'Early morning effleurage with the palm of the hand, after a night's sleep when the blood is rested and the temper more relaxed, protects against cold, keeps the organs supple and prevents many minor ailments' the Kong-Fu 2698 BC
The history......
The word 'massage' is French and is believed to be of arabic origin, from the word 'mass' or 'mas'h', meaning to press gently.
Massage has been around in one form or another for the last 5000 years, as documented in ancient Chinese writings. Similarly it was popular with the Hindus, the Japanese and the Egyptians. There are many examples throughout history that massage has been used to help medicinally and also for pleasure. In Greece, Hipprocates wrote in year 380 BC 'A physician must be experienced in many things but assuredly also rubbing.... rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose and loosen a joint that is too tight..'. In the 2nd century AD in Rome, a famous physician named Galen was an advocate of massage to treat diseases and injuries and wrote that 'massage eliminates the waste products of nutrition and the poisons of fatigue'. the Romans used massage as a substitute to strenuous exercise and to relieve their symptoms of excessive drinking.
Today's typical Swedish and Holistic massage was created by a Swede in the early 19th centruary by a man named Henreich Ling. He developed a scientific system of massage and exercise based on physiology. It was in 1899 that Sir William Bennett introduced massage in to the hospital setting by inaugrating a Massage Department into St Georges' Hospital, in Tooting, London.
How it works and the benefits...
There are different techniques used such as effleurage, petrissage, tapotement, hacking, cupping and kneading. By massaging the muscles, waste by-products and toxins are broken down and re-enter the blood and lymphatic systems in the body.
The toxins are then filtered through the kidneys and eliminated via the body's natural processes. The act of massage brings healthy blood to the superficial tissues thereby supplying them with the nutrients and oxygen they need.
Massage can help with circulation, muscle fatigue and weakness, joint mobility, water retention, stress relief, digestive complaints, hormonal disorders, PMT and much more...
