José Rubén De León hasn't always found it easy to spread his knowledge of infant massage. He has to continually work to overcome stereotypes that people hold of males in this female-dominated field. It was De León's mother, diagnosed with colon and liver cancer in 1996, who first sparked his interest in massage. "She enjoyed having her body massaged, especially her hands and her head," he says. "Touching my mother in this intimate way allowed for me to better understand her discomfort, her pain, and it helped me prepare for her death." After her death De León decided that he wanted to learn more about the art of massage, and enrolled in a local massage school. De León opened his San Antonio, Texas, practice in 1997. Two years later he began working with parents and their infants. "I had three clients who were expecting babies," he says. "All three of [them] asked that I teach them infant massage. I started reading books and purchased a few videos on infant massage, but I discovered that there were many different approaches to the art."

Cary Cruea is a trailblazer. A decade ago, she implemented massage in airports, and was soon imitated by other companies. Now she's redesigned her company's brand image and is poised to expand into additional locations and offer expanded services. The company announced the changes in September. Massage Bar's first location was in the Seattle Tacoma International Airport; in 1997 it expanded to Nashville. Its newest locations, a store and kiosk in New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, opened in August. According to Cruea, the company's president and founder, another kiosk will open in Washington D.C.'s Dulles International Airport in February. One reason for the company's growth is increased air- traveler anxiety, Cruea said. "Before [9-11], massage in an airport was just a darn good idea," she explained. "Think about every time you travel, you're on a completely different schedule, you get up at 5 a.m., you don't have breakfast, you're squashed on-board between two people. Physically, it's really, really stressful on your body. "Now you toss in the emotional fear that accompanies travel since 9-11," she added. Massage Bar's near-decade of airport experience has also helped the company grow, Cruea said. "We're receiving a lot of recognition, and we have a lot of momentum in the airport industry now," she explained. "Especially with our new look, it's gaining a lot of attention." That new look incorporates recycled materials and natural elements into the design - including bamboo and river rock accents; sound-absorbing, recycled- rubber-tire flooring; and nature murals suspended from the walls. The redesign does away with the original look - dark wood with brass and dark-green accents - in most of Massage Bar's locations. Cruea described the changes as "a facelift" for the company.

"Over the years I began making my own massage lotions and oils, and I gradually developed formulas that I found particularly useful." - Harvest McCampbell Now I'd like to share my basic techniques with you, so you can begin to make your own formulas. Plan a few fun afternoons to try out some of these recipes, either on your own or with friends or colleagues (you can double or triple the quantities, and divide the costs for the ingredients and supplies). Once you have mastered the basics, you can begin experimenting with base oils, herbs and essential oils until you come up with your own favorites. Once you've created your own blends, you can let clients choose one with their favorite scent. Personalizing a session with a specialty blended oil or lotion makes your clients feel special, and gives them one more reason to return.