The Planetary herbalist will get more from a system of massage based on the same traditional energetic and wholistic principles as their herbal practice. Inevitably we must look to the great civilisations of the East to find such systems. Chinese massage is closely related to acupuncture in its use of the meridian system and is considered to be effective for a similar range of health problems. However it should not be seen as a poor relation to acupuncture. It is an effective and comprehensive therapy and is regarded alongside herbs, diet, qigong and one of the fundamental arts of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Massage is of course as old as human kind.
However even with this perspective the pedigree of Chinese massage is impressive. Around this time Chinese techniques were imported to Japan and eventually gave rise to Japanese Shiatsu. Later still Peter Henrik Ling learned from Chinese masters before developing Swedish Massage the origin of Western bodywork. The development of the Chinese tradition came from the synergy between four groups, doctors who brought the sophisticated medical theories of TCM to massage, martial arts who combined deep experience of qi with great ability to heal injuries, Bhuddist and Taoist adepts who used massage as an essential support to their spiritual yoga and laymen often blind practitioners offering massage for pleasure and relaxation. Since the time of the Mao Zedong massage has continued to develop absorbing western ideas into the traditional framework.