Bringing the healing benefits of massage into our own home is indeed an idea whose time has come. Stress is no longer an occasional event but a way of life. We juggle commitments to family, friends and work. Often we are disconnected from those we love the most. Husbands and wives have become passing strangers in their own homes. Divorce is on the rise. Some children are alienated and turn to drugs. Others juggling activities and an overload of homework are suffering from stress-related diseases at a young age. How do we reverse this strong current of stress and disconnect that is happening amid our fast and furious lives? Could it be that the answer to our modern dilemma is as old as time itself and right at our own fingertips within our own homes?

TC Home Massage for family and friends says yes and is bringing one of the oldest healing therapies known to man - massage - into our own hands. Massage is medicine. It is recognized by the medical community and the public as an integral part of the health care system. Massage teaches our bodies how relaxation feels. It reduces stress, improves our immune system, lifts depression, increases circulation, relaxes the nervous system and reconnects us through touch.

But who said massage has to be in the hands of the professionals. Chuck Fata, NCMT and Jackie Sloan, CMT, founders of TC Home Massage, know first hand that you don't have to be a massage therapist to give a great massage. Anyone can do it. And they are dedicated to bringing the healing benefits of massage into our own hands and into our own home. TC Home Massage for family and friends is at the crest of the healing wave of the future. Soon every home will have a massage table - as natural a piece of furniture as the television set. Soon sharing this gift of reverent touch and relaxation with our family and friends will be an integral part of daily life. Soon each of us will be amazed by our ability to give a healing, soothing massage. Home Massage is an idea whose time has finally come.

What is Home Massage? Home Massage is specifically designed to share between our trusted family and friends. Home Massage is fun, has much therapeutic value, and is a wonderful way of expressing our love and concern. Home Massage is affordable and is done in the privacy and convenience of our own homes. Home Massage began in 1997 as a class taught by Chuck Fata at the University of Irvine in southern California. He soon realized that everyone has a strong need to be touched in a respectable, caring and loving way. According to Fata, "My focus on the importance of reverent touch in giving a massage made my students comfortable, relaxed and ready to do the hands on work. They learned to give a good massage quickly, effortlessly, and without inhibition." Inspired by the overwhelmingly positive responses of these students, Jackie Sloan and Chuck Fata created Touch Communications Home Massage Workshops (TCHM) for the general public in 2004. They have worked hard to develop an approach to learning massage that is fun and easy. Their tried and true methods have been met with overwhelming success with people from all walks of life.

What makes Home Massage so easy to learn? According to Chuck, "Touch is our first language. To touch, to hold and hug are universal and natural instincts. Touch calms us and naturally heals us. A gentle loving touch can sometimes say more than a river of words. Touch is really not something we need to learn, it is something we need to remember. Home Massage shows us how return to our natural, innate healing power of touch." Students of Home Massage enjoy the comfort level of working with people they already know and trust. So, according to Fata, "learning takes place quickly and effortlessly." TC Home Massage rests on a foundation of "reverent touch." "Reverent touch," says Fata, "goes beyond proper touch, respectable touch, and safe touch. Reverent touch might best be described as sacred touch." "If the receiver doesn't want the giver to work on their feet," says Sloan, "we teach people to honor that. If the person is a child, your wife or your friend, it is no different - honor them. Good massage work is about making the person on the table feel comfortable and relaxed -- then the healing benefits of massage can easily occur."

Chuck and Jackie's success also comes from working with what they call the "art of massage" They know that it takes more then mere massage strokes to give a good massage. They know that it really isn't only the techniques that heal, but the person giving the massage. "Have you ever been hugged by an electronic massager?" asks Fata. "Many variations exist on the marketplace? The mechanics are there but the human touch is absent. Have you ever been hugged by someone who is preoccupied and without emotion? Compare that with a hug from someone who gives you their whole attention and whose emotions are pure and spontaneous. It is this feeling of touch and connection that our body, mind and spirit craves.” The art of massage is being present, having good intentions, and returning to our natural ability for healing touch. Creating a safe place of honor and respect, understanding the art of massage, and learning massage techniques are our key to success.

Unfortunately our society has become "touch phobic." Psychotherapist and Coordinator of Home Massage, Suzette Hodnett, says, "Boundaries and limitations on improper touch are necessary and essential. But in the process of protecting ourselves and our children from improper touch, we have lost our natural birthright of connecting with each other through healing, appropriate touch." Everything changes. Our backlash to touch has gone full spectrum and a focus on the importance of touch is beginning to re-emerge. According to Hodnett, "Everyone agrees that Home Massage is a wonderful idea yet some still reluctant to give it a try. Maybe in childhood they were never touched or touched inappropriately. Both have devastating effects on our physical and emotional health. " Her answer is "What better place than in our own home for us to heal by discovering and sharing the nurturing, appropriate touch of someone we know, love and trust?"

The benefits of Home Massage are as widespread as the types of people who are learning Home Massage. Home Massage is transforming family life. Families are spending less time on the computer and more time on the massage table. Couples say that it has "saved their relationship." They give each other a ten-minute back rub before they leave for work or set aside a night to share a longer exchange on the massage table. Bringing massage into the home is a wonderful parenting tool with immense benefits for our children. Says Chuck Fata, "How can we teach our children the dangers of improper touch without first teaching them what appropriate touch feels like? With Home Massage the subject of touch becomes a household word." According to Hodnett, "Even though parents and children live together, many suffer from touch starvation. Children will deliberately disobey their parents for the payoff of being spanked because they crave touch -- even in a negative way. Massage gives children the gift of positive, loving touch." A back rub before a child goes to sleep makes a once reluctant youngster eager to go to bed. A ten-minute shoulder rub before doing their homework calms them down and improves concentration. Hyperactive children begin to relax. Children who massage each other have been found to fight less. Says Hodnett, "As parents we are role models for our children. If we hug and touch them as infants, cuddle them throughout their childhood, massage their tired bodies and spirits in adolescence, we are giving them a gift that will last them a lifetime." In Sweden, teachers learn how to massage their students. The results? Improved dyslexia, decreased noise levels, less aggression between students and better grades. It also helps students with chronic pain and childhood diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, diabetes and autism.

Home Massage is great for athletes -- young and old alike. Parents are now massaging their children's or spouse's tired, tight and overworked muscles and find a boost in athletic performance and longer training times without injuries. The cost of insurance is on the rise and preventive medicine is an answer. Our chronic stress is undermining our body's ability to fix itself and is creating psychological and physical disease. People are now taking responsibility for their own health and realizing that they have the power to calm and heal their mind and body with Home Massage. Corporations are sharing Home Massage classes with their employees. Corporate health benefits cost the average company 45 percent of after tax profits. Most job absenteeism is related to stress. Wellness programs that include Home Massage give employees a great tool to deal with the pressures of work and family. Caretakers are discovering the many benefits of Home Massage. Family members with loved ones suffering from strokes have found that massage is a wonderful conversation without words. It gives their loved one relief from physical discomfort along with the emotional connection they crave and deserve. Home Massage helps both the caretaker and the patient. Patients with cancer relish the gift of massage from their loved ones and find that it reduces pain from treatments, decreases nausea, improves sleep, and eases fatigue. But caretakers are also under extreme stress and often don't get the support and rest they need. One of the strongest predictors of how someone with cancer will do is related to how well their families adjust. Now siblings and spouses of cancer patient can trade massages to reduce the stress and anxiety involved in caring for a sick relative. Home Massage is free, convenient and done as frequently as we choose. Ever get up from a great massage at a spa, end up in rush hour traffic and feel like the relaxation has disappeared before you walk in your door? Not to worry - with Home Massage you are already there!

Where does one learn Home Massage? TC Home Massage is one-stop massage school for the general public. They offer ongoing classes at their home site at the Omadawn Yoga Studio in Seal Beach. They also offer classes off-site at any location (church, hospital, corporations, private home, school) and will tailor the classes to meet the needs of groups with special needs. The staff is available to give lectures to educate the public on Home Massage and the importance of bringing touch back into our lives. TC Home Massage for family and friends is indeed an idea whose time has come. According to Carrie Moody, mother of two and fan of Home Massage... "If you get the opportunity, take the time. Learn Home Massage. It changed our lives.” Bringing the healing benefits of massage into our own home is indeed an idea whose time has come.