In the spirit of full disclosure, I will preface this article with the statement that I was given a free massage from the featured website. 
Having been stressed with work lately I decided to seek out a luxury that I had never partaken in, a therapeutic massage. After perusing Google for Bellingham Massage Therapy I came across BellinghamMassage.me and booked an appointment with Melanie via her email listed on the site. After talking to Melanie on the phone I did some reading on massage in general to see what benefits I could expect from a massage.
Wikipedia suggests that massage therapy can be used to treat both psychological disorders including depression and anxiety to the symptoms of Cerebral Palsy, Cancers, and even aches and pains derived from the symptoms of HIV. I was surprised to read the laundry list of benefits of massage including lowered blood pressure, and increased efficiency of the immune system.
After my readings I contacted Melanie at BellinghamMassage.me again and asked her what she suggested for someone who was suffering from mild anxiety due to pressures at work. Melanie suggested “a non vigorous massage & one that would calm my anxiety, like a relaxing Swedish Massage.” She also encouraged me to drink water after receiving any massages & take about 15 minutes a day to meditate or do some kind of an activity that I find relaxing.
When Melanie arrived for the massage, we chit-chatted with my wife about massage therapy in general and whether or not the supposed benefits were real, or just placebo. Melanie vigorously defended the position that there was an actual physical benefit from the act of massage, as she has witnessed the effects firsthand. Over the course of the discussion, I mentioned that I blogged about health and anti-aging, and Melanie offered me my first massage for free. I begrudgingly(lol) accepted and we began the session.
Before the massage started, Melanie went over the intake form with me & asked if there were any areas that needed special attention during the massage; area’s to avoid, family health history, yada yada yada. She then directed me to the room & showed me where to place my belongings, lay face down under the sheets/blanket on the table & to let her know when I was ready for the massage. The massage was very relaxing & she spent more time on my shoulders like I had asked, it was so relaxing that I even fell asleep on the table. When the session was over, she showed me some great stretches to do, informed me to drink lot’s of water. I was amazed at how much stressed was relieved immediately & how much energy I had the next day.
After all was said and done, I made the conversion from massage fan to massage believer. All the stresses of the day job had melted away, and I felt refreshed an ready to face the rest of the week.