As of Friday, February 7, I do, for one, though the market of one I represent is hardly justification. Much as I love a good massage, much as I appreciate the health value massage delivers - relieving tension, reducing stress, improving circulation, stimulating muscles - the fact is I just had the first treatment in a year.
No, this is not personal, it is a matter of principle and when it comes to health, principles are all-important. The reality is that almost everything to do with the body, with what we eat, what we drink, what prepared foods we buy for our dogs and pets is regulated. Heck, even the food we feed the fish in our aquarium or the hamster running on a wheel in the cage is regulated. Some would say over-regulated, but at least we know — or believe we know — that what we are putting in our mouths and bodies passes some sort of test.
The point is everything we do related to our bodies internally is regulated in one way or another and we can choose to accept or reject. We have information before us to guide our decisions. Yet in The Bahamas, unlike a lot of other places, what can be done to our bodies is not.
We can presume that the therapist in a stunning resort spa is highly trained and qualified and meets the highest standards. And maybe the individual at a neighbourhood salon does, too, but we have no way of knowing because there are no academic training requirements to rub someone down.
Where the greatest danger lies is not in the parlour where the patron is poised for happy endings, but in the practice that overlaps physiotherapy or makes a pretext of doing so.
