Massage
A therapeutic massage using
essential oils which combines the sense of smell with the healing
value of touch. The beneficial properties of the oils used promote good health,
relaxation and emotional well being and are also used for treatment of menopausal
symptoms and common ailments.
Therapeutic Massage (Swedish)
This massage can be quite
gentle to induce relaxation or a deep tissue massage to remove physical tension
in the muscles.
Other benefits include:
- Increased circulation
- Softens and breaks down fatty tissue
- Improves and moistens the texture of the skin
- Induces relaxation
- Improves skin colour
- Promotes a sense of well being
Hydrotherm Massage
This treatment is carried
out on a waterbed, which is maintained at body temperature. It
provides comfort for those suffering with chronic back problems and for pregnant
women who find it difficult to lie for long periods. The treatment is carried
out using essential oils.
The History Of Massage
Massage is the oldest known
healing art. It predates all orthodox medicine and all complementary therapies.
Massage is unique in both a healing technique and an instinctive means of expression
between humans and animals alike.
Recorded history shows
that the Orientals were using massage at least three thousand years before the
birth of Christ. The oldest existing medical text, the Nei Ching acknowledges
it as one of the four classical forms of medical treatments along with acupuncture,
moxibustion and herbalism. The medical literature of Egyptian, Persian and
Japanese physicians also makes many references to the benefits of massage.
To ancient Greek and Roman
physicians, massage was one of the chief means of relieving pain. Hippocrates,
the “father” of medicine, believed that all physicians should be trained in
massage, and in the early fifth century wrote, “the physician must be experienced
in many things but assuredly rubbing”. The Bible too, makes numerous references
to the healing power of ‘laying hands’.
In the sixteenth century
a French doctor, Ambroise Pare, brought massage to prominence and was
so successful that he became the physician to four French Kings; in England,
Mary Queen of Scots recovered from a grave illness with the help of massage.
In the East, massage has
always been part of a valued tradition that appreciates the inter–relatedness
of the mind, body and spirit. It is an integral part of family life as well
as a professional therapy. The Eastern approach to massage is more inward looking.
The idea is to restore the free flow of energy around the body, connecting the
inner body to the outer. The important aim is to achieve balance: the creation
of harmony through the balance of the opposing energies, yin and yang.
The Chinese use the terms
yin and yang to express their concept of the universe and the way in which things
relate to each other. They are complementary opposites, constantly changing
in a dynamic interplay but always in relation to the whole. Yin represents
the shady side of a slope and is associated with cold, dark, passive, inward
and downward qualities. Yang is the sunny side of the slope.
In the West the aim of
massage is to achieve balance by working on the physical structure of the body.
By the process of physical manipulation, muscle tissue in the body is lengthened
and bones are allowed to readjust themselves to their proper place and their
proper relation to each other. Conventional medicine continues to isolate physical
symptoms from the person as a whole.
The human potential and
personal growth movement of the 1960s and 70s saw that massage could be a powerful
agent for personal change. The attitude grew primarily out of a personal growth
centre in the USA – the Esalen Institute – which sought to apply massage in
a truly holistic and intuitive way. Massage was seen as a means of getting
in touch with repressed emotions and memories locked within the musculature
of the body.
Massage has a huge part
to play in generating harmony within individuals and, as individuals we automatically
extend this well–being to others and in so doing contribute to peace and happiness
on a global scale.
Massage works on physical,
mental and sometimes spirit levels. It restores balance and harmony to a troubled
mind and body, it leaves us with a fresh, optimistic viewpoint of life. It
is the ultimate antidote to the damaging effects of chronic tension and it prevents
stress from taking root in the first place. Chronic, long term stress inhibits
the natural re–balancing of the body. Massage intervenes, allowing the body
to carry out its own healing by regulating the actions of the automatic nervous
system.
Health Professionals are
now recognising that complementary therapy is a useful adjunct to conventional
medicine, particularly in patients suffering with certain types of terminal
illnesses, the elderly and in some cases in which conventional medicines have
not been effective.
As a Society, we are driven
to find fulfillment through possessing the right partner, house, job or car.
So often happiness becomes dependent on achieving something or someone. Our
culture is characterised by aggression, greed and manic competitiveness. In
such an environment we feel constantly under threat, life is a perpetual struggle
and we create a “dog–eat–dog” world. Massage can shift this entire dynamic,
and through loving touch encourage us to feel good about ourselves as we are.
Through massage we can be cared for and acknowledged without having to achieve
something as a condition. The better we feel about ourselves and our bodies
the less dependent we will be on material gain for such fundamental security.
We all use touch without
thinking of it as “massage”. Touch is an effective means of reduction of pain,
such as headache, and giving comfort. The phenomenal ability of touch helps
to redress the ravages of stress in the body. Massage has become the most popular
of complementary therapies. Massage involves contact with people and listening
caring and helping. One of the most valuable contribution massage can make to
our daily lives is the alleviation stress. Stress is a condition that can cause
physical or mental illness.
References:
- The Massage Manual – Fiona Harrold, Director of the London College of Massage.
- Massage – Ken Eyerman
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