Massage is an excellent form of passive exercise.
The word is derived from the Greek word 'massier' which means to knead. It involves the scientific manipulation of the soft tissues of the body. If correctly done on a bare body, it can be highly stimulating and invigorating. As far back as 400 B.C., the great Hippocrates, the father of medicine, employed massage and manipulation in healing his patients.
Since then it has been used as a mode of treatment for many ailments and it has restored many a sufferer to health and vigour.
What are the benefits of massage?
1. The general massage, dealing with all parts of the body, is highly beneficial in many ways.
2. It tones up the nervous system, influences respiration and quickens the elimination of poisons and waste material from the body through the various eliminative organs such as the lungs, skin, kidneys and bowels. It also boosts blood circulation and metabolic processes.
3. A massage removes facial wrinkles, helps to fill out hollow cheeks and neck and eases stiffness, sore muscles and numbness.