Do you ever page through fashion magazines, or even the Sunday paper supplements and look aghast at the cost of some body lotions?   Case in point being Creme de la Mer Body Lotion which is £100 for 200 ml.

In society today being able to survive on very little sleep is lauded.  After all, just think how much more can be achieved, how much more work can be done.  I had a colleague once who used to brag about waking up at 3 a.m to check his Blackberry for e-mails from our U.S head office!

These days it's not enough just to be able to run for the bus without getting out of breathe. True fitness means having endurance, flexibility and strength.  For example,  even if you can run a marathon, can you do a set of push ups, can you touch your toes? If not, then esentially you're only partially fit. 

This can be depressing and can make the fitness mountain seem just too hard and too high to climb. However, the benefits of overall fitness are fantastic. Imagine if the wheels of your car worked but your shock absorbers were shot.  It wouldn't be a comfy ride.  Cultivating overall fitness needn't be intimidating.  In fact, if you vary your regime it makes exercising more interesting and keeps you motivated.  Three activities a week such as running, weights and yoga will cover all bases and keep you looking and feeling fabulous.

Whether you work out regularly or are a stranger to exercise, it's good to know what your general fitness level is and identify the areas that need attention.

Start with these simple tests brought to you by The Guardian online.

A great way to fit more massage into your life without blowing the budget is to have regular 20-30 minute chair massage sessions.

If you can find a few colleagues or friends * who could also do with some regular massage then chair massage is the way to go. Why not catch up with friends and organise a coffee morning or pamper evening?  Or spend 20 minutes of your lunch break relaxing and de-stressing.

In fact having regular shorter massage sessions is often more beneficial than only having one longer session every few months. Tight muscles in your back, neck and shoulders easily return to their usual state within a week. So, imagine if in a weeks time you had another massage?

For the price of an hours massage you could get three 20 minute sessions, spread over three weeks.

Chair massage has become popular in the last few years for a number of reasons. If you're not familiar with this "alternative" form of massage, or if you've just been putting off getting one, here are a few reasons why you should try it:

• It's fast. A chair massage can be as short as fifteen minutes or as long as a half hour. This is a perfect arrangement for people who don't have much time.
  

• It's easy on the budget. Chair massages are all timed and the charge is based on the length of the massage. So if you don't want to spend a lot of money, it's a good way to try massage

• It's specific. A lot of people don't want, or feel they don't need, what is traditionally called a "full body massage" (a table massage). Chair massage was designed to make it easy to treat the back, neck and shoulders - areas that carry a lot of stress in most people. (But it's also possible to massage the arms, hands and head this way. The only parts of the body that are hard to access in a massage chair are the extreme lower back, the legs and the feet.)

• It's less threatening. For some people, the idea of removing some of their clothes and then having someone they don't know, or don't know well, give them a massage is enough to keep them away from the massage table permanently. During a chair massage the client keeps their clothes on. Nudity is not only not required, it's not allowed!

• It can be just as effective as a longer table massage. Sometimes it's the frequency - not the length - of a treatment that matters. People who can't afford, or don't have the time for, regular table massages may not get them very often, or on a regular basis. But if they can manage a shorter (and therefore lower-priced) chair massage more often than they would get a table massage, they may find that the benefits - the relaxation and stress relief - last longer. Also, it's possible that when they do get stressed, their reaction is not as severe or as long-lasting. Because their muscles have been getting more frequent reminders of how to handle stress, they are better equipped to deal with it when it does arrive.

GET IN TOUCH TODAY TO FIND OUT HOW TO SCHEDULE 

REGULAR MASSAGE INTO YOUR WEEK!

* Kindly note - a minimum of three clients are required to book a chair massage session at work or home.