In China, the history of massage is as old as the written history of China itself. The earliest writing found in China, which dates from 1400 B.C.E., discusses massage, acupuncture, and moxa (the burning of herbs for therapeutic purposes).

Traditional Chinese Medicine, a holistic system of healing modalities including dietary therapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and exercise, has always included massage, which since 800 C.E. has been known as TuiNa (literally, push and grasp).

Today TuiNa is increasingly popular in the West, as people turn to massage for serious therapeutic work, as well as for pleasure. Through much of the 20th century, massage in the West was mainly seen as a luxury -- for feeling pampered and relaxed (Of course, relaxation is itself deeply therapeutic, but this was the mainstream view.), a diversion for the wealthy. As natural healing and holistic approaches caught on over the latter half of the twentieth century, more and more people realized how much could be accomplished with the healing touch.

Today, it is widely recognized that therapeutic massage has something to offer just about everyone, from infants to the elderly, from athletes maximizing their performance or nursing hurt muscles back to health to those in hospice care who benefit from pain relief and increased range of movement that bodywork can bring. Children, pregnant women, manual laborers, office workers -- indeed everyone regardless of age or physical condition -- can benefit from massage. As this realization has reached critical mass, the career potential for massage therapists has exploded, and opportunities to practice massage continue to grow.