Ancient Greece

The history of therapeutic massage in Western civilization goes back to the roots of Western medicine in ancient Greece. In the 5th century BC in Greece, Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, said, "A physician must be experienced in many things but assuredly also in rubbing." He said that massage - along with fresh air, good food, baths, music, rest, and visits to friends - is key to treating disease.

Aesculapius also promoted massage, in conjunction with herbs, diet, relaxation, and hydrotherapy. Aesculapius was another 5th century BC healer in Greece, and has proven pivotal in the development of Western medicine. The symbol of modern Western medicine can be depicted with the symbol of Aesculapius: two serpents coiled around a staff. This image is related to the ancient yogic concept of kundalini, the energy coiled at the base of the spine that rises upward through the body with meditation and yogic practice, visualized as a serpent.

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Sweden's Henrik Ling (1776-1839) is considered the father of modern Western massage. Ling said, "We ought not to consider the organs of the body as the lifeless forms of a mechanical mass, but as the living, active instruments of the soul." This was said during the Industrial Revolution, a time when humans were discovering the incredible power and versatility of engine-driven machines, like the locomotive train and manufacturing equipment.

However, successful advances in such equipment provided much challenge in convincing people at the time of any connection between mind, body and soul. The concept of a human body working as a marvelously complex machine, fueled by food instead of coal had begun to take shape shortly after the days of Hippocrates and Aesculapius, although a vast majority of Western thinking were still opposed to such ideologies.

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Nevertheless, many people were intrigued by the Ling approach to massage and gymnastics, engrained in his understanding of Western physiology. Commonly known as Swedish Massage, Ling's regimen spread from Sweden throughout most of the 19th century into the European continent and America. His approach was based on what he had learnt about the ancient healing modalities of China, Rome, Greece, and Egypt.

In China, the history of massage spans most of China's history. One of the early documents from China, dating back as far as 1400 BC discusses massage, acupuncture, and moxa (the burning of herbs for therapeutic purposes). Traditional Chinese Medicine, a holistic system of healing modalities including dietary therapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and exercise, have always included massage, which since 800 CE have been known as TuiNa (or 'push and grasp').

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Today, TuiNa is increasingly popular in the West, as people turn to holistic therapies to aid with muscular ailments, relieve stress or provide pleasure and relaxation. Through much of the 20th century, massage in the West was mainly seen as a luxury - for feeling pampered and relaxed. As natural healing and holistic approaches caught on over the latter half of the twentieth century, more and more people realized how much could be accomplished with the healing touch.

Today, it is widely recognized that holistic massage has something to offer just about everyone, from infants to the elderly, from athletes maximizing their performance or nursing hurt muscles back to health to those in hospice care who benefit from pain relief and increased range of movement that massage can bring. Children, pregnant women, manual laborers, office workers - indeed everyone regardless of age or physical condition - can benefit from massage. As this realization has reached the masses, the career potential for massage therapists has exploded, and opportunities to practice massage continue to grow.

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