Philosophers for thousands of years have recognized the concept of the sum being greater than the sum of its parts. In a way, this is what holistic health is all about. If one part of the body is diseased or injured, it has ramifications for all other parts of the body. Conversely, in order to effectively correct a problem with one part of the body, the entire body must be treated. True healing is recognition that what affects the foot affects the spine and the back muscles. Even the emotional health is affected by pain caused from a blister on the finger.

That is the basis for holistic health healing practices. The art of holistic health is that to heal a single part of the body, you have to heal the whole body. If you want to lower your blood pressure, than you need to take care of your whole body. Your body is systemic, which means that there are several systems working together to make you function. Can the healing process be limited to only one thing? The belief of holistic health healing for example is that if you are to lower your blood pressure, with the best results, it is not enough to simply watch your diet. You also have to exercise and reduce your stress level.

That is how massage therapy got its start. If you want the bone structure and the nervous systems to be able to do their jobs, then your muscles have to be able to allow them to do their jobs. If you have a slight twinge in your left shoulder, is it better to relax the muscles just around the twinge or to relax the muscles in your whole back?

If you have ever had any kind of back injury, you are well aware that just massaging where it hurts will only reduce the level of pain for a short period of time, sometimes only a week or two. But if you get massage treatments that cover your whole back, your neck, your shoulders, your arms and your legs, then you may go months or even years before you start to have trouble again. That is why any good massage therapist believes in the rejuvenating power of holistic health.

Massage therapy is one of the more effective healing practices because it doesn't concentrate on just the symptom. It works on the problem. There is no such thing as a twinge or a knotted muscle that is unaffected by the rest of your muscles, just as it is impossible to have a twinge or a knot that doesn't affect the rest of the muscles. In healing a single knot, you can feel the rest of your muscles relax. Some say there are few things in this world that can match the healing and relief that you receive from a single, 1-hour, work over at the hands of a skilled massage therapist. It will allow your circulation to improve, your posture to straiten and your muscles to relax.