What is the history of self-massage?

“Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it.”

Self-massage predates human history. Cave men and women did it. Hippocrates recommended physicians do it. And you would be advised to do it too.

Touch is healthcare. Self-massage is one of the four pillars of real healthcare. It was around before medicine was invented and will be around after it’s gone. Touch strengthens our immune system and is one of our first lines of defense against illness.

It was our first direct means of treating injury. Get hit in the head by a rock or fall out of a tree. The first thing our ancestors did was touch and rub the hurt.

Prehistoric humans, had lots of time on their hands. It took them 5 or 6 hours to gather food. They slept 8 to 10 hours. What did they do the rest of the day?

Touch occupied a lot of their time. They touched each other and they massaged themselves. Self-massage is as natural to the human condition as eating, sleeping, moving, and laughing.