March 20th is the United Nations’ “International Day of Happiness.” If being happy seems like an elusive goal after/in the COVID era, mark your calendar for March 20. Not only is it the United Nations’ “International Day of Happiness,” but the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) special massage initiative has named the same Sunday in March, “Global Massage Makes Me Happy & Healthy Day.”
Do you love a good massage but ever wonder if there is any scientific evidence of its efficacy or even what type of massage—Sweedish, Deep Tissue, Sports—you should even be getting? The public is invited to join an hour-long online event on March 20 where an array of experts will share 2022 wellness and massage trends and highlight the scientific reasons why the ancient practice of massage is beneficial for mind and body. Join the event via Zoom with:
Meeting ID: 882 1433 1601
Passcode: 076484
According to GWI, research shows that massage supports physical and emotional well-being, so in other words, massage creates HAPPINESS. It’s a bold and needed statement in a time when people have been purposely physically distancing; when single-person households are on the rise; when the #metoo movement has made many more wary of touch and when the majority of the population gives more attention to their screens than to connecting with people around them.
March 20 is a chance to connect in a healthy way. Ask your local spa or massage center about special offers honoring the day that celebrates this ancient, cross-cultural practice and caring therapy. “After 40 years of research,” explains Dr Tiffany Field, Founder & Director of the University of Miami School of Medicine’s Touch Research Institute and medical spokesperson for the GWI Massage Makes Me Happy Initiative, “we have yet to find a chronic or systematic human malady that massage does not aid.”
A much sought-after expert for media interviews during the isolating months of the COVID lockdown, Dr. Field first entered the public conversation when she visited orphanages in Romania and found that the children’s stunted physical and emotional growth was directly related to a lack of touch. Since then, her Touch Therapy Institute has completed over 100 studies on touch and massage, documenting benefits including: Enhancing growth and development of preterm infants; Reducing depression, attentional disorders and pain syndromes; Increasing immune function in chronic illnesses.
“Dr. Tiffany Field has always been a wellness rockstar for me,” explains Global Wellness Summit Podcast Host, Kim Marshall. “From when she first visited Romanian orphanages in the early 90’s and found out that the lack of being cuddled and touched was actually stunting physical and emotional growth for the infants and then went on to do groundbreaking work in the U.S. proving that massage helped preemies gain weight faster and thrive, it was clear that the benefits of wellness and touch were much more than a ‘feel good’ idea. I am convinced that massage saves lives, and also that we’ve never needed compassionate and healing touch more than right now in human history.”
Presenters during the 1-hour Online MMMH event include:
-Susie Ellis, Founder, Global Wellness Institute & Global Wellness Summit
-Dr. Tiffany Field, Ph.D., Director/Founder of the Touch Research Institute
-Jeppe Tengbjerg, Founder and CEO of The International Massage Association
-Karen Short, CEO Universal Companies
-Luke Massery, CEO Scrip Companies
-Jim Chenevey, CEO Earthlite
-CG Funk, Sr. VP Culture & Industry Relations Massage Heights
-Lynda Solenin Wolf, Chair, MMMH Initiative and President, Solwolfe Resource Group, Inc.
