Fiona Russell is training for the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon on 5 October. We have been following her progress every fortnight, and this week we have teamed up with the event’s sponsors to run a fantastic prize draw

LYING on the ground having my legs and back massaged, just five minutes before a half-marathon race last month might not have appeared the most auspicious of starts. But this impromptu treatment, carried out after a chance meeting with a sports massage therapist friend, proved the difference between experiencing a smooth-ish race, and embarking on a Radcliffe-esque run from hell. (more…)

Often times massages can seem like the ultimate splurge, but in the end it’s just as good for you as it feels.

Newsweek recently outlined a few things about massage that you may not have known, and here are five highlights: (more…)

By MARJIE GILLIAM
DAYTON, Ohio - In the past, relaxation was cited as the leading motivator for getting a massage, but increasingly Americans are looking to massage therapy for medical reasons and pain relief.

Statistics from a 2006 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics showed that 1 in 4 adults in this country say they have experienced a daylong bout of pain in the past month, and one in 10 say the pain lasted a full year or more. According to the report, joint pain, aching or stiffness, low-back pain, migraine and/or severe headache were the most common complaints, and the knee joint caused the most pain. Luckily, massage therapy has been shown to give considerable relief from many types of pain, and is well known for relieving stress and promoting relaxation. (more…)

Earlier this week, we told you about new national research that shows massage can be helpful to cancer patients.

That’s no news to one local group.

The Touchpointe Center’s been doing that kind of work for years, but therapists there want patients considering this kind of treatment to know that not just any kind of touch can heal. (more…)

One of the ultimate luxuries is a firm but relaxing massage with oil seeping generously into your body, even as the aromas of the essential oils lift your spirits, and relax and recharge you. We handpick some of the most relaxing massage oils that promise not just to rejuvenate the senses but also to relax them. (more…)

By Lisa Strandberg
For The Post-Crescent

Nothing beats a great massage. Working the kinks out of sore muscles can go far toward restoring your body and your mental state.

So can having your aura adjusted.

Energy work aims to do just that - to bring balance to body, mind and spirit through movement of a healer’s hands in an individual’s energy field. Used to address everything from stress to headaches to arthritis to fibromyalgia, Reiki (pronounced RAY-key) and healing touch, two forms of energy work, rely on a practitioner’s intention and intuition to channel universal energy just where a client needs it most, even if neither party knows exactly where that is. (more…)

By Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian McClatchy News Service

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps got a massage twice a day in Beijing. His teammate, Dara Torres, had two massage therapists on stand-by.

And a bunch of sedated rabbits in Ohio recently had massage performed on their legs after bouts of intense exercise.

Phelps, 23, made history by winning eight gold medals. Torres, 41, became the oldest swimmer to compete in an Olympic event and win a silver medal.

As for the rabbits? They might have proved scientifically what athletes and trainers have long believed: Massage really does help with muscle recovery.

(more…)

By Alicia Potter - CNN.com

They survive cold season without a sniffle. They fly in germ-packed airplanes unscathed. And they somehow avoid stomach bugs that decimate the office. Wish you could be one of these women who never get sick? Try one or — even better — all of these seven secrets, and you may join this club come flu season.

1. Get a massage

For the past three years, Mindy Hardwick, 38, of Lake Stevens, Washington, has dodged all the major bugs while volunteering at schools and a juvenile-detention center. Her secret weapon: a monthly massage. Hardwick even sailed through a move (selling her first house) without the post stress blahs. “It’s got to be the massage,” she says. “I’m convinced it’s like taking medicine.”

Most studies show that massage can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate — and lowering these is likely to cause your stress level to drop, one key to building immunity. Health.com: What kind of massage is best for you? (more…)

By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY
A new study from researchers in Utah finds that a warm touch - the non-sexual, supportive kind - tempers stress and blood pressure, adding to a growing body of research on how emotions affect health .

The study of 34 young married couples ages 20 to 39 by researchers at Brigham Young University in Provo and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City found that massage and other supportive and caring touch lower stress hormones and blood pressure, particularly among men, while also enhancing oxytocin, a hormone thought to calm and counter stress. The findings will be published in the Oct. 14 issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. (more…)

The Lake Norman Medical Spa & Rejuvenation Center at the Center for Advanced Medicine in Huntersville, NC offers 10 types of massage including Chakra Balancing.

Chakra balancing - At the central core of our body spin seven main wheel-like energy centers called chakras. Chakras have the ability to receive, assimilate and transmit energy. Each chakra is a vortex, spinning life-force energy into or out of the body. In fact, the word chakra is from the Sanskrit word meaning “wheel of light”.

To book your appointment, call 704-659-7575 or 704-895-WELL(9355).