Massage is the practice of soft tissue manipulation with physical and functional purposes and goals. No-one can agree on precisely where the word comes from but a few theories are that it stems from the French massage meaning “friction of kneading”, or from Arabic massa meaning “to touch, feel or handle” or from Latin massa meaning “mass, dough”. An older etymology may even have been the Hebrew me-sakj “to anoint with oil”.

Wherever the practice started, the healing hands are common to many cultures and touch is often associated with healing in both the medical and the spiritual sense.

A deep-tissue or sports massage isn’t everybody’s idea of a spiritual experience. In fact it’s more like taking a bit of a beating from someone who knows exactly where the pain buttons are! There really is no hiding. And how do we know this? Well we’ve tried all our massge therapists and they’re all experts at sniffing out those sore spots and working away any stubborn knots to re-energise tired, achy muscles and to rid the body of toxins.

So why don’t you give it a go? Massage is available most days and if you’re anything like us you’ll soon be hooked.