Massage Philosophy

The practice of massage can take the form of a physical meditation:  just as a calming mind pulls one’s body into calmness along with it.  So too, does calming the body, carry the mind along to a more meditative and peaceful state.   

Perhaps there is no actual distinction between mind and body, those categories having been established by science to more easily understand different aspects of the same entity. Perhaps the entire body is suffused with mind, and the mind is infused into the body tissues.   

"You never touch a person just physically" is one of the first things our teachers said, “there are always mental, emotional or spiritual aspects affected.” An awareness, noticing or focus on these aspects will change  their effects, says quantum physics.  Although massage therapy confines itself to the physical aspect, clients may notice effects in other areas of their being.  Music and sounds, calming aromas, stones, heat, wind, light touch and energies are some additional modes that can be included in sessions.

From AMTA Florida Journal (Summer 2008 #46, pg. 18-19):
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"Massage has survived and continues to evolve because it is the most fundamental means of giving care, affection and aid between human beings.  Its healing qualities differ from those of other modalities because massage confers its benefits through the character and healing intention of those who give and receive it.  The true value of massage comes from the intrinsic, inherent need of humans to have contact with one another.

The history of massage is not something you can easily learn about from other texts, it has been largely obscured from the annals of medicine, sports, nursing, midwifery, barbering, shamanism, anthropology, archaeology and other specialized areas of study.  Finding evidence of massage in human history has been and continues to be the challenge.

Perhaps most important, is that the history, study and practice of massage is not all about technique.  Its past, unraveling its entanglement with other human activities and doing massage clearly reveals that the application of caring human touch is an inherently innate behavior for giving and receiving love, which all humankind want and need.  The real purpose of giving massage is to foster more depth of feeling for one another in order to bring out the love that often lies buried beneath the pain of everyday suffering."

--Robert Noah Calvert, author of The History of Massage: An Illustrated Survey from Around the World (Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT, 2002)