The more things change, the more they stay the same. For thousands of years, humans have enjoyed the soothing and relaxing benefits of massages, such as a hot stones massage. While knowing the lengthy history of massages will not improve today’s massages per se, they provide us with a better appreciation for them. Here is the history of massage in various Asian regions:

1. China

The Chinese created the first written accounts of massage therapy at around 2700 BC. Contributors to the development of massage in China included:

• Buddhists

• laymen

• martial art experts

• physicians of native Chinese medicine

• Taoists

At the core of Chinese massage techniques is the belief that when the body’s meridians or pathways become imbalanced, the results are sickness and disease. The Chinese believed that through measures such as massage, the body’s “Qi” (Chi) would flow more naturally, thus reestablishing balance in the patient’s body.

2. Egypt

Egypt contains some of the world’s first written records about massages. These included paintings on tombs, which show “therapists” using a kneading stroke on massage “patients.” Additionally, Egyptians invented reflexology in roughly 2500 BC. According to this method, the therapist applies pressure to particular points on the patient’s hands and feet. As a result, various regions in the body experience positive changes.

3. India

Massages have existed in India since at least 3000 BC. In fact, they could have begun there even earlier than then! The traditional belief is that deities created massage, while an oral tradition allowed the procedure to survive throughout many generations. In India, massage was a part of Ayurveda, the nation’s system of holistic medicine. Indians developed massage through the processes of research, experiments, and meditation.

Ayurveda texts explain that when we fail to live in balance with our environments, the results are sicknesses and diseases. When sick and diseased people create harmony with the world surrounding them, then the result is a renewed balance of their physical and mental health. Consequently, the body would start naturally to heal!

4. Japan

Therapists first began performing massages, at roughly 1000 BC. Japanese monks had traveled to China, in order to study Buddhism. While there, the Japanese monks watched people use traditional techniques of Chinese medicine. That included the practice of massage as therapy. The Japanese would make adjustments to the Chinese massage methods, creating a unique Japanese massage style, which became “anma.” Within time, this massage style transformed into “Shiatsu.”

In Shiatsu, the therapist’s objective is to increase the patient’s level of energy. In turn, the organs’ operation becomes stronger and uniform, thus helping to prevent sickness. A therapist balances the energy of the patient, by pinpointing various pressure points. The ultimate goal is to balance the patient’s physical and emotional health.

Various Asian regions have been instrumental in developing modern massage techniques. The aforementioned areas have each contributed to modifying and improving how therapists conduct massages, such as hot stone massages. The result has been massage techniques that are varied, yet effective. It is a whole new world of massage!

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