Most people still view massages as a luxury item. They feel like they are spoiling themselves by booking a massage whether it’s a 30-minute massage, one-hour massage or a four-hour spa day. But some business leaders are starting to look at massage more as a necessity just like working out and eating healthy. Study after study keeps touting the benefits of massage. As a result, many executives are changing their mindset from thinking of massage as a nice treat to thinking of massage as an essential item in their routine that helps them perform at the top of their game. Here are five reasons why you should stop making excuses and book that massage today.
 
1. Massage can help spark creative ideas. The business world is fast-paced and stressful. Sometimes people need to stop their mind and relax in order to solve a problem and think of a better solution. “Massage frees thoughts,” explains Yodi Richeson, a massage therapist with iBody Sports Therapy in El Segundo, CA. “When you are so focused on something and stressed out, you have blinders on and don’t see the whole picture. You just see what is in front of you. Massage lets executives calm down to think clearer and get a better picture—its better than coffee.” Richeson, who has been a massage therapist for more than 25 years, is currently the sports therapist for the USA National Volleyball Team and also has a number of clients who are high-level executives in the business world. She has witnessed first hand the “aha moment,” her clients have after letting go and relaxing.
 
2. Massage can help reduce pain and even boost your immune system. According to the Mayo Clinic, massage has proven to be an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain and muscle tension. Some studies have also found that massage can help people suffering from anxiety, headaches, digestive disorders, sports injuries, joint pain, fibromyalgia and lower back pain. Considering how many executives sit at their desks for long hours, suffering from neck and back pain, a therapeutic massage may be just what they need to feel better, think clearer and be more productive. Not too mention a growing body of research now indicates that massage can help boost your immune system. If you want to avoid taking time off for being sick and stay healthy during cold and flu season, scheduling a weekly massage may help. Having a massage on a regular basis increases the activity level of the body’s white blood cells that fight viruses.
 
3. Massage can help increase your productivity. For the past 20 years, there have been studies linking massage to improved brainpower and productivity. That may explain why roughly 11% companies offered workplace massages to employees in 2015 and 3% of companies planned to add corporate massage in the next 12 months, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. Corporate massages typically involve having a massage therapist come to the office and provide 15-minute or 30-minute chair massages for employees.
 
4. Massage can help you sleep better. Studies have found that people who receive regular massages spend more time in deep sleep, which is the restorative stage of the sleep cycle. Want to avoid tossing and turning and not getting enough sleep the night before a big presentation or a day packed with back-to-back meetings? Try scheduling a massage on the way home from work the day before. It will help you relax, relieve work stress, reboot your mind and sleep better, so you are ready to tackle the next day feeling completely refreshed.
 
5. Massage can reduce stress symptoms. Massage helps alleviate stress, but it’s more than just the dim lights, calming music and healing touch helping the body to relax. Research suggests that frequent massage reduces cortisol, which is a major stress hormone, and high levels of cortisol have been linked to high blood pressure, suppressed immune system function and obesity. And you don’t need an hour-long massage to reduce cortisol levels or lower stress. Studies have found that even a brief 15-minute chair massage once a week can reduce stress systems.
 
Richeson recommends business leaders should schedule a massage on a weekly basis or every 10 days. Some of her clients, in extremely stressful positions, schedule massages twice a week. She says that the type of massage she provides often varies based on what the executive’s work week or day is like. She treats her business clients similar to her athletes. Some days they may need a deep tissue massage because they had a stressful meeting and other times they need a Swedish massage or relaxation massage. Most executives workout and eat right because they know that exercise and good nutrition helps your mind, Richeson explains. “On the same level, massage gets your mind working the right way because it helps to balance everything—workouts, job, family and life.”
 
It’s relatively easy to find massage services today—whether it’s a chair massage, private massage, massage at a day spa or even a massage at a hotel while travelling. Richeson’s advice is to make sure you have a credited masseuse who was recommended by someone you know and, if you feel uncomfortable at any point, stop the massage. “It is a relationship and someone that you are vulnerable with the majority of the time. You have to trust the person,” she says.
 
Massage may be the missing piece of the puzzle for many business leaders. “When you get a massage, it is about you,” says Richeson. “You don’t have to talk to this person. It is not about anyone but you. People need that. We need to be nurtured.”
 
Source: Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/raquelbaldelomar/2016/04/01/5-reasons-executives-should-schedule-a-massage-today/#1bf7e32c6d41)

Some people are hesitant about getting a massage. They are not sure about the health benefits of massage therapy. Hopefully, this list gathered by BEST HEALTH and Medical Daily will change your mind. The benefits are:

1. Massage therapy offsets the body damage done by prolonged sitting.
Excessive sitting can cause pain, posture problems and weakness in the back and gluteal muscles. However, regular massage therapies can counter the damage done by prolonged sitting.

2. Massage therapy reduces anxiety and depression.
"Human touch, in a context that is safe, friendly and professional, can be incredibly therapeutic and relaxing," massage therapist Aaron Tanason told BEST HEALTH. Medical Daily also reports that massage therapy reduces feelings of anxiety and depression by lowering cortisol levels in the body.

3. Massage therapy improves sleep quality.
People who have difficulties at night will definitely benefit from massage therapy. And for people who do not have problems falling asleep, massage therapy can make the quality of your sleep even better. "Most studies credit it to massages increasing delta waves, brain waves connected to deep sleep, which would explain why it's easier to drift off on a massage table," Medical Daily explained.

4. Massage therapy improves the immune system.
One of the most surprising health benefits of massage therapy is that it can actually increase the amount of lymphocytes in the body. These are white blood cells which protect our body from diseases and infections.

Now that you know, are you ready to schedule a massage?

Source: Parent Herald

WD-40 in your hand lotion?

Well, not exactly, but some of the same ingredients in the storied lubricant have also been used in cosmetics for years.

It was that sort of thing that prompted a brother and sister in Provo to launch their own product line 25 years ago this month.

When Steve Lund sat down with Blake Roney to get the paperwork filed on the new company in 1984, they hadn't yet nailed down the name. First was Nu Skin, Inc. Then Lund suggested Nu Skin International -- a serious name for a company that didn't exist yet.

"I will tell you that we giggled when we wrote it," said Lund. "Then Blake said, 'No, no, how about Nu Skin Intergalactic?' "

They stuck with "international," and quarter of a century and 50 countries later, the name seems prescient. The company is headquartered in a 10-story tower on Provo's Center Street that's stuffed with hardwood, granite, a chic restaurant and original Norman Rockwells.

"I didn't have any clarity," Lund says, "that Nu Skin was going to grow up and be a billion-dollar business."

Direct selling

Whatever one might think about the direct-selling business, it's hard to argue with Nu Skin's long-term success. Plus, it was the only way the founders could think of to crack into a skin-care business dominated by huge companies with millions in advertising dollars.

Still, eight out of nine direct-marketing companies were failing 25 years ago.

"We were staring at some pretty grim realities that more startups fail than succeed," Lund said.
Direct selling, argues Lund, is the best way to sell their products. His pitch is refined with age and goes a little something like this:

Skin-care employees in traditional stores have mere seconds to convince you to come over to their counter and have to deal with distractions around you to make a sale. Direct sellers plan for 30-60 minutes to convince their clients they need what they're being sold.

It does have a downside. Direct selling is easy to get into, and easy to get out of. Of Nu Skin's 750,000 distributors worldwide, there is a core of about 35,000 "executive" distributors who are considered long-timers, says CEO Truman Hunt.

Distributors who simply leave the business can leave customers without access to products. (The Internet is helping to alleviate that problem, Hunt says, by making the company just a few clicks away.) The recession is actually helping direct marketers like Nu Skin, as a laid-off sales force looks for work and others look to supplement income. The company had its best year ever in 2008 and is on track to beat that this year, Hunt said.

Force for good

All this success has been good for Provo, too.

Leland A. Gamette has watched the company jump from warehouse to warehouse and office building to office building over his 37 years in the city's economic development department.
"They were growing at a pretty fast clip in their early years," Gamette said.

The city approached the company in the '90s about helping to anchor its downtown redevelopment. The Boyer Company was building a tower on Center Street, it said, and could Nu Skin maybe occupy a few floors?

"They literally took the entire building," Gamette said.

The company, which employees 1,200 in Provo, also occupies several other nearby buildings, using them for storefronts and research.

Provo isn't the only beneficiary of the company's largesse. Distributors and employees alike are asked to participate in the company's two charitable efforts -- Force for Good, and Nourish the Children. The former supports medical, agricultural and education efforts in dozens of countries. The latter has provided 158 million meals for impoverished children.

Challenges
Even in the middle of its best year, challenging times aren't far in the rearview mirror. The company laid off 226 employees in 2006 and an undisclosed number in 2007. That year executives closed nearly half the retail stores in China, a country in which they're struggling to find the right business model.

Hunt says regulators there are either trying to get them to change their business model or grease the skids with a kickback or, say, helping a child get into college.

Reaching audiences in developing countries can also be challenging. While markets are opening up in places like China and India, the money isn't always there to support a push.

"Our product lines are not developed for third-world environments. They're not cheap," Hunt said.
There's also the pressure to please Wall Street. The company went public in 1996 and regularly gets calls from shareholders who say there should be stronger marketing efforts. There's also the constant demands of maintaining stock prices, Hunt said. Of course, going public also lends respectability because of regulatory requirements that must be met.

"We're not blowing smoke like a lot of direct-selling companies do," he said.

What are they selling?

While best known as a skin-care company, Nu Skin branched into supplements a decade after starting up and has pushed that aspect of their business hard since then. (A set of boxing gloves signed by the 1988 Olympic U.S. Boxing team hangs in Lund's office as thanks for supplements during the Games.)

The company -- with some clear exasperation -- puts a lot of effort into distancing themselves from other so-called nutraceuticals.

"We don't use magic berries from the Himalayas," says Mark Bartlett, vice president of research and development, whose previous job was cancer research with the National Institutes of Health. (He's one of more than 30 Ph.Ds and 100 scientists on staff including a review board with "a bunch of really famous, crusty old scientists.")

It's not all boring vitamins and nutrition for researchers. For example, the company found out that customers in Japan couldn't stand the smell of fish oil that was on their supplements. A few experiments later, it was found that a touch of vanilla neutralized the smell nicely. Problem solved.

Hunt, the CEO, says the company has to refresh its product line every five or six years to keep business growing.

Just about the time you're reading this, founders are pitching their newest line on a Baltic cruise with top distributors. The focus? Anti-aging.

He stopped short of giving details, saying the top distributors have earned the right to hear it first. A full product launch is coming in October.

Source: Media Herald