There are a number of ways to enter this contest, including the one mandatory way, via Facebook:

Like HTFeelBetter on Facebook (Mandatory entry). In order to win, we need at least 1,200 people to like the page, so be sure to tell your friends about the giveaway. You can have your friends and followers enter your name as a referral on the entry form, and you’ll get one extra entry for each person who puts you down as a referral! Share on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc. The more people you tell, the more chances you have to win!

This contest ends June 18th. Get all info on it here. Good luck!

This is a blog contest offering a number of ways to enter (leave a comment, Twitter, Facebook, etc.).

You can get more information on entering here.

Imagine that you can improve your circulation, stress levels, and overall relaxation just by having a seat and pushing a few buttons. Now, stop using your imagination – it’s a reality. Enter for your chance to win an i-Joy-2580 Robotic Massage® Chair and treat yourself to a little indulgence. This massage chair fits your body like a glove and its patented Human Touch Technology™ helps ease away pain, tension and fatigue. As a matter of fact, with a name like the i-Joy-2580, it’s nearly impossible not to enjoy a little personal pampering. How much stress can you get rid of?

ARV is $899, and you can enter here.

The researchers, led by Dr. Mark Rapaport, studied 29 healthy adults who received a 45-minute Swedish massage and 24 healthy adults who had a 45-minute session of light touch massage, a much milder exercise that served as a comparison to the more vigorous Swedish massage. Blood samples were taken before the massage began and at regular intervals up to one hour after the massage was completed.

The study found several changes in the blood tests of the Swedish massage group that indicated a benefit to the immune system. For example, Swedish massage caused sizeable decreases in arginine vasopressin, a hormone that contributes to aggressive behavior, and small decreases in the stress hormone cortisol. The Swedish massage participants also had an increase in lymphocytes, cells that help the immune system defend the body from harmful substances.

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Massage can boost the immune system

Growing public awareness of massage’s benefits for alleviating a number of health problems — from stress to arthritis pain — and greater availability of services have made massage therapy accessible and affordable to a much broader spectrum of consumers than ever before.

If you’re among the Americans whom the National Center for Health Statistics says spent $22 billion on visits to complementary and alternative medicine providers in 2007 (the latest year for which data are available), you’ll want to get the most benefit and the best value out of your massage therapy visit.

Click the link below for the complete article!

How to choose massage that’s right for you

While massage can ease stress and tension and may have emotional benefits, the use of massage therapy in depressed patients is “controversial,” the investigators note, and “there is no qualitative review of the treatment effect of massage therapy in depressed patients.”

To investigate further, they searched for randomized controlled trials of massage therapy in depressed patients. They identified 17 studies including 786 people in all. In 13 of the trials, massage therapy was compared to another active treatment such as Chinese herbs, relaxation exercises, or rest, while four compared massage to a “no treatment” control group. Investigators also used a range of methods for evaluating mood and depression in study participants.

Overall, the studies, which were of “moderate” quality, showed that massage therapy had “potentially significant effects” in alleviating symptoms of depression, the researchers report in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Researchers attribute this to several possible factors, including stress release brought about by massage, an “alliance” that forms between the patient and therapist, or possibly the release of the “trust hormone” oxytocin.

Source: Yahoo! News

Grand prize package includes roundtrip airfare for two, accommodations at the luxurious Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa, astrological sessions with Albert Clayton Gaulden, hot stone massages, private meditation instruction and a guided hike in the majestic red rocks.

ARV of this prize package is $28.50.

Visit Simon & Schuster to enter this sweepstakes.

Sponsored by Woman’s Day:

Enter to win a relaxing four-day, three-night Sip, Spa & Shop stay for two at The Palms Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach, Florida. The prize also includes two spa welcome cocktails at Essensia Lounge, daily breakfast buffet for two at Essensia Restaurant, a choice of a 50-minute elemental nature massage or facial per person, along with 25% off all Aveda products at The Palms Spa. It also includes a Bloomingdale’s VIP wallet full of irresistible offers, including a welcome gift, a 15% off savings certificate valid for one week, a signature gift with purchase and much more! Approx. retail value: $1,900

You can enter this contest here.

Sponsored by Acacia, this contest package includes:

* Roundtrip airfare to Monterey, California
* Three night’s accommodations at the Cypress Inn
* Ground transportation
* Daily art classes
* Daily yoga classes
* Massage
* Daily meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

This contest has an ARV of $5000, and can be entered here.

One of the biggest underlying factors of disease is stress, and it’s hard to find a greater stress breaker than massage. Massage can also lead to enhanced body awareness:

Body awareness is just what it sounds like, being aware of your body. Most of us walk around oblivious to the body we live in. We don’t pay attention to what we put in it or how we treat it. Getting massage forces us to pay more attention to ourselves. We become more aware of the aches and pains that we ignore. When you do one thing that is good for you it snowballs and you want to do more good things for yourself. Massage encourages to take better care of ourselves.

Get all the health benefits of massage with this great Fitness.com article.