Massage Class in a Box, Teaching Script

Transcription

1 Introduction... 3 When not to give a massage... 3 What does massage do?... 5 Getting ready... 5 General Guidelines... 6 Basic positioning... 7 SUPERFICIAL TECHNIQUES... 7 Settling down... 7 Easy circles... 7 Buff the body... 8 Variations:... 8 Feathering... 8 Alternating Feathers... 8 THE SHOULDERS... 9 Forearm press... 9 Thumb compressions... 9 Elbow compressions... 9 Trap squeezes THE NECK Finding the neck extensors Supporting the head Neck squeeze C-Scoops Pressure points under the base of the skull Skull kneading HEAD Typing on the head Claw the scalp Head squeeze Hair pulling ARMS Deltoid squeeze Double Arm squeeze Forearm pressure points Arm roll HANDS Fast Alternating Thumb Compressions The hand glide Inchworm Knuckle shake MID-BACK Supporting the torso Fist compressions Fist frictions Thumb compressions Shoulder blade press LOW BACK The Butterfly

2 Walking Fists Double Thumb Compressions The Glut Press LEGS Quad squeeze Hamstrings squeeze IT band compressions Calf squeeze FEET Foot squeezes Alternating fingertip compressions Toe squeezes Thumb compressions to the top of foot Integrating the techniques

3 Introduction Hi there and welcome to the workshop. I don t think massage is something that only trained professionals can do. Everyone can learn simple massage techniques that they can use with their friends and family. And today in this introductory program, I want to help you to do some great massage by teaching you some easy to use massage techniques. You certainly won t learn how to become a massage therapist in this short time we ll spend with you today, but you ll learn to make everyone around you feel great. Now the biggest problem with most massage techniques is that they are done with oils and they require that your massage partner gets undressed. That s not really very practical or very comfortable. So what we ll share with you today are techniques that are done over the clothing. You can do these massage techniques anytime and anywhere. You might want to give your spouse a quick neck rub after work to get rid of some of the day s stress; you may want to give your child a quick little backrub to quiet them down before they go to bed; you may want to give your stressed out co-worker a short shoulder massage so that they feel reenergized to go on with their day. All the techniques you ll learn are extremely practical. You don t need any special equipment, tools or oils. All you need are your hands. When not to give a massage Before we get into any techniques however, we need to give you some very important safety guidelines. Massage is very safe. It is hard to hurt someone doing massage. However, there are some conditions that a person may have that you would want to avoid because you could aggravate an existing condition or cause them pain. You don t want to do that. You want your partner to feel good. Avoid massaging anyone with these kinds of conditions. 1. Do not massage anyone who has a contagious condition, for example, the flu. Doing massage may worsen their symptoms and put you at risk of getting the infection and passing it on to others. It certainly is not going to make anyone feel better. 2. Do not massage a recent injury. Many times people that are suffering with an acute injury think that massage will make them feel better when in fact the opposite is true. Massage in this case can aggravate the pain, prevent the injury from healing and inflame the injury site. 3. Do not massage any inflamed areas. Signs of inflammation include redness, heat, swelling, pain, and a loss of movement. Massage will aggravate the inflammation

4 4. Do not massage someone who is experiencing severe pain. Severe pain is an indication that there is some kind of tissue damage, injury or inflammation in the body. 5. Do not massage over obvious skin problems like open wounds, sores, acne, cuts, abrasions or bruises. 6. Lastly, if something is bleeding, leaking, oozing, or weeping avoid it. As a general rule if you are not sure whether you should massage a person because of these or any other conditions, then don t. The golden rule is: If in doubt, don t massage

5 What does massage do? The massage you ll learn in this workshop is simply designed to help your partner relax and feel good. It is not meant as a treatment for injuries or pain problems. Touch is absolutely vital for a healthy body and a healthy mind and you can be sure that you ll be helping everyone around you feel good and stay healthy by applying the simple techniques you ll learn in this program. Getting ready. Here are a few thoughts around preparing to give a massage: Help your partner feel comfortable First, make sure that you have permission to do the massage and your partner feels comfortable with it. As much as you love giving or getting massage, not everyone shares your enthusiasm. As well, you want to reduce any anxiety by making sure that the receiver has enough time and that they feel comfortable with where the massage is being done. The most important thing you can do to help them relax is to be very clear as to what they can expect. Let them know what you are going to do in the massage and what areas you are going to be massaging so that there are no surprises. Give your partner permission to give you feedback during the massage. Let them know that if anything feels painful or uncomfortable for any reason that they should let you know. Assure them that you welcome the feedback and won t be offended. Setting the stage Ideally you want to do the massage in a quiet location. The techniques for this workshop are really designed to be done anywhere, anytime. However, a peaceful environment will enhance the relaxation effect. If possible, dim that lights. You may also choose to play some relaxing music. Find out if they should get massage Find out before you begin if there are any reasons why your partner should not be massaged. Naturally we all want to rub areas that hurt. And once people find out that you re the massage person, they ll seek you out when they are hurting. However, you need to be aware that you can aggravate injuries and actually increase the person s pain if you are not careful. We ve discussed some conditions that we don t want to massage. Be familiar with these and don t be shy about declining to do a massage if you don t feel it s appropriate. It s in your partner s best interests. Practice proper hygiene With this massage, you are mostly working through the clothing and there is little skin-toskin contact. This alone minimizes the risk of spreading germs. Despite this, it s important to practice proper hygiene to prevent any infections

6 The single best defense to spreading infectious bugs is simply hand washing. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before and after each massage. If you don t have access to a sink, you can always use an anti-microbial liquid or antibacterial hand wipes. There is a range of these products on the market. General Guidelines [Note: These can be interspersed amongst the techniques as tips] Don t cause pain Don t massage bones Ask for feedback Be gentle on tender areas The massage should feel good. Pain is an indication that damage is being done. Slight tenderness is OK, but if the person holds their breath, tightens up, or starts squirming because of discomfort, the pressure is too deep. If you are the receiver and you feel uncomfortable let your giver know. This can be painful for the person in the chair and is hard on your hands. Not to mention the fact that bones don t relax. Invite feedback. Give the recipient choices. For example, you can ask them, Could this be lighter or deeper? or Does it feel better if I do it this way or this way? After the massage, find out what they liked most about it and what they liked least. Use the information to improve your next massage. Tenderness is a sign of muscle tension. If you work too deeply, the muscle will simply contract to protect itself. In addition, the person may feel stiffness from your massage the next day. Use a steady even pace Keep the movements smooth and rhythmical. Hold each squeeze or compression momentarily and release the pressure slowly. Spend the same amount of time coming out of the muscles as you do pressing in. Don t assume others like the same things as you do. Stay relaxed Keep your spine in a straight (neutral) position. Just because you like a deep massage doesn t mean everyone does. Find out before the massage begins what the person s experience of massage has been in the past and whether or not they have preferences regarding the pressure or the areas that are being massaged. Because you are concentrating intently, you ll find that your shoulders will have a tendency to creep up around your ears. Holding your shoulders tense like this will make you tired and achy. Once and awhile check to see that your shoulders are dropped and relaxed. Don t forget to breathe. And be sure to keep your hands as relaxed as possible. To avoid hurting your back, it must remain supported and aligned. Bend from your knees and hips, not your back. You don t want to suffer to make others feel good. Do lots of repetitions Don t be afraid to repeat any particular technique a number of times. This repetition makes the massage more relaxing. We are moving very quickly from technique to technique in this

7 instructional video, but if you have the time, slow things down and repeat each technique several times. Basic positioning There are a number of ways you can position your partner for this massage, both for your comfort and theirs. For most of the massage techniques, the person can just sit on the edge of their chair. Sometimes, it s easier to have them sit sideways on the chair so the backrest doesn t get in the way and you have unrestricted access to their back. You can have them straddle a chair and sit backwards. If you wanted to, you could even do many of these techniques with your partner lying down. We ll give you specific suggestions as we go along and you ll see people positioned in a variety of ways. With some techniques, you may have to support your partner s body so they can relax fully and we ll show you how to do this too. SUPERFICIAL TECHNIQUES The first techniques you ll learn are quite superficial. These techniques are great to use when starting or finishing your massage. They can also be used to transition from one area to another without breaking the flow of your massage. This first technique we ll call Settling down Sometimes it takes a few minutes to get into a relaxation mindset and this technique gives your partner a little time to shift gears and make a mental transition from their crazy day to this relaxing experience. Use this time to relax yourself as you decide what techniques you re going to use for your massage To begin, stand behind your partner and gently drape your hands over your partner s shoulders Relax your hands, relax your body. Drop your shoulders and elbows. Hold this position and ask your partner to take a few deep breaths and take a couple of deep breaths yourself Now let s do something with some movement. Let s do Easy circles Stand to one side of your partner in a small lunge position Front leg bent and back leg straight Place one hand on the shoulder closest to you and the palm of the other hand on the opposite side of the upper back. Perform circular movements using the entire palm of your hand Continue these light circular movements down the back, overlapping one over the next

8 Don t bend from the waist as your hand travels down partners back. If you need to, widen your lunge. Make the circles slow and rhythmical This next technique has a silly name, but it feels good. We are going to Buff the body Stand to one side of your partner in a small lunge position Place one hand on the shoulder closest to you and the other hand on the opposite side of the upper back Make a loose fist with your hand and imagine that you are holding a small cloth Pretend that you are buffing your partner s back with the cloth as you perform small, quick back and forth movements on the opposite side of the back Start at the top and work downward This technique is quite light and superficial. Avoid pressing so hard that your partner is rocking on their seat. Keep your back nice and straight. Don t bend from the waist. If necessary, widen your stance. t Move to other side of partner and repeat this sequence down the other side of the back Variations: There are a couple of variations with this technique: Do the same movement using the heel of your hand Or do the same movement using your fingertips And lastly, here s an all-purpose technique that we can use on the back, arms or legs. It s called Feathering Stand behind your partner and place both hands lightly on the shoulders Very lightly stroke both hands down the back towards the hips Keep whole hand on the back. If you use only fingers it can feel very ticklish Bring the hands back onto the shoulders and repeat several times keeping the strokes slow and even Make sure you travel the whole way down the back, right to the top of the pelvis, each time. You can also start this technique with the hands on the top of the head Alternating Feathers Try doing this feathering with one hand after the other As one hand reaches the bottom of the back the other hand starts at the top Do this movement in a fluid, rhythmical way

9 THE SHOULDERS The shoulder techniques that we are going to learn target the trapezius muscle or traps for short. It s easy to remember the traps because this is where we all trap our tension. This is the muscle that pulls our shoulders up into our ears when we get stressed. And it s the cause of a lot of headaches. So almost everyone appreciates a little massage to these poor overworked muscles. Let s start with a technique we call the Forearm press Stand directly behind your partner with your feet close together Place your forearms on top of the shoulders beside the neck keeping your palms facing down. This positioning places the muscle rather than the bony part of your forearm on the shoulder Slowly let your weight fall on top of the shoulders Press straight down. Be careful not to push your partner forward or backward Lift the arms. Move them down along the shoulders slightly and repeat Be sure to avoid pressing on the bones at the outside edge of the shoulders Now that our partner s shoulders are warmed up and wanting more, we ll get a little more specific with Thumb compressions It s important not to press on the bone at the edge of the shoulder. Use your thumbs to press this area. Do you feel how the tip of the shoulder is hard and boney? Move towards the neck until you are on soft muscle. That s where we ll start. Stand to one side of your partner and place your thumb in that soft area close to the edge of the shoulder Put the other thumb on top of your thumb for reinforcement Push into the traps directing the pressure on an angle down towards the opposite side of the seat Lift the thumbs and place them an inch closer to the neck and repeat Keep on the top or crest of the muscle. The tendency is to be either to far forward or to far back on the trap. Ask your partner for some feedback. Do a series of compressions until you reach the point where the neck meets the shoulders Now we ll do essentially the same technique, but instead of using our thumbs, we ll do Elbow compressions Stand to one side of your partner in a small lunge Place your elbow on top of the traps at the edge of the shoulder in exactly the same place we started with our thumbs in doing the thumb compressions Make a C-shape with your free hand and wrap it firmly around the elbow for stability Let a little weight fall through your elbow directing the pressure on an angle downward towards the opposite side of the seat Lift the elbow and place it an inch inward and repeat

10 Make the compressions very even. The length of time it takes to press into the muscle should be the same length of time to release from the muscle. A common mistake is to press slowly and then to release the pressure too quickly. Press hold and slowly release your pressure. Repeat these compressions until you reach the point where the neck meets the shoulders Don t be fearful in using the elbow. The elbow is a broad point so the force is dispersed over a wider area than the thumbs. Simply ask your partner if the pressure needs to be lighter or deeper and adjust accordingly. Now we ll finish up on the shoulders by doing Trap squeezes Stand behind your partner and place your hands over their shoulders Place your fingertips on the front edge and let your heels of the hands rest on the back of the muscle Squeeze the traps between the fingers and the heel of the hand Keep hold of the muscle. Don t let it slide out of your grasp Repeat this several times. Change the position of your hands and move them up or down the traps You ll find that there is more muscle bulk in the center of the traps and less at near the neck and at the tip of the shoulder. Be sure to use the heel of your hands and avoid using your thumbs. Place the heels of the hands well down the back edge of the traps so you don t pinch It s also very important to make sure that you place the fingers on the front edge of the traps. If you put them to far forward around the neck your partner will feel like they are getting choked. On the other hand, if your fingers are not forward far enough, your partner will feel like you re pinching their skin. Now that we ve worked on the shoulders, let s move onto the neck THE NECK Finding the neck extensors These next techniques will target the neck extensors, which are a group of muscles that lie on the back of the neck. To feel them, stand to one side of your partner. Using a pincer grasp (like a lobster claw, thumb on one side, fingers working together on the other side) place thumbs on the edge of the muscles on the side closest to you and place your fingers on the edge on the other side. You can walk along the muscle to identify the edges of the extensors by alternately squeezing with one hand and then the other. If your grip is too broad, you ll press into the tender area on the side of the neck. If you don t have enough muscle you will be pinching skin. When you pinch the muscle with both pincers at the same time, on either end of the neck, should see the edges of the muscle quite clearly

11 Supporting the head When you are working on the neck, it may be beneficial to provide some support to their head. Stand beside your partner and place the hand that is closest to the front of their body on their forehead, above their eyebrows, for support. Make sure that they drop their head forward or flex their neck forward into your hand. You want to make sure that they are relaxing their head forward as much as possible. The chin should drop towards the chest lengthening the back of the neck. Keep your elbow as close to your side as possible to prevent the supporting arm from tiring. The other hand is free to work on the neck. You will be focusing on the hand that is actually doing the techniques, but don t forget the supporting hand. Watch that you don t pull up on the forehead or accidentally poke them in the eyes. Let s start with our first technique, which is a simple Neck squeeze Cup you hand across the back of the neck Place yourself to the side and slightly in front of your partner so your wrist is not bent backwards. In this position your wrist should be nicely relaxed. Squeeze the muscles on the back of the neck between the heel of your hand and your fingertips. Keep right on the edges of the muscle as much as possible. Don t let the muscle slip out of your grasp. You will find that you need to stay slightly in front of your partner to effectively get the heel of the hand on the edge of the neck muscles Repeat up and down the neck People love this next technique that we call C-Scoops Make a C-shape with your free hand Put the C on the back of the neck so that the thumb is on one side of the neck extensor muscles and your fingertips on the other Use the tips of your fingers and not the flats helps to keep from sliding off the edges of the muscle Start at the top of the neck near the base of the skull and work downward Perform large circular movements moving the skin with your fingers. It s important not to slide on the skin. As you circle upwards and back with your hand pull the muscles gently away from the neck by applying a little pressure between the thumbs and fingertips. The action is like picking a cat up by the back of the neck Release the pressure slightly through the rest of the circle to allow your hand to relax This next technique targets the muscles where they pull on the base of your skull. Although this can feel very satisfying for most people, others might find that they are quite tender in this area. So be sure to get some feedback from your partner. Let s do these

12 Pressure points under the base of the skull These pressure points are done on the tendons of the neck muscles just slightly below the base of the skull, so you should get the sense that you are pushing into something that s a little bit soft Place your free hand in a fist and place your thumb on top of your index finger Keeping your palm down, press your thumb in the soft area below the skull and just slightly off the spine Lift your thumb and repeat the pressure point moving slightly towards the ears with each point The direction of force is towards the hand supporting the forehead. Slightly up and forward. From the spine, the base of the skull slopes downwards towards the ears. When doing the pressure points make sure you follow the sloping line of the base of the skull and stay underneath the skull bone. You don t want to press right on the skull bone itself Skull kneading Cup your hand across the base of the skull Keep the heel of your hand stationary or glued in place to the part of the skull closest to you Your first two fingers should rest easily on the other side of the skull Press in with your fingers as you perform small circular movements Circle up and towards your heel of the hand The pressure should be deep enough so that the skin and hair moves with your fingertips. Don t glide over the hair Lift the fingers, move them a little closer towards the midline and repeat the kneading action The heel of your hand serves to support the head and to prevent it from turning. HEAD Massage to the scalp feels heavenly. And here are some great techniques that your partner will love. Make sure that they are okay with you messing up their hair. This first one is light, but it gives your partner lots of great sensation. We going to pretend that we are Typing on the head Stand to the back of your partner. With your fingertips gently type all over the top of the head, pretending that the scalp is a keyboard You can type on the face, neck and shoulders You can move around your partner approaching the head from different angles. Keep the movements light and fast. Move around the head slowly, covering the entire scalp area. If you move too quickly or dart from one part of the head to another it feels scattered and abrupt

13 Next, we ll Claw the scalp Curl your fingers to make a claw shape Put your fingertips on the scalp across from each other. In order to support the head, the hands need to work across from each other. Don t put both hands on one side of the head or your partner will have to tighten their neck to stop you from pushing their head over Apply a firm pressure and move the hands and fingertips in small circular motions Move the skin and hair with your fingertips. Don t glide over the hair. Lift your fingertips and repeat on another place on the scalp Move around your partner to get all areas of the scalp Do lots of repetitions Let s move onto the Head squeeze This might look silly, but it feels great. Stand behind your partner Place the heels of your hands across from each other on the temples at the side of your partner s head Gently press the hands toward each other to squeeze the head Lift your hands, move them slightly along the side of the head and repeat. You can do this squeezing throughout the temples and the sides of the head. And we ll finish off with some Hair pulling Stand to the back of partner, although you can move around them as you do this technique You are going to mess up your partner s hair a little, so check with them and make sure that this is okay Gently slide your hands along the scalp through the hair Grab large clumps of hair close to the scalp in a loose fist Slowly tighten your fist, squeezing the hair in your fingers and fist The tighter you make the fist the more you will pull on the hair, so for lighter pressure keep the squeeze gentle Repeat throughout the scalp If the person has long hair, get your fingers under the hair so that you are pulling the roots of the hair Your partner should be starting to feel pretty relaxed at this point. Now let s move onto the

14 ARMS For these arm techniques you ll likely need to either squat down beside your partner or sit in a chair at their side. We ll begin at the top of the arm and work our way down. Let s start with the Deltoid squeeze The deltoid muscle lies at the top of the upper arm. Use a pincer grasp to find the edges. Like all squeezing techniques, it s important to find the edges of the muscle because if your grasp is too wide, you ll be squeezing bone. If it s too narrow, you ll be pinching skin. Let your partners arm hang freely Don t let them help you by holding their arm in the air Interlace your fingers and turn your palms away from you Place the heels of the hands on each side of the deltoid immediately below the edge of the shoulder Gently squeeze the deltoid between the heels of your hands Move the hands down the arm an inch and repeat. As you move down the arm the deltoid narrows. Only go about one third of the way down the upper arm. Go any farther than this and you ll end up simply pinching the fat and skin on the outside of the arm. We ll call this next technique the Double Arm squeeze Keep the arm hanging to the side. Wrap both hands around their upper arm just below the armpit Squeeze the muscles between the fingers and the heels of the hands To avoid pinching your partner use the flats of the fingers and push your hands gently toward each other as you squeeze Move an inch down the arm and repeat the squeeze. Continue to the elbow or even as far down as the wrist Now let s loosen up the muscles in the forearm with these Forearm pressure points Depending on how you are positioned, you can let the arm hang down or bend it at the elbow Put your hands around the forearm just below the elbow Place your thumbs on the muscle (called the wrist extensors) on the outside of the arm Placing one thumb on top of the other will reduce the stress on your thumbs Press in gently, hold, then lift your thumbs and repeat down the arm continuing down to the wrist You can return to the same starting point and do two or three lines down on the extensors. Turn the palm outward and repeat these pressure points pressing into the muscle on the inside of the forearm. These are known as your wrist flexors

15 Again, you can return to the same starting point and do two or three lines down the flexors You can do these pressure points anywhere there is muscle in the forearms, but avoid pressing on bone This next technique feels particularly good and is fun to do. We call it the Arm roll Place the flats of your hands on each side of your partner s arm just below the armpit. Place the hands opposite each other Press the hands towards each other as you move the hands back and forth relatively quickly You ll feel and see the arm roll between your hands As you perform this rolling action, slowly slide down the arm to the wrist. Even though your hands are moving back and forth quickly, be sure to move slowly down the length of the arm. You don t want their arm to bang against the chair or their body, so pull the arm slightly away from their body as you perform this technique. Why not finish off the arm by doing the feathering that we did to the back earlier in the program. HANDS Almost everybody loves hand massage. For these techniques you can sit in a chair in front of your partner with their elbow resting on their thigh for support or you can simply kneel or sit beside them. Let s begin with Fast Alternating Thumb Compressions Turn your partner s palm upward Wrap your hands around their hand, and place your thumbs on their palm Walk the thumbs across the palm of the hand, with relatively fast, alternating thumb compressions. Use the flat pads of your thumbs and not the tips Be sure to go over the whole palm Because this is not a deep pressure technique, you don t have to worry about pressing on the bones As a variation, you can turn your partner s palm to face away from you and do the compressions with your fingertips The hand glide With your partner s palm facing down, place the heels of your thumbs side by side on the back of the hand close to the wrist. Your fingers are underneath the palm

16 Squeeze a little and while squeezing, slowly slide the heels of thumbs across the back of hand Make sure to slide all the way to the sides of hand to get a good full stretch Repeat this slide several times across the hand The mechanics of this next technique can be a little tricky. If you can t get it right away, I ll give you an alternative that feels just as good. Inchworm Turn your partners palm down One hand supports your partner s hand With the other hand, place the side of your index finger at a right angle underneath your partner s little finger Place your thumb on top of and in line with the little finger Move your thumb a third of the way down the finger and press the index finger upward as it slides to meet the level of the thumb Again, move the thumb slide the finger Repeat until you reach the end of the finger Repeat for each finger While performing the inchworm keep your thumb lined up with your partner s finger Smoothly slide off the end each finger. Watch that you do not pull your partner s finger backwards. It s just not meant to bend that way If it s too difficult to get the co-ordination to do the inch worm, then as an alternative simply squeeze each segment of the fingers between the side of the index finger and the thumb. Do three squeezes for each finger. You can also do these squeezes to the sides of the fingers in the same way. There is really no muscle in the fingers, but there is lots of sensation and this squeezing feels really good. You ve heard of a knuckle sandwich? Well, we are going to do the Knuckle shake Turn your partner s palm downward Grab the knuckle of the little finger and the ring finger between your thumbs and index fingers Don t grab the knuckle joint itself, but grasp just a little more into the hand We re trying to get a hold of the long bones in the palm of the hand Hold these metacarpal bones firmly between your fingers and thumbs. Then push one metacarpal upwards as you push the other downwards Reverse the action and repeat this 8-12 times at a quick rate It s like a little jiggle of the hand Shift over to the next metacarpals and repeat the process Move across the hand and do each knuckle in turn. Let s move onto a ongoing favorite amongst massage recipients. Let s learn some techniques for the back. And we ll start off with the

17 MID-BACK We re going to tackle those tight muscles between the shoulder blades. Supporting the torso When you are working on the mid-back, you ll want to provide some support for your partner s torso. Do this by placing your arm across the top of their chest. Wrap your hand around the front of the opposite shoulder. You don t want to bend over too much to support them as this may strain your own back. So be sure to get into a lunge position so that you can keep your back relatively straight. Again, you will be focusing on the hand that is actually doing the techniques, but don t forget the supporting hand. Watch that your forearm doesn t end up across the front of their neck and choke them. There is a real tendency to let the arm slide up like this. Also, be careful that the hand doesn t drop down onto their chest. Do not squeeze with your support hand or push back with that arm. It is for support only. We ll begin with Fist compressions Stand to the side and support your partner s body. Maintain a nice deep lunge so that your back stays in a nice, straight line Make a fist with your other hand and place it high on the back between the spine and the shoulder blade. Lift your elbow to help get your hand up to the top of the back. and to keep your forearm at a right angle to the back Press straight into your partner s back and slowly release Move the fist downward and repeat several times moving down the mid-back. Don t do these compressions to the lower back because the abdomen has no support and you ll cause your partner s back to arch back Once you ve done a number of repetitions, move to the other side of your partner to do compressions to the other side of the mid-back Now here s one that s a little deeper and it s a little more work for you. But it feels good. It s called Fist frictions Stand to the side and support your partner s trunk and place your fist on your partner s back just like the fist compressions Firmly press straight into your partner s back. Maintain this pressure as you move the fist in quick, even, up and down movements Be sure to move the skin and shirt with the fist. Don t slide over the shirt Make the up and down movement as big as possible without sliding Do 10 to 12 repetitions, release and move the fist down the back. Repeat this action throughout the mid-back You ll need to move to the other side of your partner to do the frictions to the other side And now onto

18 Thumb compressions Support your partner s torso Make a fist with your hand and place your thumb firmly against your index finger or place your thumb in between the index finger and thumb Place the thumb next to the spine at the top of the mid-back Lift elbow to place the forearm at a right angle to the back. Keep your wrist in a straight alignment Press in slowly with your thumb and release slowly. Move down the back and repeat. When you ve reached the mid-back, bring the thumb up to the top of the back and move an inch to the outside of the first line Repeat a second line of thumb compressions down the back You may be able to do a third of fourth line, however, if it feels hard or bony under your thumb, don t press. You re likely on the ribs and not on muscle You ll need to move to the other side of your partner to compressions to the other side Your partner will love this next one: The Shoulder blade press Again, support your partner s trunk Place the heel of the hand on the top, inside edge of the opposite shoulder blade Press the heel of the hand towards the hand that is supporting the front of the shoulder Rather than pushing on the shoulder blade, you are compressing the tendons that attach to the inside edge. You want to press right beside the edge of the shoulder blade and not on the bone itself Release the pressure, move the heel of the hand down along the edge of the shoulder blade slightly and repeat Repeat these compressions to the bottom of the shoulder blade Move to the other side of your partner and repeat the compressions to the other shoulder blade Now that we ve completed the mid-back, we ll move onto the LOW BACK In working on the mid and low back, you can get the partner to support their back by having them lean forward with their elbow on their knees. Bending forward this way flexes the back and prevents the back from arching when you apply pressure. To feel the necessary support, they should have a wide stance with their feet and should keep their feet well away from the chair. This provides a solid base of support. Make sure your partner sits near the edge of the chair. You may want to have them turn their chair sideways so that the chair s backrest doesn t get in your way. As with most techniques, remember to stay in a lunge position and keep your spine nice and long. So stand directly behind your partner in a lunge position and let s do

19 The Butterfly With this technique, we ll place the palms of both hands flat on the mid-back with the thumbs along each side of the spine. You ll spread your fingers a little to create a butterfly shape with your hands, thus the name Let your weight fall forward into partner s back. Don t lift your shoulders or allow your elbows to bend excessively Release the pressure and move the hands downward. Continue this sequence to the top of the pelvis You may need to shift your back leg backward slightly to keep your back nice and straight It s very important that you don t start too high on the back or the person will feel like they are being pushed out of the chair. If this is uncomfortable for your wrists, you can also try Walking Fists Stand directly behind your partner in a lunge position Place your fists on each side of the spine in the mid-back Let your weight fall through one fist as the other moves down the back an inch Let the weight fall through the second fist as the first releases and moves downward Continuing this walking movement down to the top of the pelvis If necessary, shift your back foot back as you move down the back so you don t hunch forward You can do this walking action either up or down the back We can get a little deeper by doing Double Thumb Compressions Again, stand directly behind your partner in a lunge position Place one thumb on top of the other for support Reinforcing your thumbs this way puts less stress on the muscles and joints. Each thumb is only doing half the work. Put your reinforced thumb in the mid-back right beside the spine and make sure that the thumbs are lined up with the forearms Let your weight fall into your thumbs then slowly release the pressure Lift your thumbs and move down the back an inch or two and repeat this action down to the bottom of the low back When you ve finished this line, bring the thumb up to your starting position and move an inch to the outside to begin another line of compressions Perform two or three lines of thumb compressions down the back like this You ll likely have to kneel for this next technique and make sure the back of the chair is not in your way. We call this technique The Glut Press Glut is short for gluteus maximus, the big muscle that gives your bum it s shapely look

20 Place a fist on each side of the bum. Put your fists where their back pockets would normally be. Press both your fists together and forwards to compress the gluts Lift the fist and place them in another fleshy spot and repeat Do compressions throughout the back and the side of the hips being careful not to press on bone With any of these fist techniques to either the back or the gluts, you can twist your fist as you compress for more sensation LEGS Anyone who is on their feet all day will appreciate these next techniques. We re going to work on the legs and feet. For the leg techniques, get your partner to sit at the edge of their chair. You can also have your partner lie on their back for these. Whatever position you choose for your partner, you ll likely have to get on your knees to perform these ones unless you can get your partner to put their foot up on a table or a stool like this couple does. The quadriceps, or quads, are the big muscles on the top of your thigh that run from the hip to your knee. We re going to do a Quad squeeze Kneel to the side of your partner in line with their thigh Interlace your fingers and place your hands over the top of the thigh close to the hip Gently squeeze the quadriceps muscle between heels of your hands Push downward a little as you squeeze to get more of the muscle into your hand and to avoid pinching your partner Release slowly, move the hands along the leg and squeeze again. Continue these squeezes all the way to the knee And lets move to the back of the thigh as we do the Hamstrings squeeze The hamstrings are the big, long muscle on the back of the thigh. Stay in the same position as the quad squeeze This time, interlace your fingers underneath your partner s thigh Squeeze with the heel of your hands You can feel how the strength for this movement comes from your chest Like the quads, do a series of squeezes down the thigh toward the knee IT band compressions The illiotibial band or IT band is a thick tendon that lies on the outside of the thigh. Shift your body so that you are at right angles to your partner s thigh Stabilize the leg by placing your one hand on the inside of your partner s knee. Keep the fingers very flat and loose so that you don t tickle them

21 Make a fist with your other hand. Use this fist to push firmly into the IT band along the outside of the thigh. This can be tender, so apply the compressions cautiously Do a series of compressions along the outside of the thigh, from the side of the hip down toward the knee You can make this easier on your body by keeping your arms straight and making the force for the movement come from your torso Lastly let s do the Calf squeeze Kneel or sit in front of your partner s knee Interlace your fingers behind your partner s calf in the same way we did for the quads and hamstrings Place the heels of your hand on each side of the calf muscle and squeeze the muscle between the heels of the hands Do a series of squeezes starting just below the knee and finishing at the Achilles tendon The calf muscle narrows towards the ankle so be sure that the heels of your hands remain on the edges of the muscle so you don t end up simply squeezing their leg bone Let s move onto the feet. These techniques can feel really great. If your partner is ticklish, then do the techniques more slowly, press a little more deeply and use a broader contact. FEET Foot squeezes Sit in front of partner s foot Wrap both hands around the foot Squeeze the foot using the broad surfaces of the fingers and hands Begin close to the ankle and do a series of squeezes moving towards the toes You can repeat the series a few times Stay in the same position and let s do Alternating fingertip compressions Get your partner to lift up or flex their foot so you can get your fingers underneath Place the heels of your hands on top of the foot Press up into the sole of the foot with the fingertips of one hand, then press with the fingertips of the other hand Press firmly and move slowly as you walk your fingertips across the entire sole of the foot including the heel, arch, and ball of the foot As a variation, instead of alternating press with both sets of fingers at the same time

22 Toe squeezes Are exactly like the squeezes we did to the fingers earlier Support the foot with one hand With the other hand, grasp the base of a toe between the thumb and side of the index finger Do a series of squeezes moving towards the tip of the toe Squeeze firmly and repeat to all toes If your partner has bare feet, you can also squeeze the sides of the toes in the same way Our final technique is Thumb compressions to the top of foot Wrap both hands around foot and reinforce the thumbs by putting one thumb on top of the other We are going to massage the small muscles that lie between the bones of the foot Start by placing your thumbs in the webbing between the big toe and second toe. Slowly do a series of thumb compressions moving up the foot toward the ankle Use the flat pads of the thumbs As soon as you feel that you are pressing on bone, stop the movement and move into the webbing between the next toes Repeat this across the foot When you get to the outside of the small toe, you can do a series of pinching movements to the soft muscle that lies along the outside of the foot How are we feeling? Integrating the techniques We ve learned a lot of techniques. Tying them all together is a very simple process. As we ve learned these techniques, you ll notice that we ve done about four techniques to each region: The shoulders, neck, mid-back, low back, arms, hands, legs and feet. When you massage any particular area, start off with one of the superficial techniques you ve learned and then just mix and match the four techniques you ve learned for that area. We ve performed the techniques relatively quickly jus to get it all in, but you can slow down, do lots of repetitions and lots of sets of each one. And don t be afraid of coming back to a technique you ve already done. For example, you can do the forearm press to the shoulders, do the traps squeeze and then do more sets of the forearm press. It all feels good and it s almost impossible to do it wrong. When you are ready to move onto another part of the body, finish off with a superficial technique to the area you re working on and then move onto the next region. That s really all there is to it

23 It s time for us to go, but before we do, we want to encourage you to get the Massage Anytime, Anywhere DVD and watch it several times preferably with a partner who you can practice on as you follow along. Then practice. The more you practice the more comfortable you ll feel with the techniques and the better you ll get. I don t think you ll have a problem finding volunteers. People love this stuff and will be more than happy to help you out as a guinea pig. And massage whenever the opportunity presents itself. Share the gift of touch with the people around you: Your friends, family, partner, children, and colleagues. Remember, you can do this massage anytime, anywhere. Everyone can benefit. Enjoy!