's musculature and nervous system. The healing powers of touch have been recognized for years; massage was first mentioned 3,000 years ago in Chinese writings. The tomb of Ankh-mahor, dating back to 2200 B.C., depicts an Egyptian priest giving a man a foot massage. Moreover, Hippocrates, a Greek physician extolled by many as the "father of modern medicine," was a fourth century proponent of massage. Pliny, the renowned Roman naturalist, was regularly rubbed to relieve his asthma. In addition, Julius Caesar, who suffered from epilepsy, was pinched all over daily to ease his neuralgia and headaches.

To massage therapists, physical touch is the one gift of healing that humans possess. According to research studies, this physical touch is much more than skin deep. There are over five million touch receptors in the skin-3,000 in a single fingertip-each sending a message through the spiinal cord to the b rain. When a massage therapist touches the skin of a patient, these signals are activated and are sent straight to the brain in a split second. The advantageous signals produced by therapeutic physical massage studies show reduce heart rate, lower blood pressure, and cause the brain to release endorphins, the brain's natural opiate-like substances that promote stress reduction.

One interesting form of massage therapy is circulatory massage. Circulatory massage is a massage that moves blood and lymph through the tissues. It is performed by kneading and stroking (petrissage and effleurage) the muscles at medium to deep pressures. Other forms of bodwork similar to massage are shiatsu, rolfing, reflexology, and reiki. American massage therapy, or holistic or intuitive massage, must be distinguished from Swedish massage because they are different forms of bodywork. Holistic massage treats the body as a whole, rather than just concentrating on physical conditions, and its movements are generally slower and more meditative.

Method:

A caring, well performed massage can do wonder for an individual's strenghth and vitality; this kind of massage penetrates right to the depth of a person's being, soul, and vital force (or energy center). A massage therapist uses a systematic pattern to massage a person's body. The therapist generally begins by massagine the back of the body, working down from the head to the feet. Then he or she turns the person over and massages the front of the body, once again working down from the top. This systematic pattern is not entirely systematic and ritualized because the therapist often changes his or her plan of attack dependent on the look and feel of the person being massaged. Not everyone can be massaged in the same way and feel the same benefits, because not everyone has the same energy structure and mental outlook. Also, the time of day that a person has a massage may be a factor in his or her ability to feel the full effects of the massage. In short, a therapeutic massage is situational and depends on the person and what is happening in the person's life.

Sometimes prior to the massage itself the patient may be involved in what is called centering. Centering is a meditative practice which is a way of focusing one's energy so that it can be channeled more effectively and more easily into whatever activity is desired. Centering means focusing on the hara, the centre of energy in the abdomen. This is why abdominal breathing is so important in massage therapy, because the center of one's energy is located in the abdominal cavity. Deep breathing prior to the massage releases pent-up tension and can help to reduce myofascial inertia (which commonly requires a soft-tissue manipulation and sometimes patient self-care and follow-up exercises). Neck rolling annd neck strengthening are other pre-massage exercises that may or may not be a part of the therapist's massage regiment. In addition to centering and other pre-message rituals, aromatherapy and the application of essential oils is a very important part of the massage process. The major function of the oils is to provide a suitable lubricant so that the massage therapist can slide his or her hands smoothly on the individual's body without friction (friction is an undesired energy drainer).

There are many basic strokes the massage therapist has at her disposal to choose from. There are gliding strokes (the long stroke, feathering, broad circling) medium-depth strokes (kneading, pulling, wringing), deep tissue strokes (heel of hand pressure, thumb-rolling, fingertip pressure), percussion (hacking, pummelling, cupping, plucking).

There is more to massage therapy than just rubbing and stroking. The concept of energy maintenance is stressed in massage therapy. Massage therapists feel around the body for weaknesses in body's seven chakras (energies), and attempt to enhance a person's energetic capabilities. The feeling that a massage therapist gets about the person's energy when he or she massages a person's body is an indescribable, intuitive one. The therapist can tell how the person is feeling mentally and physically, and often what is going on in his or her life just from administering a deep massage on a soft massage table.

Common cures:

Note: Consistent massages throughout a one's lifespan have been clinically proven to increase a person's longevity (duration and quality of life)

Application:

Massage therapy is a holistic field of therapy which utilizes many other disciplines of alternative medicine. Aromatherapy, energy medicine (chakra therapy), therapeutic touch, and meditation are alternative therapies that massage therapists frequently take ideas, practices, and theories from. Magnetic unruffling, reflexology, ultrasound (a practice in which the practitioner pinches his or her thumb and two fingers together, then moves his or her hand over the client's body to release tendon, joint and ligament pain), mind clearing, flower essences therapy, and other headache techniques are other alternative therapies that massage uses.

Modern medicine's perspective:

The art of massage is experiencing tremendous growth and wide acceptance in the U.S. More future massage practitioners are entering the field of massage than any other alternative medicine therapy. An estimated 85,000 practitioners of massage will provide 25 million Americans with 60 million therapeutic massages in 1998. Massage is now being taught and studied at major universities such as Harvard, Duke, and the University of Miami. Health maintenance organizations and insurance companies such as Blue Cross Blue Shield are recognizing massage therapy as a legitimate health practice; patients of massage therapy are now receiving financial benefits for their treatment. But most important of all, more and more people with diverse medical histories are receiving massage, and the massage therapy clientele is expanding to include many conventional medicine professionals.

The Book of Massage: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Eastern and Western Techniques; by Lucinda Lidell with Sara Thomas, Carola Beresford Cooke, and Anthony Porter; photography by Fausto Dorelli; A Gaia Original; Published by Simon & Schuster Inc.; New York, New York, copyright 1984.

Massage Magazine; May/June 1998; "Healing Touch Benefits Patients Energy Therapy Employed at Health Facilities"

Massage & Bodywork; Spring 1998; "Cosmetic Surgery and the Healing Power of Massage"

Massage Therapy Journal; Summer 1998; Vol. 37, No. 2; "Contraindications to Massage Therapy"

Massage & Bodywork; Summer 1998; "Touching the Soul: Using Flower Essences for Massage Therapy Part 2"

Massage Therapy Institute 1403 Beltline Road SW, Suite I, Decatur, AL 35603 Tel: 205/306-0444 White River School of Massage 48 Colt Square, Fayetteville, AR 72703 Tel: 501/521-2550; Website: http://www.avey.com/wrs

San Francisco School of Massage Training Professional Bodyworkers for 25 years 1327 Chestnut, Suites A & B San Francisco, CA 94123 Tel: 415/474-4600; Fax: 415/474-4601 School of Shiatsu & Massage Harbin Hot Springs P.O. Box 889, Middletown, CA 95461 Tel: 707/987-3801

World School of Massage and Advanced Healing Arts 401 32nd Avenue San Francisco, CA 94121 Tel: 415/221-2533; Fax: 415/221-0430 E-Mail: worldschl@aol.com Kalamazoo Center for the Healing Arts School of Massage & Bodywork 3715 West Main, Kalamazoo, MI 49006-2842 Tel: 616/373-0910; E-mail: KCHAnds@iserv.com

Healing Hands Institute for Massage Therapy 41 Bergenline Avenue, Westwood, NJ 07675 Tel: 201/722-0099; Fax: 201/722-0690 Website: http://www.lightlink.com/massage/

Healing Hands E-Mail: HHI@aol.com New Mexico School of Natural Therapeutics 202 Morningside, SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 Tel: 800/654-1675 or 505/268-0818 Website: http://www.nmsnt.org/nathealth E-Mail: jpendry@swcp.com

Barbara Brennan School of Healing (BBSH) P.O. Box 2005, East Hampton, NY 11937 Tel: 516/329-0951; Fax: 516/324-9745 Website: http://www.barbarabrennan.com E-Mail: bbshoffice@barbarabrennan.com