Category Archives: Do-It-Yourself Massage Instruction

Massage oils……which is the best?

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trick question!!

If your a Massage Therapist your better off in the long run using a massage lotion. Why? Today’s high quality  lotions provide for a better overall massage experience for the client and therapist alike. Oils are much more…..oily, u know greasy. When your session is complete you spend more time removing the oily residue from your customer. Some oil will stay attached to your massage recipient’s body causing a unwanted sticky feeling and perhaps will be transferred to their clothes. These are not good outcomes. No matter how proficient a therapist you are a certain amount of oil will land on you and the carpet staining both.  The oil left on your towels and linens, or sheets will not all be laundered out completely. The remaining oil will become rancid, and the sheets, etc. will begin to smell and feel dank. You will be buying new sheets much sooner than you want….cutting into massage profits.

Lotions do mostly the opposite, because many are water based. Much less damage. The client leaves feeling much cleaner, silky smooth, and impressed.

 

Couples Massage……Too many chefs ruin the broth

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What is couples massage? Well, actually it two people receiving two massages, from two massage therapists, at the same time and place. Maybe it should be described as quadruple massage, after all, there are 4 parties present, yes?

Maybe, the two therapists present just don’t count. 2 plus 2 equals 2, huh? Though I’ve been asked to participate in “couples massage” before I always resisted, it just rubs me the wrong way. It cheapens the profession somehow.

In a ehow article, What is couples massage…..Massage benefits it’s recipients because it’s “useful for relieving the stress that can build up between two companions, that it brings two people together in a shared experience”, other articles suggest couples massage improves bonding, helps couples to get to know each other,,”etc. To me that just hype.

Yes, massage can reduce stress in individuals, but it does not enhance communication between a couple. To do that, the couple has to relate directly with one another.

Say your in marriage counselling , would you prefer 2 psychologists present during the therapy session, one for me..one for you. Would that help or hinder in conflict resolution.?

“Shared experience”, enhanced communication, reduced stress etc. All these benefits ascribed to couples massage just don’t add up.

If you want to share a massage experience, excellent,then learn how to massage each other. That way you will actually gain  real skills that will improve your relationship.

 

 

My hands hurt after I give a massage

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How to give a massage without having to need one by the time you finish.

Over the years my clients often tell me….”You must have very strong hands how can you give so many massages and not get tired or injured.” When I give my ………………..a massage my hands always hurt!”If you can relate, don’t feel bad. Even professional therapists have this problem.

In my line of work, now days, therapists last about 1 1/2 years. Not good news. One big reason why is injury. So my advice applies to both the beginner, novice, and to those providing massage for a living.

Lets use a typical massage situation. “Honey, can you rub my shoulders?”

Okay, 1) Before you start massaging lets get warmed up up. Relax your arms, let them dangle comfortably at your side, making sure that your shoulders are not elevated( drawn up by your ears). Now shake your hands vigorously. This loosens your shoulders, arms, all the way down to your fingers. Repeat a few times. Take a deep breath and now stretch your fingers apart wide. Give another shake or two and we are ready to begin the massage

2) align hands with your forearms. In other words keep your wrists straight. If you massage with wrists bent your asking for trouble. It’s kinda of like watering your lawn with a hose that is kinked, the water just can’t get through. To accomplish this you may have to bring your body higher or lower in relation to the shoulders (person) you are massaging.

3) Now place your hands along that muscle on the top part of the shoulder. That muscle is called the Trap muscle. Many people make the mistake of trying to pinch that muscle between the tips of their thumbs and fingers. Instead, allow your hand/fingers to conform to the shape of the muscle, with as much surface to surface contact as possible. Instead of pinching, try rolling the muscle between the fingers and thumb, even lifting the muscle up a bit away from the shoulder.

4) Don’t go at it to long. Build up slowly over time. Just a few minutes. Stop before you feel fatigue.

5) Learn different techniques, learn to use other parts of your anatomy to deliver that massage.

 

How not to get hurt massaging your hubby or significant other

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Ladies, so your new to massage. Maybe you learned massage from a book or some video on U tube.  That’s cool. Good for you, and good for hubby. Now I want you both to enjoy the experience. I want nobody to get hurt. That defeats the whole purpose, yes?

Okay, do you have a massage table? If this is going to be a regular event in your your home you may want to shell out a few bucks for a decent table. Let’s say you have a table. Most come with adjustable legs. So adjust the height. The rule of thumb is …..with u standing next to the table with your arms comfortably extended and the knuckles of hands resting on the tables surface. That is you initial adjustment. Now if hubby is a little more “thick” or bit “thinner” than the average guy then you might want to adjust up or down a notch to make up the difference.

Now the more hunched over you are while delivering massage the more likely  you are to hurting your back, conversely, the more your work (hubby) is jammed up near your body the chance increases of injury to your shoulders and upper extremities, up to the hands and fingers.

As you are new to massaging, remember, take it easy on yourself and build up slowly. Perhaps, your session should be only a couple minutes or so every other day as you slowly build up the stamina, strength and dexterity to give more. If he complains wanting more time just go ahead and blame me. You know, even after 20 years plus my clients want more too, but to finish the race you gotta pace. If you suspect your loved one has a medical condition, by all means, see a doctor.

 

Massage Touch a luxury?

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In many circles,  Massage is viewed as a luxury. Being touched feels good, for most of us, but we could live without it, right? Well, as it turns out, no.

Even as late as 1915, in hospitals and orphanages, a mysterious illness was running rampant. Infants were dying at rates between 90%-99% within the first year of  being admitted. Those who managed to survive were left permanently damaged.  Their bones did not grow properly, they were underweight, uncoordinated, and had compromised immune systems.. All these symptoms, and more, were associated with physical starvation.  Oddly, these infants were not starved at all, At least, not for food.

As it turned out, the Hospitals, in their ultimate wisdom,  reflecting on the best science of the time, decided that, because of the importance of  maintaining a germ- free environment, the babies would be handled only as much as necessary. As a consequence of this forward thinking, babies  died, with great frequency.  The disease was properly named “Merasmus” which meant a “wasting away”.  This touch deprivation looked exactly like physical starvation. There was an immediate, drastic improvement, once nurses and other caregivers handled and played with the infants.

So, maybe you believe we have advanced past that primitive stage of understanding the importance of touch. I have my doubts. Take, for example, our children. Teachers are no longer allowed to hug the children in some schools. So, do you think this practice “protects” our children? Read what Lenore Iskenazy has to say on Free-Range-Kids in an article entitled “school devises drastic solution”.

The need for touch does not just disappear as we age.There exists another hidden killer………..Stress, literally, will shorten your life.  Unlike animals who can experience stress and move on, humans have trouble turning the stress switch off. The longer the stress button remains on, the shorter your life.  Massage can turn that switch off. More on stress later. Touch a luxury? You bet your life! Here is some independent research.

Romantic Origins of Twin Sparks Massage

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Here in Rancho Cucamonga, when I am not providing massages for clients, you might find me at one of those local Starbucks,  reading a book and sipping on some green tea.  In the process,  we get to striking up a conversation and end up  exchanging  cards. Twin Sparks? What’s that about? It’s about relationship.

My response, some mystics believed  God created each soul as a “holy spark”, and as each soul descended from  heaven, the spark split into two halves, one becoming male and the other  female. You have no doubt heard the expression “soul- mate”; that is where the notion came from. We spend our lives looking for that other lost half of  oneself, your twin spark. Accordingly, to find your soul- mate,  you must perfect yourself, mostly by performing” tikkun”, Hebrew word,  meaning to make corrections. This would often take the form of good deeds, charity, thinking of others. By purifying yourself  in this way, you would naturally become a magnet for your other half. Once united with your twin spark,  you can then ascend back to heaven. Doing good deeds is the process of raising holy sparks.

Have you raised any Holy Sparks today?