American Massage Therapy Association Touched My Life

I read over and over again, basic human contact is lacking in our society to the point we   are suffering from touch deprivation.  It's very confusing to me because culturally, we are   saturated with suggestive messages about "no boundaries" touching by our media, but then again on the other hand, you can hardly touch someone as a professional Massage Therapists, for fear it may be interpreted as wrong & inappropriate touch.  There is growing scientific evidence that skin-to skin contact is very beneficial to human health.  We Americans are among the most touch-deprived people in the world, as a result of our societal and personal disconnection since the increase in technology we are suffering from not bonding.  When we're deprived of touch, we are prone to mental illness, violence, compromised immune systems and poor self-regulation.    

 

This is why I love what Massage Therapists do.  Massage Therapy is useful in reducing symptoms such as anxiety, depression, pain & stress in conjunction with various illnesses & treatments through touch. Human touch is an inherently innate behavior for giving and receiving love, which all mankind wants and needs.  I feel one of the real purposes of giving massage is to foster more depth of feeling for one another in order to bring out the love that often lies buried beneath the pain of everyday suffering.  Massage Therapy has touched my life personally and professionally. Being the President of The American Massage Therapy Association, Pennsylvania Chapter for the last two years, has touched my life beyond my wildest imagination. 

 

 

It is difficult to express my gratitude and love to all of you.  I can hardly find the words, so, I'll just say that you are one of the greatest blessings in my life.  When I see all of you gathered in the same place for a greater purpose, my soul sings. Together, we positively changed AMTA PA by fine tuning our foundation, streamlining processes, making our organization run a little more effective and efficiently, through our collective creativity and years of experience.  Thank you for working with me through all our challenging times.  Thank you for touching my life.  Thank you for your support and understanding.  You gave me the strength to continue fighting.  Without you I might have given up. Love and gratitude are the best emotions one can imagine.  Attaining our goals required a lot of skill and time, and you helped us achieve it. I deeply appreciate your ongoing support. You have touched me and we have bonded forever.  I am no longer "touch deprived." I'm so blessed I have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.

 

In closing, I'd like to cite you a poem (not mine, by Richard McWilliam):

What is a dream?  What is a dream?

A dream is a goal,

An inspiration,

A dream is where Hope lives.

Gina Waslaski President AMTA-Pa