There are many benefits to massage

Jeannine Di Pasquale used to be a skeptic.

She thought massages were an indulgence of the wealthy.

"I thought it was one of those things that people who had a lot of money did to pamper themselves," she said.

Then, 15 years ago, while she was completing a master's degree, working a full-time job and raising two children, a co-worker gave her a gift certificate for a massage.

She went - reluctantly - and left transformed. She was a lot less stressed and felt balanced, and the effects lasted for a couple weeks. Since then, she's visited massage therapists regularly as part of what she considers her...