A Brief History of Massage Therapy
Massage is considered to be among the oldest of all treatments used by man. Chinese records dating back 3,000
years documented its use. The ancient Hindus, Persians, and Egyptians used forms of massage for home ailments, and Hippocrates
wrote papers recommending the use of rubbing and friction for joint and circulatory problems. Today, massage is an accepted
part of many physical rehabilitation programs and has proven beneficial to many chronic conditions such as low back pain,
arthritis, and bursitis. Massage helps relieve the stress and tension of everyday living.
What is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered
by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to
be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are
more capable of being happy and healthy.
The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which
is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."
What is Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy can be defined as the art and science of utilizing naturally extracted aromatic essences from
plants to balance, harmonize and promote the health of body, mind and spirit. It is an art and science which seeks to
explore the physiological, psychological and spiritual realm of the individual's response to aromatic extracts as well as
to observe and enhance the individual's innate healing process. As a holistic medicine, Aromatherapy is both a preventative
approach as well as an active treatment during acute and chronic stages of illness or 'dis'-ease.
It is a natural, non-invasive treatment system designed to affect the whole person not just the symptom
or disease and to assist the body's natural ability to balance, regulate, heal and maintain itself by the correct use of essential
oils.