The Healing Power of Touch

Touch is a primal need, as necessary for growth as food, clothing or shelter. The use of touch to relieve aching muscles, to give comfort or to express love is as old as human kind itself, and is something humans share with animals as an instinctive way of bonding and sharing.

Written records mentioning massage or rubbing as it was known in former times, dates back 5,000 years with the most ancient Chinese medical texts advocating stroking the limbs to

" protect against colds" keep the organs supple and prevent minor ailments, other references are found in the Ayurvedic Scriptures of India and in the Pyramids of ancient Egypt.

A trained Masseur/ Masseuse learns a variety of movements, or strokes, which are designed to relieve pain, ease tense and tights muscles, to increase circulation or benefit the body in other ways. Their strokes are applied to the superficial muscles but the effects also benefit the deeper layers of muscles and organs.

In the Middle Ages the church manipulation of the body as the work of the devil and many proto masseurs may have been burned at the stake as witches. Also in the 20th century, massage has often been assumed to be a front - not for the devil but for prostitution. Fortunately massage has regained respectability in recent years and now enjoys unprecedented popularity.

For sports people massage is the perfect adjunct to exercise, it helps people who participate in activities as diverse as running, football and ballet to keep physically, mentally and emotionally healthy. It improves their performance by keeping their muscles at the peak of their flexibility and strength and it reduces any unpleasant side - effects of heavy exercise, such as stiffness and muscle soreness and helps them recover from events more quickly than other athletes do.