Massage, as a method of relaxation and health care, has been used since before recorded time; however, during the 1960s, as pharmaceutical companies began to make over the concepts of relaxation and health care, the interest in receiving massage waned. Yet within the last 8 years, many people have turned away from using pharmaceuticals for every little thing, and have begun to search for the health benefits of massage.

Swedish massage is just one of many massage modalities, and compared to many eastern modalities, Swedish massage is relatively young having been created in the 1800s by Dr. Ling, a Swede who suffered from many physical ailements. He began to experiment on hiimself using a variety of massage techniques, and he eventually narrowed his list to five distinct techniques that appeared to ease the symptoms of his various.health problems.

Yet Dr. Ling's names for these techniques are not the names that survived; instead, a Dutch man, Dr. Metzger, discovered Dr. Ling's work, and he used primarily French words to name them. The five techniques used are:

• Effleurage, meaning long flowing strokes. These are typically the strokes that the massage therapist will use in the beginning of the massage in an effort to apply oil, creme, or lotion, and in order to get to know more about the client's body.
• Petrisage is a form of kneading, which massage therapists usually apply to larger muscle groups, such as the thighs, or the waist line. Petrisage helps muscles to relax and helps to release any toxins that might have built up over time, or due to over use.

• Tapotement is often applied at the end of massaging a particular area of the client's body. Using tapotement requires the massage therapist to rapidly but moderately strike the clients body with soft fists, the edges of their hands, or the palms of their hands. This techniques is typically used on the client's back, thighs, and feet.
• Friction--which is not really a French name, but is often used during a Swedish massage requires massage therapists to use the ends of their fingers, while pressing a bit deeper into the client's flesh, and moving in small or moderate-sized circles along a specific body part. Friction is often used on the abdominals along the ascending, transverse, and descending colons. This technique helps to free up fecal matter within the intestines.
• Vibration--also not really a French word, is used to rapidly vibrate muscles that are extremely tense, or knots within muscles that do not smooth out by using any of the other four techniques.

When clients receive a Swedish massage, they are most often led to a small private room that contains a massage table, which is covered with a fitted sheet, a flat sheet, and sometimes a blanket. There is also a face cradle attached to the table that is also covered. The lighting within the room is usually dimmed, and soothing music is often playing.

The massage therapist will ask clients what they are looking for during their massage; relaxation, easing of muscle tension, easing of muscle pain, emotional balancing, etc., and after this brief discussion, the massage therapist will leave the room to allow clients to undress and position themselves on the massage table and under the sheet. Clients will lie on the table either face up or down depending on what they would like worked on. In most cases, clients begin by lying face down.

Once clients are ready, the massage therapist will re-enter the room making certain clients are comfortable upon the table. Then the massage therapist will make physical contact with the client, usually beginning at the client's feet; this is called "grounding in." During this step, massage therapists are attempting to match their energy with their clients' energy.

Once massage therapists have grounded in, they will begin to professionally drape (using the top sheet to expose one body part at a time while leaving the rest of the body covered) the part of the body on which they will begin to massage. In most cases, massage therapists begin on clients' backs, pulling the top sheet down to a position just above the buttocks. The therapist will then apply lotion, oil or creme to that body part.

As the massage progresses, the therapist will move to other body parts; the right leg, then the left, the right arm, then the left, all the time checking in with the client to make certain that the pressure is right for the client, and to make sure that the client is comfortable with the massage itself. About half-way through the massage, the massage therapist will ask the client to turn over. At this point the massage therapist may massage the client's feet, abdominals, and/or their face. The abdominals are the least likely body part to be massaged.

Once the massage is complete, the massage therapist wil again make quiet contact with their clients, this is called "grounding out", and this part of the process allows the massage therapist to energetically disengage from their clients.

Typically a Swedish massage lasts 50 minutes, but it can last as long as 90 minutes. The benefits of a Swedish massage include, but are not limited to the following:

• Increased circulation of blood throughout the body
• Increased circulation of lymph throughout the body
• Release of endorphins, which helps clients relax
• Release of toxins from the muscles
• Decreased stress
• And in some cases, a decrease of the symptoms of depression, or melancholy

In any case, investing in regular Swedish massage (average cost $65.00 for 50 minutes) is an investment in your overall health, and a simple, pleasurable, inexpensive preventitive measure against many types of illnesses and injuries.

When booking a Swedish massage, make certain that you find a certified massage therapist with at least 500 hours of training, and a great deal of hands' on experience. Keep in mind too that there is no sexual element included in a professional Swedish massage. Certified massage therapists are professionals who are required to adhere to a strick code of ethics as well as to specific techniques, which define their scope of practice.