As a consumer of massage, you already know there are wonderful benefits to receiving therapeutic touch. And you’ve likely tried one or two variations of massage or bodywork as you’ve meandered along this path of complementary healthcare. But did you know there are at least 250 kinds of therapies that are part of this growing massage and bodywork tradition? From acupressure to Zero Balancing, there are a multitude of lush, leaf-filled branches on this bodywork tree, making it a perfect spot under which to throw a blanket and sit a while.

If you do a Google search for medical massage, you will turn up 3,210,000-plus entries. Clearly something of a large dimension is developing in this potential sector of our rapidly growing profession. And, as is the case with any broad movement, there are a variety of motives and presumed goals in play.

A largely grass roots phenomenon is beginning to institutionally encounter one of the most prosperous and prestigious—and most heavily regulated—organizations in the United States, and it seems to me that careful thought will be required as to just what this may mean.

What are Asian Bodywork Therapies (ABT)? Are they indigenous, traditional forms of bodywork from Asia? Does a style of bodywork necessarily have to originate in some Asian country or culture in order to be considered an ABT? What is it that qualifies ABTs and draws them together under that umbrella? Are there bodywork therapies within Asia that are not considered forms of ABT? These are complicated, and revealing, questions.