What Research Says About the Benefits of Massage
For thousands of years, touch has been used as a therapeutic tool. Why, then, do we need to conduct research to demonstrate that it works?
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Article Archive
Should You Tip?
What do therapists expect? What should you do?
The act of tipping is a fascinating phenomenon. More and more professions appreciate and even encourage tips. What about massage therapy?
Perfect Your Massage Experience
Massage is a highly personal service, because each client’s needs are unique. What one person loves, the next may not. Knowing what to ask prior to booking, being prepared for your appointment, and communicating with your therapist during the session improves the chances that you’ll be happy with the massage you receive.
What to Expect During a Massage or Bodywork Session
Many people have questions about receiving their first massage. Here are answers to some typical questions and concerns about your first massage or bodywork session.
Flower Essences
Bouquets of Emotional and Life Path Support
The harmonizing and healing properties of flowers have been acknowledged and utilized throughout history. The ancient Egyptians as well as the Australian Aboriginals made use of flowers to heal the emotions. In the 16th century, Paracelsus described collecting dew from flowering plants, diluting it and using this essence to treat various disorders. Now, in the West, flower remedies have been used with great success for more than 65 years thanks to Dr. Edward Bach’s rediscovery and formulation of them.
Cultivating Wellness
How Does Your Garden Grow?
When I go into my garden with a spade, and dig a bed, I feel such an exhilaration and health, that I discover I have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what I should have done with my own hands. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1849
It’s difficult to find a gardener who doesn’t agree with Emerson. The reward, avid gardeners say, of cultivating the earth is nothing short of sublime. So what exactly is going on in the backyard plot that has captivated more than 85 million Americans? Well, in a word, healing.
Mind, Body and Spirit
The Spiritual Consciousness of Massage and Bodywork
In massage and bodywork, there is an elephant on your tables and chairs, in your spa rooms, and, in fact, everywhere you take the profession. Not the trunk and peanuts kind. No, this animal is metaphorical in nature, yet an animal, nonetheless. Strangely paradoxical, this elephant is the backbone of many modalities and to many of our lives, yet is often avoided in the name of privacy, sacredness, and because we just don’t know how to talk about it. The subject of which I speak is none other than spirituality.
Eating Disorders Explored
Ask a Therapist
Q. My therapist told me that massage and bodywork can be helpful for eating disorders. How can this be?
A. The truth is, millions of American men and women suffer from some sort of eating disorder. Bodywork, however, can help lessen the chasm between body and mind that helps “feed” these disorders. According to author Merrill DeVito, who went on her first diet in the fifth grade, the self-loathing that accompanies eating disorders gets trapped in the entire body, but bodywork helps release it.
Insurance Reimbursement
Ask a Therapist
Q. Is there any way for me to get my massage expenditures reimbursed by insurance?
To Tip or Not to Tip?
Ask a Therapist
Q. Being fairly new to massage, I’m always unsure about whether to tip or not? Is there some sort of tipping protocol like in dining, or is tipping my massage therapist like tipping my doctor?