Massage Makes Me Happy Initiative

For thousands of years, massage and touch therapies have been a part of the healing traditions of hundreds of cultures around the world. From the hands of early Chinese physicians to massage therapists today, massage has been a natural and caring intervention that supports physical and emotional well-being. In other words, massage creates HAPPINESS. The Massage Makes Me Happy Initiative aims to celebrate the healing powers of massage therapy and promote its benefits through research and education, advocacy and global awareness.


For more detailed information, press release, event details, tool kits, visit Massage Makes Me Happy website.

The Latest News and Resources


Initiative Leadership

Heather Zdan

Heather Zdan
UNITED STATES

Initiative Chair

Executive Vice President of Marketing, Scrip

Heather Zdan has over 20 years experience in database and direct marketing in omni-channel environments. She is a passionate supporter The Massage Therapy Foundation and Touch Research Institute through her work with Massage Warehouse. Heather is an avid user and believer in the benefits of massage therapy which she has used to treat chronic migraine headaches and to improve her health and overall well-being…Read More

CG Funk
UNITED STATES

Initiative Co-Chair

Senior Vice President of Culture and Industry Relations Massage Heights

CG has more than 25 years of experience in the spa, beauty and franchise industries.  Prior to joining Massage Heights, she operated a boutique spa consulting business, working with companies in the wellness, spa and beauty sectors.  She also spent a decade as VP of industry relations…Read More

Karen Short
UNITED STATES

Initiative Co-Chair

CEO, Universal Companies

Karen is CEO of Universal Companies. In her role, Karen is responsible for direct sales, marketing and education initiatives. She leads a growing team of professionals in identifying and delivering products and solutions to wide range of customers including day spas, medical spas, resort hotel spas, salon spas, schools, and independent practitioners. Prior to joining Universal, Karen built a successful track record of executing….Read More


Objectives

    • Create a global platform and rallying cry around “Massage Makes Me Happy.”
    • Consolidate existing clinical research and support new research for deeper integration of massage into healthcare and wellness practices.
    • Stimulate advocacy by encouraging storytelling of the benefits of massage through massage therapists, wellness and spa professionals, consumers, caregivers, educators and more.
    • Promote and market massage therapy and massage therapy careers worldwide.

Featured Reports and Resources

Wellness Evidence – Massage

This modality uses direct hands-on manipulation of the surface of the body to achieve therapeutic results. Massage therapy includes many sub specialties that are focused on specific types of injury treatment, stress reduction, or release of tensions. They range from forceful, deep movements to extremely light superficial treatments.
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Initiative Members

Meet the renowned thought leaders in this field who are collaborating to educate and evolve wellness in this area of global importance.

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Resources

View the research, trends, whitepapers, infographics and more from this Initiative, as well as a curated list of third party resources.

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Contact Initiative

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