However, in spite of the work I do to "professionalize" massage, I am very involved in branch of this profession that my massage therapy colleagues hold in low regard. I am wildly passionate about...
 
...short little back rubs!
 
That's correct. Short backrubs in the seated massage chairs. Massage therapists who know me consider me crazy and can only ask...
 
Why on earth does Eric like chair massage so much?
 
I'm obsessed with seated massage because I honestly believe that it has the potential to really make massage a mainstream service.
 
A survey from the Ontario government discloses that only two and a half percent of the public has experienced a massage in the past year.
 
How can that be? Massage is in the media non-stop. You see it in the news and in TV shows all the time.
 
If you squeeze a friend's shoulders are they going to say, "What the heck are you doing? I hate how good that feels. It feels awful. " They'll never say that because like everyone else on this planet they love receiving massage.
 
It's imperative that we get touch daily for our nervous systems to function properly. As a result touch is associated with the pleasure centers in our brain. Activities that are essential to our survival are highly associated to those pleasure centers in the mid-brain region - for example, sex and eating. Our bodies are hardwired to make sure that we get what we need.
 
If touch is so crucial for our wellbeing why doesn't everyone get massage all the time.
 
To discover why you have to look at table massage Put yourself in the customer's place and consider your massage as if you know nothing:
 
To get a massage you have to go into a small treatment room behind a closed door, get undressed taking off all your clothes and lie down on a massage table while someone you don't know massages greasy oil all over you. To top it off you need to fork over a lot of money for the privilege.
 
And I know it bothers  massage pros to think of massage therapy from a perspective like this, but mostly, that is how most of the public views massage. When seen from that perspective, it seems as if the massage industry is intentionally trying to discourage individuals from buying massage services.
 
It's important to see the psychological blocks that actually keep consumers from getting massage as we know it. In marketing terms, these are what business people frequently refer to as objections.
 
I asked the consumers through surveys why they don't use massage regularly. And I've asked massage therapists the same question in an attempt to uncover the actual reasons for people not getting massage routinely. The findings are fascinating.