Massage is one of the oldest healing arts: some Chinese records date its use back 3,000 years; the ancient Hindus, Persians and Egyptians applied forms of massage for many ailments; and Hippocrates wrote papers recommending the use of rubbing and friction for joint and circulatory problems. Today, the benefits of massage are varied and far-reaching. As an accepted part of many physical rehabilitation programs, massage therapy has also proven beneficial for many chronic conditions, including low back pain, arthritis, bursitis, fatigue, high blood pressure, diabetes, immunity suppression, infertility, smoking cessation, depression, and more. And, as many millions will attest, massage also helps relieve the stress and tension of everyday living that can lead to disease and illness.

Energy healing is often discussed as a new, somewhat unexplainable therapy but energy work is an effective bodywork that is as ancient as healing itself. The body is, after all, bioenergetic and seeks to maintain balance. Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, called the body's natural capacity to heal itself -- the healing power of nature. We are not separate from nature; in fact, we are intrinsically a part of the energetic web of all life and all things. Modern science is slowly catching up with this basic understanding, historically common to cultures the world over.

Almost all cultures share a fundamental belief that life is more than just physical processes in a body; life is a unity of the physical, mental and spiritual, and is infused with a special energy or force that gives it vitality. Energy healing, or energy work, seeks to restore, promote, and maintain health and wellness to all those elements by influencing and supporting the body's bioenergies. These energies are variously referred to as qi (pronounced "chee"), prana, vital force, life force, mana and more. When disease hits, it's understood as a disruption or distortion of these energies.