Massage Massage is one of the oldest, simplest form of therapy that many find it beneficial.

It is a system of stroking, pressing and kneading different areas of the body to relieve pain, relax, stimulate and tone the body. Massage , which originated about 4,000 years ago, was initially used for healing purposes. By the end of the 19th century, a significant number of doctors started practicing massage as part of their therapy. However, with the advent of technology in the 20 th century, massage therapy took a back seat. However, in 1970, massage therapy made a comeback. Today, there is a large number of practicing massage therapists all over the world and the figure is growing daily. Many forms of massages have also emerged such as the Thai massage and the Balinese massage. Massage mainly affects the muscles and organs, depending on the pressure and technique used. Massage stimulates blood circulation and improves the elimination of waste from the body. Healing massage are sought- after because they are relaxing, stress-free and painless. Massage promotes a restful, good feeling. A good massage also improves breathing and keeps us healthy and alert. The sensuous touch of the hand, coupled with the right pressure in the right places, makes the visit to the therapist an enjoyable experience. It releases tension and engenders mental well-being. A regular massage strengthens and tones the entire body and helps to prevent injuries and other problems that might occurs due to any stress or tension. While eliminating anxiety and pressure altogether in this fast-paced world may be idealistic, massage can help manage stress by decreasing anxiety, enhancing sleep quality, improving concentration and reducing fatigue. Massage is also known to have helped overcome the problems of allergies, anxiety, arthritis , asthma, bronchitis, carpal syndrome, chronic and temporary pain, circulatory problems, depression, digestive disorders, headache and muscle pain, sports injuries and temporomandibular joint dysfunction. Massage also does wonders for depression, insomnia and digestive problems. It reduces muscular tension, and also enhances

tissue, and also enhances tissue elasticity and flexibility, and improves the range of the motion on joints. However, there are certain precautions to takes when pregnant women go for massage. The therapist needs to be informed of the pregnancy. Similarly, the therapist needs to be extras careful of any burns or open wounds on the area to be massaged. Those who have had a recent heart attacks, cancer, deep vein thrombosis, unhealed fractures and severe osteoporosis should consult a qualified therapist before taking up any massage sessions.

The Toddlers Toddlers between the ages of one and two seem to suddenly go from babbling hesitantly to confidently chatting up a storm. This rapid vocabulary expansion follows a simples mathematical pattern The Bell Curve. Cognitive scientist Bob McMurray of the University of Iowa set out to assess the potential to learn each of some 200 words via a relatively simple mathematical model of word learning on a commonly available spreadsheet. He set a numerical threshold at which a given word would be considered learned, operating under certain assumptions, it would take children time to learn each word, they could pick up multiple words at the same time, and that some words were more difficult to process. The simulations are analogous to jellybean jars, each jar representing a word. Every time a word is heard, a jellybean goes into the jar. More difficult words require bigger jars with more beans in orders for the words to be considered learned. Once, that jar is full, the word is in the Toddlers vocabulary. Running the actual mathematical model, McMurray found that toddlers inevitably experienced an explosion in word learning after a set period time, no matter what. Initially the most common word are learned relatively slowly followed by the rapid jump in vocabulary. In other words, a child might know only the most commonly heard words at 12 months, but at 16 month the child might be able to command hundreds of words that are only heard occasionally. The shape of this learning curve s a simple, normal statistical distribution, more commonly known as the Bell Curve. Scaling up the model to include 10,000 words showed the same pattern, as did varying the underlying variables for example, assuming that a child could only learn one word at a time. These specialized mechanisms are working on the margins, Mc Murray says but to explain the big picture, its much, much simpler. Any time you have more difficult than easy words the learning curve will have this property. The curve should also apply to children learning other things, like facts or physical skills, and drop off precipitously,

perhaps in late adolescence. That is why toddlers can grasp new word more easily compared to teenagers and young adults. The curve may explain why some children learn language faster than others, mainly due to variations in the amount of words to which they are exposed or differences in shortterm memory abilities.