Are you one of the 5 million pickleball players in the United States? Or, have you heard about the funny-sounding sport named “pickleball?” Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the USA and is relatively young, invented in Bainbridge Island, west of Seattle, in 1965. It is an easy game to learn with basic mastery after just one session. But don’t be fooled by the accessibility—there’s a national pro pickleball league and tournaments proffering up tens of thousands in prize money each. If you’ve been bitten by the pickleball bug, you might be playing multiple times per week. With a ..read more

Are you one of the 5 million pickleball players in the United States? Or, have you heard about the funny-sounding sport named “pickleball?” Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the USA and is relatively young, invented in Bainbridge Island, west of Seattle, in 1965. It is an easy game to learn with basic mastery after just one session. But don’t be fooled by the accessibility—there’s a national pro pickleball league and tournaments proffering up tens of thousands in prize money each. If you’ve been bitten by the pickleball bug, you might be playing multiple times per week. With a ..read more

April is here, and along with baseball and soggy weather, it brings tax season. At Zeel, we’re often asked, “is massage tax-deductible?” The answer is: it depends. There certainly are situations where you can deduct massage on your taxes – but make sure your massages qualify as a tax write-off, or the IRS may have an unpleasant surprise waiting for you. When are massages not tax-deductible? You cannot deduct a massage from your taxes if you decided to pay for it with an HSA or FSA account. According to the IRS, medical expenses paid for with an HSA (health savings account) or FSA (flexible spe ..read more

Parenting is a tough job with a diverse set of challenges. Just when you think you have all the answers, your kids grow and surprise you in new and interesting ways. We’ve teamed up with our friends at Winnie, an app that helps parents through every age and stage of their parenting journey, to learn about the common challenges parents face that can be solved with a simple massage. Yes, you heard us right. Add massage to your parenting toolkit and you’ll be ready to tackle these parenting challenges in no time. 6 times when massage is great for moms and dads 1. Pregnancy For moms-to-be, a ..read more

Most people have experienced DOMS, or ”delayed onset muscle soreness,” to some degree, as it can affect anyone from the experienced athlete to the novice exerciser to someone who simply did some vigorous yard work. Basically, if you can put your muscles through hard work, you can suffer delayed onset soreness in them.  While much is still unknown about the exact causes of DOMS (which, when said aloud, rhymes with “proms”), what has been scientifically proven is that massage is an effective treatment for it. But before we discuss treating DOMS, let’s talk about what it is. What is DOMS? DO ..read more

From casual hobbyists right to the pros, this one’s for all golfers. If you want to hit the links in your best possible shape, here’s a method that may not have crossed your mind: massage. Perhaps you’ve seen assistants massaging a boxer at the end of a round or heard that the GOAT, Tom Brady, makes massage part of his daily routine. That’s because massage has proven benefits for amateur and professional athletes of all kinds. The PGA Tour’s Massage Envy Player Performance Center, is a key marker of how seriously the golf world takes massage. These two 16-by-40 trailers go tournament to tourna ..read more

It’s a known (if ironic…or tragic) fact that only with age do we realize how we’ve taken our bodies for granted. Simple tasks like lifting heavy items, jumping out of bed, or simply bending over without feeling a tweak—or worse—begin to escape us as each year passes. And it only gets scarier. Falls occur in one-third of all adults over 65 years old—both resulting from and leading to decreased mobility, as well as increased associated healthcare costs. There are many reasons that fall risk increases as we age. Generally, as we get older we become more sedentary, costing us strength and elastici ..read more

Massage therapy is one of the most effective, natural methods of relaxation and physical recovery, whether you’re rehabilitating from an injury or you’ve simply had a stressful day. Numerous scientific studies have shown that massage provides measurable health benefits, which become even more valuable as we age. Unfortunately, the miles we put on our bodies can also bring with them downsides like increased sensitivity to pressure, vulnerability in bones and joints, reduced suppleness in muscles and fascia, and other assorted bummers. These factors can affect the types of massage therapy you (o ..read more

OMG it’s December already! Time to get your shopping list under control, your Christmas cookie consumption in check, and a solid handle on your health benefits options as the end of the year approaches. You may be wondering about massage coverage under your insurance insurance plan—specifically, paying for your massage with a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA). It’s actually extremely common, as there are countless health benefits of massage therapy. Massages can improve circulation, decrease pain and inflammation, reduce stress, as well as provide numerous benefit ..read more

Yoga and massage are two of the most popular wellness practices, and if your instinct is telling you to combine them, you’re definitely on to something. Yoga and massage are actually more similar than you may think. Both practices detoxify and oxygenate the body by increasing blood flow; both can increase flexibility and range of motion; and both are excellent for relieving stress. And did you know yoga is actually a type of self-massage? It’s true! The twisting, bending, and folding that takes place during yoga actually massages the internal organs, making it an excellent way to gently promot ..read more