SAN FRANCISCO, Ca., August 28 — You’ve got some kind of magic healing touch. You’ve got a hankering to help people (or maybe you’re just sick of hearing folks bellyache about their tight muscles). But maybe you’ve never learned the difference between chakras and Chaka Khan and you’re destined for years of informal, good-natured shoulder rubs, right? Wrong.
Mercantila Does Massage Tables!
How did Hippocrates, Freud, and the ancient Chinese find common ground? In the Beginning. Beginning, you say? No kidding. Massage has been around for so long that nobody can trace its roots all the way back — it predates writing, after all. Thousands of years before Hippocrates began singing rubbing’s Hellenic praises, the Chinese were developing many different techniques to treat everything from shortness of breath to bad temper. Fast-forward to Freud, who counted on massage to cure things like hysteria. By the 1930s, hospitals were staffing physical therapists who practiced massage, and people started figuring out they didn’t want to sit in ammonia-soaked waiting rooms for the right to feel better. Tons of different schools, like reflexology and rolfing (excuse us), were founded or rediscovered in the last 100 years, which means there’s a form of massage to fit us all. (Sigh.)
Innovations
With the wellness-seeking hordes came a market for wellness products. (Cause, effect.) Massage became so popular that anyone from a versatile hairstylist to a retired schoolteacher could take some classes, carve out some space, and get a tidy little business going. Of course, no two massage settings or budgets are alike, so, happily, the range of tables — and chairs — is blessedly broad.
What’s In It For You?
Packages. Any massage therapist can tell you that a table is a mere starting point; you need headrests, a carry case, sheets, etc. So those tricky manufacturers got all clever and started putting together deals that included the accoutrements.
Portability. Most of our massage tables and chairs are lightweight, foldable, and meant to go on the road. Think your achin’ clients won’t appreciate a massage that comes to them?
Power. We’re all for portability, but if you’d like to properly set up shop, check out our electric and lift models. Smooth, quiet, effortless, adjustable, and ... um ... oh, and blissful.
Meet your match:
Student? Spa owner? Travelin’ rub doctor? Read on, friends...
| Top saver: InStep Massage Table; $157.94 |  Lightweight, height-adjustable, quick-folding, full-sized — and they even remembered a headrest. Two or three massage sessions, and this bad boy pays for itself. (But it won’t pay for your training; that’s where Mom and Dad come in handy.) | | | Save & Share |  Free Shipping Forever!
No coupons. No expiration dates. Just totally FREE shipping on most of our favorite massage tables. | | |
| Top Brand | Their products are good for you (so say several not-for-profit consumer-testing organizations). Their products are good for the earth (water-based lacquers, environmentally friendly foam and upholstery, hardwood farmed from renewable resources). They’ve got all kinds — portable, stationary, basic, motorized — and most of their frames come with lifetime warranties. You’ll feel better just buying one.
The Earthlite Store | |
| Penny For Your Thoughts? |  We sell a lot of stuff. Is there any particular line of products that's always mystified / fascinated you? (Go on, admit it. We're retail freaks. We're into this.)
Tell us why you're so curious -- give us a good enough story, and we'll give you the inside scoop. (Nobody wants pennies these days anyway.) Send your reply to readers@mercantila.com | | |
