Michael Law, HHP, NCTMB
Therapeutic Solutions
Massage & Bodywork, Inc.
(858) 829-2325

info@therasolmassage.com

01/20/2007
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A Brief History of Chair Massage

By David Palmer

Chair massage is probably the fastest growing form of bodywork in America and it is now beginning to take off in the same way in Britain and Europe. It is sometimes called On-site Massage or Seated Massage, terms which differentiate it from the more traditional forms of Table Massage.

Although massage work on seated patients has always been a part of most systems of massage, Chair massage as a self contained system is a relatively recent phenomenon.

In 1982 David Palmer took over as the Director of the Amma Institute of Traditional Japanese Massage and he realized that there was not enough work to go around for the graduates of the Institute. Traditional Table Massage is too intimate and too expensive for many people to want to try it. He therefore developed a form of massage that could be done anywhere, in a shorter time and with clothes on. Thus Chair Massage was born.

In 1984 he and his graduates started working at Apple Computers giving up to 350 on site massages a week. Although this didn't last through the downturn in Apple's fortunes it was a positive beginning. In 1986 production began of the chair that had been specially designed for this type of work, just twelve years later more than 100,000 of these chairs are in use around the world.

Chair Massage is not positioned as a therapy or treatment but as a simple relaxation technique. This makes it more accessible to people not looking for personal growth and life changing treatment. It also makes it a way into deeper massage for people who might not otherwise take the first step.

Chair massage is now available in shopping malls and airports as well as in many corporate workplaces all over America and increasingly in Britain. It is an accessible and popular form of bodywork bringing the advantages of massage to people who might not otherwise experience it.

David Palmer says that his ultimate vision is to have all children in primary school learn basic shoulder rubs for their family and friends. "When we reach that point I will know that we have arrived at our goal of a world where touch is recognized as essential to the development and maintenance of healthy human beings."

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