this week in massage school we practiced the head/neck/shoulders massage we learned last week, and we were introduced to the hand and arm techniques.
elyse, the instructor, also showed up how to employ proper body mechanics in our work. mostly, she taught us the correct positions of standing/kneeling, using the force of the entire body to conserve hand strength, how to hold our heads.
the steps in the hand/arm massage:
- have client lie supine. center and ground.
- grab hand and pull arm inferiorly, gently rotating arm in glenohumero joint.
- corkscrew each finger, pulling gently.
- cat’s-paw top of hand, massaging metacarpals and between metacarpals.
- interlace fingers, stretching palm, using thumbs to massage palm and carpals.
- sandwich halfway up the forearm, petrissage back down to wrist.
- bracelet from elbow to wrist.
- arm role, gently stretching shoulder, bringing arm up and around. while holding arm up, effleurage elbow.
- petrissage deltoid, bicep, tricep, flexors and extensors.
- effleurage from wrist to shoulder.
- rake trapezius.
- move breast tissue, massage pectoralis.
- push down on shoulder, stretching pectoralis.
- friction circles deltoid, tricep, bicep.
- ground out.
i need to practice this for at least two hours from today until monday. massage is a dance, and last night elyse told me that i was born to do it. she’s a very skilled practioner who has been a bodyworker for seven years, which is a long time in this profession, and her compliments made me feel really good.
i have a couple of volunteers lined up, but i need to find more.
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