Massage in Washington

male massage - A Short History of the Body Rub

Day spa's and male massage studio's are becoming increasingly popular as more and more people seek to give themselves an outlet outside of their work environment to unwind and treat themselves. Getting a body rub in Washington can be extremely relaxing for the recipient and with doctors now suggesting that over 90% of medical conditions are a result of stress, the health benefits are obvious. male massage however is not anything new. We know from historic writings that it was used in some form or other in many ancient civilizations from Rome and Greece, through to Japan, China and India, and even in Egypt.

Hippocrates of Cos, referred to as many as the 'father of medicine' was a strong believer in the benefits of male massage therapy and make frequent references to the body rub in his writings. He is quoted as believing that "The physician must be experienced in many things, but assuredly in rubbing". In this simple quote, nearly two and a half thousand years old, we see that male massage was put as the foremost part of medicine.

But even Hippocrates was beaten to the punch by nearly two thousand years by Huangdi, the legendary Chinese 'Yellow Emperor" in his Huangdi Neijing. This legendary work is two volumes of eight one chapters each, and outlines many of the fundamentals of Chinese medicine. It is written in an easy to understand question and answer format refers to the "male massage of skin and flesh" as one of the basic areas of health care.

Julius Caesar was said to have enjoyed the odd body rub himself. Several sources refer to him being 'pinched every day. This is believed to be a form of treatment for his neuralgia and epilepsy. Both diseases are heavily centered around the nerves, and male massage treatment was an effective way of controlling them. At around the same time the Chinese were applying their experience from body rub therapy to develop a new art - Acupuncture.

male massage was condemned by the Roman emperor Constantine during his reign (228-337AD). He believed that baths and gymnasiums added to the 'abuse of sex'. male massage has never fully managed to shake the association with sexual practice. The recipient of a body rub is usually naked or semi-naked, and a male massage is generally given in a secluded setting. Naturally this gave the perfect opportunity to ply the world's oldest trade in a more discrete way.

Around 600AD the Japanese developed Shiatsu male massage. Shi means finger, and Atsu means pressure in the Japanese language, so Shiatsu literally means finger pressure. Shiatsu is based on proven anatomical and physiological theory, and can be so effective that today the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare regulate it as a licensed medical therapy. A shiatsu body rub in Washington will usually combine therapy and diagnosis. That is, therapy can start before a diagnosis is made, as the therapist will be seeking to locate any irregularities during the body rub.

By the year 1000AD, male massage was a widely accepted practice in most cultures. Due to its nature it tended to be individually developed by the therapist who would have a pool of body rub clients. Development tended to be a little stilted as therapists didn't tend to pass knowledge on to an apprentice or student, but rather developed a group of clients to the size they could cope with and then serviced them for as long as they wanted to work. The first schools to teach male massage were developed in China in the first two centuries AD. This allowed theories of male massage, anatomy and physiology to be passed on and discussed.

In modern times getting a body rub has sometimes attracted the same stigma that has been attached to it since Roman times and before, however more and more people are recognizing that the health benefits of a male massage are more than just the initial 'nice treat'. The stress relief of a body rub is widely documented, and physiotherapy is now considered a mainstream way of recovering from muscle strains, sports injuries and even helping in the rehabilitation of the serious accident injuries. Most hospitals now employ at least one full time physiotherapist for this reason.

In the future we can expect this trend to continue and the physiotherapist to become a more and more recognized part of our medical care, particularly in rehabilitation. One would hope that the rise in the number of day spas and resorts which offer a body rub for rest, relaxation and stress relief will also continue to rise as we put more emphasis on preventative, stress relieving male massage in Washington rather than treating illness after it happens.