A Brief History of Massage

Massage has been around for many years in various forms.

Records suggest that the Chinese have used it from as early as 3000BC. Throughout history many cultures have incorporated massage in everyday life as a means of staying healthy.

In the West, massage is largely based on a series of strokes and movements, developed in the 1800’s by Swede Henrick Ling, and is commonly referred to as Swedish massage because of its association to him.

Holistic massage incorporates these movements but goes beyond addressing just the physical symptoms of a problem.

Holistic Massage

The name is derived from the Greek “Holos” meaning “whole” and the holistic approach takes into account not only a person’s physical condition, but also the other factors affecting a person’s wellbeing e.g. psychology, nutrition and the environment and the effect these have on the body as a whole.

This is referred to as “integral biology” and recognises that everything we do in life affects our bodies in both physical and psychological ways.

A person’s integral biology can be influenced in either positive or negative ways by factors such as diet, level of exercise, sleep pattern and stress levels.

An holistic approach treats each person individually in the context of the environment in which they exist. The aim is to help the individual to achieve a natural balance or equilibrium, referred to as “homeostasis”.

In the process of holistic massage the therapist and client are hoping to address the impact of stress on the individual’s wellbeing and to alleviate the effects.

What is Stress?

There are two types of stress – positive and negative.

Some stress is necessary in order to perform acts to the best of one’s ability, e.g. athletes and actors, in that it aids concentration and focus which is a positive effect.

Alternatively stress can give rise to negative effects that can appear as lack of concentration and panic attacks.

Some stress in the short-term can actually be life-saving e.g. in response to danger, but long-term stress can have serious consequences for health. It has been estimated that stress causes approximately 75% of diseases.

Stress in the long-term can be seen as any factor that is likely to have a damaging effect on the individual’s physical and mental wellbeing.

It is not possible to “cure” stress; especially whilst certain factors continue to exist. What is possible, however, is managing the effects of the stress, so that the mind and body is better able to cope.

Massage is an important tool in managing stress in that it can induce a state of relaxation and help release the pent-up tension, which is the body’s response to stress. Having experienced this relaxed state, the individual is then more aware of how tension feels and this can aid in its release.