10 Principles of a Great Massage
by Jonathan Price
zone3
- Be centered and focused.
- Respect the recipient fully: have clear intention.
- Listen to the client's body and breath with your hands,
heart, ears, and intuition.
- Massage to create more space (length and breadth) and
breathing room.
- Massage to facilitate movement. Include secure range of
motion work.
- Massage toward the heart to improve blood circulation
and lymph return.
- Massage muscles thoroughly: body, tendons, insertions.
- Start gently, then massage deeper.
- Massage as deep as is comfortable for the client. Deeper
means slower.
Listen very carefully to the recipient's
body and breath.
Cool down after deep work.
- Don't over-massage an area.
Some ways to massage
In the direction with the muscle fiber:
- Long strokes (efflurage)
- Local short strokes (petrissage)
- Circles:
- back and forth
- pointed pressure against the muscle fibers (cross
fiber), especially the tendons.
- Others:
- Pinching
- rolling the skin and muscles
- puffing the muscle to gain access
- Stretching:
- pulling
- pushing
- rolling and rocking
- jostling
- Gentle:
- superficial stroking
- insubstatial stroking (nerve strokes)
- tapping
- holding still (listen and follow
breath)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jonathan Price
Massage Related Articles:
 10 Principles of a Great Massage
Chinese Self Massage
Choosing a Massage and Bodywork Practitioner
Massage: A Complement to Fitness
Massage for Infants & Children
Massage for the Childbearing Year
My Own Reiki Story
Polarity Therapy
Stone Therapy: A Discussion of Current Trends and
Findings
The Incredible Magick of Massage
|
Go to Page: 