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Touch is often referred to as the "mother of all senses", it is the first sense to develop in the embryo and the last of our senses to die. Touch is our first language, it enables us to learn about our surroundings and to experience others and ourselves. Research shows that an infant that is never touched would soon die.

Touch is based on nerve receptors in the skin that send electrical messages through the central nervous system to the brain. Being touched sends pleasing messages to the brain and lets the body know it can relax, rebalance and heal.

Obviously touch can also be harmful and inappropriate and one must be careful not to cross the line as it will send completely the wrong messages to the brain and the body will tense up and the ‘fight or flight’ reflex will be ignited and the massage will be rendered useless.

Massage is one of the oldest treatments of applying hand to body pressure over the postural muscles of the body to release knots, tightness, tension and stress in muscle fibres. Massage has long been recognised for its beneficial properties. Nowadays there are many different types of massage used to treat a variety of muscular and soft tissue disorders, or simply to reduce stress and tension and so promote calm and relaxation.

During each massage I will be using several massage movement, these may include:

     Effleurage (gliding) - is the main stroke to warm up the muscles and to prepare the soft tissue for deeper treatment. This free-flowing
     continuous movement is done with the flat palm of one or both hands with steady pressure.

     Fanning - is an effleurage motion used on the back, chest, legs and arms to stretch and manipulate tension away from the muscles.

     Feathering - is an extremely light stroke and is barely perceivable by the person receiving the massage, yet has a profoundly soothing effect.

     Petrissage (kneading) - specific muscle groups are worked where tissue is easily grasped, and can be performed superficially or deep.
     Deep petrissage is helpful in promoting circulation and to loosen muscle tightness.

     Friction and pressure - is mostly used around joints and helps to increase circulation and the masseur's fingers do not slide over the skin and
     in sports massage it is often referred to as cross-fiber stroking.

     Vibrating - using vibrating strokes uses the muscles of the masseur and can take the form of striking the body (especially bony areas) lightly
     with the fingertips or jostling the muscles (good for sore muscles) where the masseur places his/her hands on the person's body and shaking
     his/her hands while moving the hand along the muscle.

     Tapotement (percussion) - these alternate drumming movements are normally performed on broad areas of the body, such as the back and
     other large muscles.

     Pummeling - while forming a loose fist strike the body with the outer edge of the hand.

     Hacking - rapid chopping motions are performed with the outer edge of the hand, and the fingers slightly separated so as not to do a karate
     chop and is used mostly on the fleshy areas like upper shoulders or legs.

     Cupping - the hands are cupped and the body is struck with the fingertips and the heels of the palms.

Massage can put you into a deep sense of relaxation, reduce stress and anxiety, relief muscle tension and stiffness, improve circulation of both blood and lymph, give you greater joint flexibility and range of motion, help reduce blood pressure, relief headaches, help improve posture, nourish your skin, help strengthen your immune system, increases awareness of the mind-body connection, thus creating a sense of well being, help increase athletic performance and reduce the chance of sports related muscle, tendon and ligament injuries.