February 2006 | Vol. 7, No. 2
© 2006 American Massage Therapy Association®
All rights reserved.
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In This Issue |
Hello e-touch reader!
It’s Valentine’s Day again—a holiday that seems to come out of nowhere. After all, didn’t we just finish cleaning up all the party favors and confetti from New Years?
What does Valentine’s Day mean to you? Is it a peaceful, romantic day designated to celebrate your loved one or a dizzying rush, full of pressure to buy the right flowers or the right jewelry? But what does it all really mean?
This year, give your loved one the gift of good health. Visit AMTA's Find a Massage Therapist® national locator service or call toll-free at 888-THE-AMTA [843-2682] to find a massage therapist near you and purchase a gift certificate for a massage.
Enjoy the issue!
~The Editors
E-mail: etouch@amtamassage.org
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THIS EDITION SPONSORED BY:
- Stronglite® Products For The Successful Practitioner.
- Stronglite tables and chairs are a great value.
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GIVE THE GIFT OF MASSAGE THIS VALENTINE'S DAY
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t’s that time of year again. Romance is in the air. Love is
blooming. And you need to buy your sweetheart a gift. But not just
any gift — a great one. This Valentine’s Day, consider giving the
gift of massage.
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Valentine's Day is the perfect time to share the gift of good health with the one you love. |
According to a recent study sponsored by Brookstone, Inc., 52
percent of respondents would like to receive a massage product or
service as a gift. A major reason is stress — 2005 was a difficult
year for many people. Fifty-six percent of Americans surveyed
reported experiencing more stress in 2005 than they did in 2004.
The benefits of massage for stress relief are real. Research shows
that massage therapy can reduce heart rate, as well as systolic and
diastolic blood pressure. Massage also boosts the functioning of the
body’s immune system by increasing the body’s natural “killer
cells,” which tend to break down during stress.
With stress at high levels, three out of four Americans said they
would like to take better care of themselves in 2006, and a majority
of those polled believe that massage is an effective way to relieve
stress and one of the best ways to relax, compared to other methods
such as drinking an alcoholic beverage or exercising.
So this year, give your loved one a Valentine’s Day gift that will
reduce stress and improve overall health and well-being. A gift
certificate for a relaxing massage is a perfect way to show you
care. And while you’re at it, book a massage for yourself, too.
Better yet, make a day of it. Take some time together — away from
the stresses and challenges of your daily lives — to relax and
unwind.
Here are a few ideas to help make a Valentine’s Day massage a
memorable gift for two:
- Look for massage therapists who offer “couples” massage
sessions. Many of these sessions include two therapists—one for
each of you—in the same room. Before booking an appointment, be
sure to ask for specific details from the massage therapist to be
sure this is what you want.
- When choosing your ideal couples massage, consider location.
Couples massages are offered in a variety of settings, from spas
and cruise ships to your home and even your hotel room. If a
Valentine’s Day cruise just isn’t in your plans, perhaps a weekend
getaway with a day of pampering at a local day spa would be just
perfect.
- If receiving a massage makes your special someone uncomfortable, try participating in a class specially designed for couples, in which you each learn simple massage techniques to use at home. Many massage therapy centers and schools offer these classes. Be sure to check credentials before signing up.
Regardless of the type of massage therapy experience you want to give this Valentine’s Day, the most important thing to remember when booking your massage is to look for a qualified massage therapist. Look for an AMTA massage therapist. AMTA’s Find a Massage Therapist® national locator service can help you do just that. Tens of thousands of consumers use this free service every month to search for AMTA massage therapists by type of massage, city, state and zip code. AMTA professional members practice all over the country, so finding the right massage therapist for you is easy. Just visit AMTA’s website at www.amtamassage.org and click on “Find a Massage Therapist” or call 888-THE-AMTA.
If you have a friend, coworker or relative who could benefit from using the online locator service to find a professional massage therapist, send them a personal e-mail message from AMTA. Spread the benefits of massage!
Massage is not only
a healthy gift, it’s a popular one! According to The Everything
Great Marriage Book by Sheri & Bob Stritof,
these were the most popular Valentine's Day gifts —
in no particular order — for both men and women in 2003:
- Flowers or living plants
- Candy, especially chocolate
- Candles
- Gift certificates for a massage or time at a health spa
- Agreeing to do an unpleasant chore around the house
- Jewelry
- A romantic drive
- A weekend getaway
- A romantic dinner or picnic
- Perfume or cologne
- Watching a romantic movie
E-MAIL SPAM: HOW IT HAPPENS AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT—PART ONE
E-mail spam is everywhere. It’s an unfortunate side effect of our reliance on technology to communicate. According to InformationWeek Research's 2003 study, spam is growing at an average of 37 percent per month for an estimated annual growth rate of more than 400 percent. And $2-3 of every e-mail customer's monthly bill can be attributed to electronic junk mail and other forms of spam!
Recently, some spam e-mails were sent to AMTA members listing AMTA in the subject line or stating that the sender knew the recipient is a massage therapist. None of these people had permission to use AMTA’s name and AMTA did not provide e-mail addresses to them. AMTA does not give or rent our members’ e-mail addresses to anyone.
AMTA members and massage therapists as a whole are not being singled out as targets for e-mail scams. There are wrong-doers out there everywhere, and unfortunately, everyone is a target—not just massage therapists or AMTA members.
The methods internet scam artists use to acquire e-mail addresses have become very advanced. It is similar to identity theft. They attach programs to individual computers and e-mail lists, which they then use to steal information. There is no way to know where these people find an e-mail address. It can be from almost anywhere.
AMTA encourages you to be careful opening e-mails from e-mail addresses you don’t recognize. You can be sure that AMTA will not give your e-mail address to anyone.
In this month’s issue, we’ll explore the variety of ways other people can obtain your email address.
How Does a Spammer Get My E-mail Address?
According to Comcast, a national provider of broadband internet services, there are several ways spammers can obtain your e-mail address, either directly or indirectly, from you. A spammer will often sell or trade lists of e-mail addresses, so once an e-mail address is on a list, it may be combined with others and nearly impossible to remove.
Here are the most common ways spammers obtain your e-mail address from you:
1. They harvested your e-mail address from a post to a newsgroup, bulletin board or chat room. Spammers use software programs, known as "spidering" programs, to search for e-mail addresses on public forums.
2. Spammers have software that scans websites for e-mail addresses. If you have a personal web page or website, any e-mail addresses on those pages may be found and added to e-mail lists.
3. You reply to spam or unwanted e-mails, asking to be removed by clicking a false "reply to unsubscribe" link. Often, this confirms that your e-mail address is valid and is then monitored. This can result in even more spam. This practice still continues, despite the passage of a federal anti-spam law called The Can Spam Act, that went into effect January 1, 2004, requiring a functioning "opt out" link or a legitimate "reply to unsubscribe" e-mail address.
4. You've signed up for services on the Internet without checking privacy policies and terms of use; your e-mail address was then added to a mailing list.
5. You've intentionally signed up for a mailing list without checking privacy policies. Hopefully, this will result in receiving only the e-mails you want and not spam.
6. Someone else has provided your e-mail address to a company because you didn't let them know that you want to keep your e-mail address private.
Spammers can also find your e-mail address without your help, simply by guessing it. This is a surprisingly common process, and can be quite effective.
Here's how they do it:
1. A spammer may start with a list of valid e-mail addresses, then extract the user name portion of the e-mail address, (everything before the @ sign) and try to use it with different providers, e.g., test @comcast.net, test@hotmail.com, test @yahoo.com, etc. This is a hit-or-miss approach that is often very successful.
2. Spammers also use software programs to generate random user names from common names and words in the dictionary.
Now that you know how many ways spam artists can obtain your e-mail address, you’re probably wondering what you can do to protect yourself. Next month, we’ll provide useful tips that you can use to safeguard your computer and lessen the amount of spam you receive.
THE NEW MTJ DEBUTS THIS MONTH!
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It’s on the way! Massage Therapy Journal® (MTJ™) is brand new, inside and out! It’s got a new look, new editorial and a revamped website. Watch your mailbox for the new MTJ in early February. Then be sure to stop by the new MTJ website to read online exclusives, and take a survey about the new content!
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Q: Are complementary medicine and alternative medicine different from each other?
A
: Yes, they are different.Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine. An example of a complementary therapy is using aromatherapy to help lessen a patient's discomfort following surgery. Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. An example of an alternative therapy is using a special diet to treat cancer instead of undergoing surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy that has been recommended by a conventional doctor.
Source: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
We'd like to hear from you!
Is there something about massage therapy that you'd really like to know? Tell us. Give us your ideas and you may see them in an upcoming issue.
Spend a few moments answering this question at the link below. It’s quick, and it’s easy! See the results in the next issue of e-touch.
Do you get a stiff neck from stomach crunches?
After doing several stomach crunches, sometimes you can get a bit stiff.
Before you get up from your crunch position, treat your neck to a little
massage. Turn your head to the left and place four fingers about one
inch below the base of your skull (off to the side of your vertebrae)
and gently, but firmly, rub your fingers straight up the base of your
skull. Do this about 5-10 times on each side of your neck, and the
stiffness that usually follows after doing crunches will lessen.
Sara Pender-Morales
Griffith, Indiana
For a different massage tip each week, visit AMTA’s Massage Room.
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LEGAL NOTICE: Articles submitted by individual authors are copyrighted by those authors and reprinted with their permission. Views expressed in these articles are not necessarily the views of the American Massage Therapy Association®, and should in no way be construed as an endorsement. They are for informational purposes only.
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