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Giving a Relaxation Massage
Chapter 3
To massage this one, you’ll have to find the top corner of the shoulder blade/scapula. Follow the inner border of the shoulder blade towards the head until it ends. This is insertion point of the muscle. With either your thumbs or fingers, make some small circles of this tendon then gently put some continuous pressure on it and hold for 30 seconds or so.
Go back to some petrissage of the trapezius and then end with a few nice effleurages on this side of the back. Switch your position to the other side of the body and repeat on the opposite side of the back. Once you’ve done that, make that C shape again. You will gently be grabbing the back of the neck under the hair line and again doing some petrissage.
Moving On
At this point, have your partner turn over to lie on their back. Again, review “How to Give a Simple Loving Massage, preparation chapter; supine” for placement and pillowing. Cover your friend with a blanket to about 2 inches below the collar bone. You will be sitting so that you’ll be reaching over their head.
Sit at your partners head. You should be able to simply reach down and hold the head in your hands. But first; Slide your hands under the neck as far towards the feet that you can. Push your fingers (2nd, 3 rd and 4 th) towards the ceiling and on either side of the spine. Gently and slowly slide the fingers towards the head a few times. Then replace your fingers at the beginning position and rub in a “head to feet” direction in 1 inch sections. Slide up the spine till you reach the head. Alternate between these 2 techniques always increasing pressure.
Now you will be working the anterior (front) and side of the neck. Have a little towel handy at this point. You’ll be rotating the head away from the side you’ll be working on and resting it on your toweled hand. For example; if you are going to work the right side, rotate the head to the left, it will rest on your toweled left hand.
Only work one side of the neck at a time and don’t use too much pressure. It can be very uncomfortable to have hands placed on both sides of the neck at the same time. i.e.; you’ll be choking them if you do this … so just don’t!
Do some sweeping motions with a full hand from the collar bone to the top of the neck (effleurage) you should be able to get to just under the ear. Here you will find a bump: the mastoid process. Play with it! While rubbing your fingers all around it, move toward the back of the back of the skull and you will feel a ledge at the base.
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