MASSAGE THERAPY
Today, as it was in earlier times, Massage Therapy is once again becoming an integral component of good health, making it one of the fastest growing fields in the world. In the U.S. alone, for instance, between 24-million Americans get 60 million massages each year. Not surprisingly, this figure is climbing and for good reason.

Q. When did massage therapy originate?
A. Massage is one of the oldest of the ancient healing arts. In fact, the practice of rubbing and stroking various parts of the body has been with us since the beginning of recorded time.  As long ago as the 5th Century BCE, for example,  the 'Father of Medicine', Hippocrates, observed that long steady strokes

toward the heart relaxed his patients and helped speed up the healing process.One of the earliest direct references to massage comes from a document entitled 'The Universal Laws of Woman and Man', written anonymously around 300 BCE. According to the wise but unknown author, there are four key elements to achieving and maintaining optimum health: a nutritious diet, bathing, exercise, and massage.

Both the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar and the Roman writer Pliny the Elder received daily massages. Roman physicians, such as Galen, recommended that gladiators be "anointed with oil and rubbed until they are red," both before and after they fought in the Coliseum at Rome. Long before the time of the Roman Empire, however, we find references to massage in the writings of ancient Egypt, India, and China.

................................................................................................................

Q. What are the benefits of massage therapy?
A. Recent research has confirmed that massage not only reduces stress and its harmful effects on the body, it also facilitates immune system functions. It also improves the circulation of the blood and lymph systems, has a healing effect on the mind, heightens one's sense of well-being, stimulates the production of endorphins (the body's natural painkillers), calms the central nervous system, improves concentration, encourages more restful sleep, aids digestion, relaxes tense muscles, lifts depression, and lowers stress hormones.

................................................................................................................

Q. What does a one-hour massage therapy session cost?
A. Normally the cost of a one-hour massage therapy session is $90. However, as we are presently celebrating the anniversary of our being in business for over 25 years, we are offering it for $80.

.........................................................................................

REFLEXOLOGY          

Reflexology is the physical act of applying pressure to the feet and hands with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques without using oil or lotion. It is based on a system of zones and reflex areas that reflect an image of the body on the feet and hands with a premise that such work affects a physical change to the body. 

Q. When did reflexology originate?
A.  Around the world and throughout history reflexology has been rediscovered and reinstated as a health practice time and time again by people groups worldwide seeking to deal with health concerns.

Archeological evidence Egypt (2330 BCE), China (2704 BCE), and Japan (690 CE) points to ancient reflexology medical systems. In the West the concept of reflexology began to emerge in the 19th century, based on research into the nervous system and reflex. While no direct evidence of direct cross-fertilization from ancient times has been discovered, the practice of foot and hand work in a variety of cultures, belief systems, and historical periods speaks to reflexology for health as a universal bridging concept.

................................................................................................................

Q. How does reflexology work?
A. There are many theories but in our approach we look at the nervous system as the explanation of reflexology's working. Pressure sensors in the feet and hands are a part of the body's reflexive response that makes possible the "fight or flight" reaction to danger.

Feet ready to flee and hands ready to fight communicate with the body's internal organs to make possible either eventuality. The sudden adrenal surge that enables a person to lift a car is an example of this reaction. Reflexology taps into this reflex network, providing an exercise of pressure sensors and thus the internal organs to which they are inextricably tied.