tonight at massage school we studied the skeletal and muscular systems of the head and neck. Our instructor, Elyse, is a bit scatterbrained, but a skilled practioner of the somatic arts. she knows her anatomy but seems to have a hard time verbalizing it in a useful way. once the lecture was over, though, and the hands-on experience began, one could tell almost instantly that she is a highly talented body-worker.
she showed us the routine that we were to practice that night: grounding, effluerage shoulder/pecs, neck down to clavicle, across the tops of the pecs, around the shoulders, back up to the neck, and another couple of series of strokes finishing with some ear pressure work.
the class broke into pairs: i was paired tonight with a 22-year old man-boy named Randall – he’s 6’6″ and very thin. we decided that he would be the therapist first, and i, the client. randall was very nervous at first, and didn’t ground himself properly, and his nervousness was transmitted to me almost immediately. i made him stop and re-ground himself. this time he was much better.
it’s funny, because as the client, you have to get naked, and draped with a sheet. many of the women and two of the men were kinda nervous about that, but Elyse showed up the proper way to use the drape for modesty.
so, i was the therapist, and randall the client. he had never laid upon a massage table before, nor had a professional massage before, so he didn’t know what to expect. of course, i am not professional, but i have a good touch, so i’ve been told. i went through the routine much more smoothly than he did, but i do need to trim my nails just a bit shorter before class tomorrow. i thought i had cut them short enough, but i managed to… not scratch him, but he was aware of one of my nails during the petrissage of the SCM muscle.
i had pinched a nerve in my neck before i left for LA/Tucson, and the pain is completely gone! i’m definately liking this class, and need to do some practice upon family and friends. any volunteers?
Comments on this entry are closed.