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3 Neck pulling: Do not grasp the head firmly and pull upward, attempting
to lengthen the neck (some people say this is what happened to Audrey
Hepburn).
3 Neck twisting: Only a very gentle and slow turning of the neck to one
side or the other is appropriate during massage. No sudden movements!
3 Neck pulling and twisting together. Never ever, for any reason, pull and
twist the neck at the same time. This can be very dangerous.
3 Bone cracking: Never ever try to do a chiropractic-type adjustment if
you haven't been trained as a ... duh ... chiropractor.
3 Bone pushing: Don't press directly on bones, especially the spine.
Instead, glide lightly over these areas.
3 Hyperextension: Basic stretches are okay, and f explain several in
Chapters 11 and 16. However, don't try to hyperextend any joint past its
normal range-of-motion unless you receive some serious schooling in
massage. This is hard to do with the knee or elbow, which resist such
maneuvers, but you can easily hyperextend the neck, for example, so
you need to use caution.
Danger zones
"Endangerment sites" are super-sensitive areas on the body. These areas con-
tain important pieces of your anatomy, like nerves and blood supply, for
example, in exposed and vulnerable positions. Highly trained massage thera-
pists can sometimes work In these areas, but if you're not a professional
massage ace yourself, it's better to stay away from the following spots:
3 Front of the neck/throat You've heard of the expression, "Go for the
jugular," right? Well, this is where you find it. Unless you're trying to
choke someone, it's a good idea to stay away from this area that also
contains the carotid artery and major nerves.
3 Side of the neck: Not quite as sensitive as the front of the neck, you
should still treat it delicately.
3 The "ear notch": Just behind your jawbone and beneath your ear you
find a little notch. It's not a good idea to jam a finger into this notch,
unless you're trying to extort money or favors from the person receiving
the massage, because it contains a sensitive facial nerve.
3 The eyeball: Unless you're trying to do a Three Stooges massage (popu-
lar amongst college males), don't poke your fingers directly into the
person's eyes.
3 The axilla: This is a fancy term for the armpit which, as you know, is a
sensitive area, filled with nerves, arteries, and lymph glands. Not to men-
tion, most people are very ticklish there.
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3 The upper inner arm: Just down from the armpit, along the inside of the
upper arm, is a sensitive, nerve-filled area along the length of the arm
bone. Pressing here too firmly gives you that yucky-nervy feeling.
3 The ulnar notch of the elbow: Otherwise known as the "funny bone,"
this spot contains the ulnar nerve which, if you touch it too hard, causes
normally discreet people to curse in several languages.
3 The abdomen: Houdini was killed by an unsuspected punch to this area,
which is filled with many squishy important bits known as organs. Be
especially gentle around the upper abdomen along the ribs, where you
find the liver, gall bladder, and spleen.
3 The lower back: Just to both sides of the spine, and below the ribs, is
where you find the kidneys. Don't press too hard here or pound on
them. Kidneys don't like it when you do that.
3 The femoral triangle: Not to be confused with the Bermuda triangle,
this area is often referred to as the "groin." It's the inner part of the line
in front where your leg meets your body. If you press too hard here, you
can actually cut off circulation to the leg.
3 Popliteal area Popularly known as the back of the knee, you should
always treat this spot gingerly. It's very sensitive to pressure.
Please don't do that
The ultimate contraindication Is a request from the person receiving the mas-
sage that you stop doing what you're doing. Immediately. Quit it. No more!
When a person says, "Please don't do that," then don't do that. This is espe-
cially true for well-meaning beginners, who have a tendency to press ever
forward with their newfound massage skills, in spite of the complaints issuing
forth from the poor soul beneath their fingers.
The following Is NOT proper etiquette:
Massage partner: "It really hurts!"
You: "Oh no, it doesn't. That's just your tension melting away. Visualize your
muscles as butter ...."
In massage, more than any other business, the customer is always right. But
there are times when the person receiving the massage either doesn't know
or won't tell you he's uncomfortable. How do you know what to do then?
That's where body language clues come in.
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Body language clues
Some people think that when they're getting a massage they have to "grin
and bear it" when something hurts. They figure massage is like a form of tor-
ture, and they're prisoners of war. They certainly aren't going to display any
signs of weakness or let you know you're hurting them. Other people may not
even know they're uncomfortable, because their discomfort is unconscious,
and so they can't communicate it to you.
In these cases, wise massage givers have figured out certain non-verbal clues
that they can use to determine when their massage Is too strong. These Include:
3 Curling of the toes
3 Arching the back
3 Inability to speak in a normal tone
3 Facial grimaces and contortions
3 Excess sweating, especially in a cool room
So, what should you do when your partner starts showing signs of discom-
fort? The answer is simple — talk about it. Simple, straightforward
communication clears up most situations immediately. Some people just
won't be able to believe that you honestly want them to tell you how they
feel. Go ahead, surprise them.
The one word never to say when
you're giving a massage
You can get away with almost any kind of ama- the approach for landing, your saying "oops" in
teur commentary while giving a massage to the middle of a massage, although hopefully not
friends and family because, after all, they under- life-threatening, simply doesn't inspire confi-
stand that you're an amateur. Thus, when you dence. It may lead some people to imagine
say, "Geez, am I pressing too hard there?" horrible scenarios — injured muscles, crushed
they're likelyto respond with some positive crit- arteries, or indelible marks left on the skin.
icism. However, there is one particular word
The person receiving doesn't know what kind of
that neither amateurs nor professionals should
massage move you're attempting to perform at
ever utter while in the middle of giving a mas-
any given moment So, if you don't get the move
sage. Hearing it strikes fear into the poor
exactly right each time, don't worry; she's not
vulnerable person lying there receiving. And
going to know the difference. Not unless you
that word is ...
say "oops," that is.
"oops."
Like a surgeon saying "oops" in the middle of an
operation, or a pilot saying "oops" while making
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Building Your Massage Muscles
Massage requires the sustained dexterous use of certain muscles in your
hands, forearms, shoulders, and in fact your entire body. You may not be
using these muscles for any particular purpose right now. Like any other
muscles that come suddenly into use, they may get sore when you begin
using them. Don't be alarmed, as this is natural.
Here's a list of a few exercises and devices that massage pros sometimes use
to help build massage muscles:
3 "Walking" a quarter. Balance a quarter on your thumb. By using only
the one hand, try to turn it over onto the top of your index finger. If you
succeed, then try to flip it over onto your middle finger, and so on. When
you get good, you can walk the quarter over all four fingers and catch it
with the thumb again from below.
3 Finger dancing: First, hold your hand in front of your face, with your
palm facing away from you. Keeping your thumb out of the way, hold all
four fingers loosely together. This is the starting position. Next, separate
your fingers down the middle, two on each side. This position is shown
in Figure 10-1. Finally, bring those fingers back together again, and then
take just the pinkie finger and index finger away from the center. This
position is also shown in Figure 10-1. Practice until you can repeat these
steps over and over in a continuous loop.
3 Fingertip pushups: For you fitness fanatics, try doing some fingertip
pushups; these not only strengthen your fingers for massage, but you
receive the added benefit of some powerful exercise. Be careful not to
overdo it, and always check with a physician before starting a new exer-
cise regime.
3 Grape squeezing: In order to sensitize your fingers for delicate massage
moves, you can practice squishing grapes. Simply place a grape between
your thumb and your first two fingers and squeeze till you burst the
skin. Practice squeezing new grapes until they're just about to burst,
maintaining a constant sensitive level of pressure.
3 Lunges: Lunges strengthen your legs and hips, making it easier for you
to stand and bend and squat when you're giving a massage.
3 Dance: Any kind of dance class is great to prepare you for using your
whole body to do massage.
3 Yoga: You won't believe how quickly you get tight and tired just from
giving a simple massage. Doing yoga may help keep you limber.
3 Fist squeezing: You can pick up a little stress-relief squeeze ball Just
about anywhere these days, even at the checkout counter in most drug-
stores. These are great not only for relieving stress, but for building
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hand muscles, too. There's even a special compound made just for this
purpose, called "power putty," that is sold in massage stores.
Po Dumbbells: Lighter weight dumbbells (5-12 pounds) are great for build-
ing muscles in the forearms and wrists. Simply sit on a bench with the
dumbbell in one hand, support your forearm across the top of your leg,
palm up, then curl and extend the forearm.
Figure 10-1:
This simple
finger
exercise is
harder than
it looks, and
it's great for
budding hand
strength and
coordination.
You Got 'eta Moves
So, what do you actually do when you place your hands on a body and start
giving a massage? Well, the first thing many people do is panic. They stand
there with their hands motionless on an arm or a leg or a back, and they
think to themselves, "Oh my gosh, what do I do now?"
This is where the seven types of massage moves you find in this section
come in handy. After practicing them, you can rest easy that you won't draw
a blank when it comes time to give a massage.
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_et Vitt
Feeling versus doing
Massage is as much (or morel about feeling as of it against your fingers and palms, its warmth,
it is about doing. In fact, without really doing the pulse of the blood. Resist any temptation to
anything, you can still give a good massage. squeeze or press or knead.
Through simple touch alone, you can have a
After just five or ten minutes, slowly pull your
profound effect on somebody else.
hands away and ask your partner to note the
When I was in massage school, during the very feeling in both of her feet. Almost everyone
first day in class, the instructor had us do a little notices a large difference; the touched foot
experiment, which you can try for yourself. feels as thoughit's been vigorouslym assaged.
It's tingling and alive.
Have your partner sit barefoot in front of you.
Gently grasp one of her feet in your hands, and All you had to do to achieve that effect was to
then DON'T DO ANYTHING. Just feel.-Feel her feel. No need to do anything at all.
foot, the weight of it in your hands, the contours
The seven basic categories of movements are:
3 Gliding
3 Pressing
3 Kneading
3 Rubbing
3 Shaking
3 Tapping
3 Stretching
Slip-sliding away: The pleasures of gliding
Usually the first move you make on any particular part of the body is gliding.
Why glide first, you say? Why not Just get right to the pressing and muscle-
squeezing part of the massage? Three reasons:
3 Gliding is a great way to warm up the skin and underlying muscles while
simultaneously spreading your oil or massage cream.
3 You cover a lot of territory during a glide, too, so it's perfect for "Intro-
ducing" your hands to your partner.
3 You'll get a feel for your partner's body and discover which areas may
need the most attention during the rest of the massage.
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Depending upon the amount of pressure you use, a glide can be light and
ethereal or downright intense. Usually, at the beginning of a massage, you
want to start with lighter gliding and then progress to the more heavy-duty
stuff later, after your partner trusts your touch.
Take a look at Figure 10-2. These pictures make gliding look easy, right? What
could be simpler than just running your hands along someone's skin? It's a
little trickier than that, though. Good gliding is something you learn over
time, with practice.
Ait
Figure 10-2:
Long, soft,
light gliding
(top); sliding-
down-the-
banister
gliding
(middle);
squeezing-
toothpaste-
through-a-
tube gliding
(bottom).
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Here are three basic types of gliding:
3 Long, soft, light: You can create the lightest type of gliding by just barely
brushing the fingertips or palms across the skin in a feather-light fash-
ion. This type of movement is also known as a nerve-stroke because it
calms the nerves.
3 Sliding down the banister: This movement follows the contours of the
body more closely. As you glide, you mold your hands to fit the body,
just like a little kid who molds himself to fit over the banister as he
slides down it Into the foyer. This is typical gliding, the type you use to
spread oil, warm the body, and so on.
3 Squeezing toothpaste through a tube: This is intense gliding or gliding
with an attitude. When you try it on your partner for the first time, you
may get a stunned reaction. You achieve this by wrapping your hands
around a leg or an arm and squeezing firmly while you glide, as if you
were trying to squeeze toothpaste from a giant tube. The most typical
places for this maneuver are on the calf and the forearm.
Start out slowly, and always, always make the motions toward the heart
because you actually move blood through the veins with this move.
Watch out for the contraindications of varicose veins and phlebitis.
Good places to glide
You can glide just about anywhere there's an expanse of skin to move over.
Tight little nooks and crannies, like between the toes for example, are not
good places to glide because there's not enough open territory. However, you
can still glide on smaller surfaces, even over the eyelids (provided your part-
ner is not wearing contact lenses). Simply adjust your hands to the area you
are touching. Thus, a forehead glide would include Just your fingertips, while
a glide to the leg would include your whole palm.
For all types of gliding, you need to turn your hands into super-sensitive,
micro-adjusting instruments that constantly change to conform to each and
every little hill and valley on your partner's body. Imagine yourself trying to
smooth out a sheet of plastic-wrap around an Irregularly shaped piece of
fruit, allowing no air-pockets or wrinkles. Got it?
"A"" marks the spot: Pressing
"Out, damned spot!"— Shakespeare
Great poets throughout the ages have understood the value of getting rid of
spots. And it's no wonder. If you've ever received a back rub from someone
and suddenly felt them press exactly the right spot, you know the sensation
is swift and unmistakable. Immediately, you say something like, "Yes, there it
is. That's the spot!"
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So, what is the "spot" anyway? Massage pros have all kinds of fancy names
for it, like "trigger points," or muscle spasms, or adhesions. Whatever you
call them, these points of tension or pain are what we're trying to get rid of in
massage, and pressing on them skillfully can help achieve that.
I envision these spots as tenacious little criminals who invade our bodies and
take some of our muscles hostage. They're tough, resourceful, and they
thrive best when we don't know exactly where to find them. Massage helps
us locate where our tension spots are hiding so we can ferret them out. Just
the right amount of pressure can send them this message:
"It's no use. We know you're in there. Come out with your hands up. Let the
hostages go, and you'll get off easy"
Of course, if the "spots" don't leave your muscles alone, you have to go in
with some heavy firepower. That's where pressing comes in. Here are a few
steps you can follow to find spots and press them into submission:
3 Zeroing in: First, while you're warming the tissues up during your pre-
liminary gliding strokes, feel for areas that are unusually tight, hard, or
sensitive. (See the "Under pressure" sidebar in Chapter 8.) After you're
done gliding over a certain area, come back to these targeted spots one
at a time and zero in on them by using Just your fingertips or thumbs.
3 Pushing the walk button: You know those little rubberized buttons that
you push to change the light to green at intersections? They give a little
at first, but then you get the feeling that you have to push harder. You
can't quite tell if you're holding it down or not, so you hold it in firmly
for a few seconds, much longer than you'd hold, say, the on/off switch
on a desk lamp. Well, that's the same kind of pressing you can use in
your massage — good, firm, sustained pressure is what makes pressing
work, as shown in Figure 10-3.
3 Pinpoint.pressure: You not only need the right spot; you need the
EXACT right spot. Thls can mean an Itty-bitty micro-difference in the
location of your fingers or thumb. Keep feeling around until you can tell
you're directly on "top" of the spot. Usually this feels like you could
easily slip off of it on either side.
3 Keep adjusting: M you feel your partner's body respond, you can
adjust your pressure accordingly, lightening your pressure as the tension
dissipates.
Good places to press
Finding the right spots to press may sometimes feel a little tricky to you.
After all, the body has about a million different points on it. How do you tell
where's a good place to apply pressure and where's not a good place? There
are two answers:
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3 You have to practice feeling for these points (this is the art of palpation,
which you find out about In Chapter 4).
3 Certain points are common to most people. After you practice on several
willing massage partners, you'll build your skill in locating them.
is W. WI
Figure 10-3:
Finger
pressing
(top) and
thumb
pressing
(bottom).
The spots we are talking about in this section are not shiatsu points or acu-
pressure points, which are spots along energy pathways in the body. You
get to know a few shiatsu points In Chapter 11; the spots we're talking
about here are occasionally found in the same areas, but they're a different
animal altogether.
Let's do the twist: kneading
After you master the art of kneading, you may be in great demand because
kneading, in my opinion, produces the most pleasurable sensations of all the
maneuvers. It gets in deep to flush out tension while at the same time stimu-
lating a large surface area on the skin.
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Your kneading technique can make or break you as a massage giver, so I recom-
mend practicing quite a bit on this one. If you practice building your massage
muscles, as suggested earlier in this chapter, you can be a better kneader
because this particular maneuver requires a lot of strength in the hands.
In order to knead effectively, you must banish fear! The biggest mistake
novice kneaders make is kneading too tentatively. As a massage teacher, I've
spent hundreds of hours hunched over students guiding their hands into
bigger movements. "Get more flesh between those fingers!" I cajole them.
"Twist your arms around some more. Use your whole body to make the
movement."
This is good advice for you, too. A wimpy knead is much worse than no
knead at all. Here are some ways to make your kneading big, bold, and
beloved by all who encounter it:
3 Come on everybody, let's do the Twist: Chubby Checker would have
been disappointed if he looked• out on the dance floor to find dozens of
people just standing there and sort of half-heartedly bending a little at
the waist. When he said twist, he meant Twist!, as in twist-tie and twist-
off-top and wow-look-at-that-twister-about-to-destroy-the-barn! The
number one rule for kneading is to use your whole body to create a
twisting movement around the area you're working on. See Figure 10-4,
which shows how your hands can move around a thigh in a circular
wringing motion.
3 Baker making bread: Of course, when we think of kneading, the image
of a baker often comes to mind, with his hands wrist-deep in pliable
flour, constantly squeezing, rolling, and pushing. In fact, those are the
three components of a successful knead. After you have twisting down,
add these steps to complete the picture:
• Squeezing: During your twist, the hand that's furthest away (the
right hand as shown in Figure 10-5a) is squeezing in as much flesh
as possible between the fingers and palms.
• Rolling: The right hand rolls the squeezed flesh back toward you
while the near hand begins its journey away from you, pushing
more flesh into the fold, as shown in Figure 10-5b.
• Pushing: Finally, you're in the position shown in Figure 10-5c, and
your right hand starts pushing while your left hand takes over the
squeezing and rolling.
3 Pinching and rolling: This final type of kneading is often called skin
rolling. It's reserved for areas that normally don't respond too well to
bigger twisting, squeezing, and rolling maneuvers. it's a little tricky to
do, but most people love the way it feels. First, pinch a roll of flesh
between your thumb and the first two fingers. Then, keeping your
thumb locked in position, glide your whole hand over the skin while
"walking" your first two fingers forward so that they push a constant roll
of skin back against your thumb as shown in Figure 10-5d.
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Figure 10-4:
Notice how
your hands,
arms, shoul-
ders, and
entire body
move
around the
area you are
kneading.
Figure 10-5:
Squeez-
ing (a),
rolling (b),
pushing (c),
and pinch-
ing and
rolling (dl.
Good places to knead
By definition, to knead something means you have to grasp it between your
fingers or palms. Therefore, areas of the body that you can't grasp, you can't
knead. It's simple: no flesh, no knead. That's why it's trickier to knead skinny
people than to knead fleshy people. That's why it's trickier to knead a knee
than to knead a thigh. That doesn't mean you need to knead a whole handful
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of flesh to get the Job done, though. You can perform the last type of knead-
ing, skin rolling, even on areas with almost no fat, like a supermodel's upper
back, for instance.
War on, war off: Rubbing
The secret to successful rubbing, or friction as massage pros call it, is to
make the pressure from your fingers or palms strong enough to stay station-
ary on the surface of the skin while moving the layers below.. In other words,
your fingers don't glide while they rub, although they can definitely move
around quite a bit. Take, for example, the maneuvers you receive on your
head when you get a shampoo at a salon. A good shampoo person employs
friction techniques, holding her fingers steady on a certain part of your scalp
while manipulating your head beneath it. If she simply glides her fingers
across your scalp, the sensation is disturbingly inadequate.
Mother analogy for rubbing is waxing your car. You take a buffing pad in one
hand and you rub the wax on. Then with a rag in the other hand, you rub the
wax off. Your fingers are never in contact with the car itself, but the car
receives the effects, not the buffing pad or rags. So It is with massage. Your
fingers are in contact with the skin, but you're affecting the layers below.
Here are a few rubbing techniques that work well for various parts of the body:
3 Miser's rub: Especially good for the fingers and toes, the miser's rub will
remind you of someone rubbing a gold coin between their fingers, as
shown in Figure 10-6a.
3 Circular Making sure your fingers are planted securely, move the skin
over the tissues below it in small circles, as shown in Figure 10-6b. You
can move your hand gradually along the skin's surface, creating a series
of circles over an entire area.
NAM? 3 Cross fiber. In any given area of the body, the muscle fibers are running
predominantly in one direction or another. On the inside of your upper
arm, for instance, the biceps muscle runs from your shoulder to your
elbow, up and down. If you rub in a cross-wise direction over these
fibers, from the inside of your arm to the outside, you're making a cross-
fiber movement, as shown in Figure 10-6c. This action is especially good
for people who exercise a lot or are in the later stages of recovering from
an injury because it promotes the repair of scar tissues.
Good places to rub
You can rub most everywhere, but you have to be careful in sensitive areas
because rubbing can be a little annoying if it's done, say, on the eyelids.
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Figure 104:
The miser's
rub (a), the
circular rub
(b), and the
cross-fiber
rub (c).
Shake, rattle, and roll: Shaking
Some people are afraid to get too "physical" when they give a massage, which
doesn't make much sense when you think about it. They Incorrectly assume
that every massage move has to be as smooth and soothing as the next CD
from Enya. But this is not true. Some of the best moves actually jostle you
around quite a bit.
You have to imagine what the shaking is actually doing internally to the mus-
cles, tendons, and bones where they attach to each other inside the body. It's
like loosening fruit from a tree. Imagine that you're standing on the ground in
front of an apple tree, and one big perfect juicy apple is still left just barely
clinging to a high branch. Grasping a lower limb, you shake with the intention
of loosening something at a distance from you. This is the essence of shaking
in massage, too.
Of course, you don't want to literally loosen muscles from bone so that they
fall off, but you do want to help ease the muscles' tight grip of chronic ten-
sion, especially in the joints. Shaking is great for this, and there's a fine art to
it. Here are three different versions that you can practice:
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Vibration
No other massage move feels quite as dramatic as vibration. It's a show biz
move, a move with pizzazz. But first of all, you have to figure out how to do it,
which isn't that easy for most of us. Here are the steps (and see Figure 10-7):
3 Placing just your fingertips on the area to be vibrated (try the back,
which is easiest to start with), stiffen all of your joints from your fingers
all the way up to your shoulders.
3 Try making your entire arm tremble as one unit, as if you were extremely
cold and shivering uncontrollably.
3 Pressing firmly, concentrate all of that trembling down into your
fingertips.
3 Simultaneously, drag your fingertips slowly down over your partner's
back, remembering to imagine your movements loosening muscles all
along the way.
Be careful not to vibrate a fingertip directly on top of the spine as you may
cause some discomfort or bruising.
Figure 10-7:
Creating
high speed
vibration
takes con-
centration
and a will-
ingness to
look spastic.
Shaking
In this move, you grasp one part of your partner's body (usually a limb) and
then recreate the same kind of rigid trembling you did for vibration. It can be
a slower trembling, though, even languid, but the intent is still to loosen deep
muscles. See Figure 10-8.
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Figure 10-8:
Shaking is
similar to
vibration,
but you
grasp
instead of
press.
Rocking & rolling
A doctor named Milton Trager developed a kind of massage called, appropri-
ately, Trager, which includes an awful lot of rocking and rolling, as shown In
Figure 10-9. One of the results of a really good Trager massage is a deep
release of tension from areas that you wouldn't be able to get to with your fin-
gers, like deep inside Joints. You can recreate some of the effects of this type
of massage by doing some very gentle rocking and rolling of your own. You
find out more about how to apply this to specific areas In the next chapter.
Figure 10-t
Rocking and
rolling pro-
duces an
effect on the
surrounding
muscles and
distant
joints as
well.
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Good places to shake
The limbs respond exceptionally well to shaking. However, if you shake the
head, you're coming dangerously dose to a chiropractic maneuver, which Is a
definite no-no.
Larger areas such as the back and thighs respond well to vibration, and you
can rock the whole body, especially when your partner is lying face down.
Get into the rhythm: Tapping
This is the type of movement that you see movie actors performing when
they think they're doing some really authentic massage on-screen. It also
seems to be the preferred move for overweight Russian men giving massages
In bathhouses. Yes, I'm talking about the famous karate-chop family of mas-
sage maneuvers, otherwise known as tapping.
This family of moves is based upon one major concept: getting pounded on
feels surprisingly good. This Is true, as long as you tap judiciously, with the
right amount of pressure. To achieve seasoned tapping prowess, practice
with the three basic hand-shapes for tapping: the open fingertip, the karate
hack, and the loose fist. All of them are done with "soft" hands because, after
all, your intention is not to attack ninja-style but to increase circulation and
soothe sore muscles.
The secret to all good tapping is the rhythm. If you're not a natural born
drummer, try slowing your tapping down until you reach a rhythm that you
can sustain easily. It's not speed that counts, but consistency.
3 Fingertip tapping: This is the lightest tap, excellent for faces and the
top of your head. A lot of cosmetologists use this move to bring extra
circulation to the cheeks, creating that "rosy glow" look. Tapping is
shown in Figure 10-10a.
3 Karate hacking: Make sure to keep the hands limp and not treat your
partner's body like a board you're trying to break. Don't hack directly
on bony areas, of course. Keep your wrists loose and let the edges of
your flopping fingers do a lot of the hacking for you, as shown in
Figure 10-10b.
3 Loose fist pounding: You have to be extra careful when using your fists
for tapping, but they definitely come in handy if your partner is one of
those NFL linebacker types who doesn't seem to respond to normal mas-
sage manipulations. Don't tighten your fists completely when tapping,
and resist the temptation to do a Rocky-Balboa-side-of-beef-in-the-freezer
move. See Figure 10-10c.
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Figurate-Ilk
Fingertip
tapping (a),
karate hack-
ing (b), and
loose fist
pounding (c).
Good places to tap
Tapping feels good Just about anywhere, but if you tap someone too hard on
the top of his head, he's likely to think you have something against him. The
usual rule is: the more flesh in an area, the more force you can tap with, pro-
gressing up the scale from fingertips to hacking hands to loose fists. Bony
areas like the knees need light tapping with Just the fingertips. Also, go
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feather-light on the kidney area on either side of the spine in the lower back.
Certain spots you may not think of, like the bottom of the feet for example,
are great places to hack. And of course the ever-popular back, buttocks, and
thighs are great places to practice "getting into the rhythm."
keep it tone: Stretching
Stretching is really good for you, and a lot of people don't stretch as much as
they should In order to stay limber and youthful. You can help solve this
problem by incorporating a few stretching moves right into your massage.
Stretching feels really good as long as you follow three easy guidelines:
3 Ease your partner Into it.
3 Easy does It while you're doing it.
3 Ease your partner out of it.
Remember that each joint has a limit as to how far it will stretch in any and
all possible directions, and this limit is called its range of motion.
Don't try stretching any part of the body past its normal range of motion
because, if you do, it will hurt. A lot. Stop long before you think you reach the
maximum stretch. Always ask your partner for feedback about how the
stretch feels. Some people are super limber and you can twist them like pret-
zels while others can take very little stretching before it becomes
uncomfortable.
Be especially careful when stretching your partner's neck, moving it slowly
and in only one plane at a time: left to right, up and down, or ear to shoulder.
And don't hyperextend the neck, or any joint for that matter. (See the con-
traindications section earlier in this chapter.)
There are three basic types of stretches you can apply during a massage:
3 Passive stretching: Passive stretching doesn't mean you should have a
ho-hum attitude about the stretch. It means your partner just lies there
passively and doesn't assist you at all while you stretch him, as shown
in Figure 10-11.
3 Active assisted stretching: This type of stretching, shown in Figure
10-12, requires your partner to move through the stretch while you help
her stretch a little further. It's not recommended for lazy partners who
Just want to lie back and have you do all the work during the massage.
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yr Active resisted stretching: In this one, your partner resists the move-
ment of the stretch that you're giving him. When he stops resisting, you
are able to stretch him even further. This one's good for strengthening
muscles and can be considered a kind of mini-workout.
Figure10-11:
In this pas-
sive stretch
of the knee
and thigh,
you press
the person's
ankle
toward her
buttock
while she
just lies
there letting
it happen.
Figure 10.12
In active
assisted
stretching,
you help
your partner
stretch a
little further.
Good places to stretch
The multitude of joints in the body make it possible to do a large variety of
Joint manipulations and stretches in many areas such as the toes, ankles,
knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hands. You find out about a few
all-time favorite stretches in the chapters to come.
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