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June 28, 2010
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I am glad to hear that you are developing an appreciation for the rocking movements. Actually I use them a lot in my sessions. You can get very creative with them once you know all the different ways of rocking, circling, wiggling, etc. They add a lot of fluidity to Thai Massage, and they are generally well received by clients.
January 19, 2014
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The abdominal work, done gently, was well received. The push pull rolling action was liked more than the clockwise palpation type move,which felt more like a physical exam to my partner. Also, I found, it's important that they haven't just eaten and empty their bladder first.I followed the breathing rhythm, which makes the techniques more relaxing and comfortable. My partner has had some shoulder /clavicle injuries in the past. They have since healed but I proceeded gently and slowly just the same. I kept an open line of communication questioning the pressure and the general overall feeling of the moves. They particularly liked the foot in the armpit traction type move. They liked participating and it quelled their apprehensions about having their shoulders worked on. I especially communicated with the bent elbow arm extension. One arm did not have complete range of motion so I modified the move by kneeling and resting their hand on my thigh. It worked out well and it didn't strain their shoulder.
June 28, 2010
Offline Clearly abdominal work has to be done with an empty bladder, otherwise it is a very uncomfortable experience. If I end up doing a substantial amount of abdominal work during a Thai Massage sessions, I always tell the client to get up and use the bathroom unless their bladder is totally empty.
Actually Thai Massage can result in the bladder filling up quicker than it would normally. I always tell my clients that they should feel free to use the bathroom during the session if they feel it in their bladder. So this does not only go for Abdominal work. Also for a man a full or partially full bladder can result in an involuntary erection. So never feel shy to send your clients to the bathroom.
January 19, 2014
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Thank you for the bladder info. esp on the men...good to know
The shoulder and hand techniques, I was told were relaxing and soothing. My partner had a recent tumble skiing. His neck and shoulders, as the result, were tight and achy. He experienced great relief with the pulling, push/pulling and figure eight. It released the upper traps and pecs Working down the arms using compression and circular friction felt good. He liked the hand flexion palm massage in particular. I felt like working shoulder to hand kind of squeezed out the unwanted built up stress .
January 19, 2014
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I practiced the arm transition. It not only worked out well here but also caused me to focus more intently on this doing table massage. Sometimes clients open up there eyes if there is a break in the flow of touch/contact. Being conscious of this makes me more relaxed as well. Sometimes the client thinks your done if there's a disruption in contact.
The arm traction was very nice and easy for me to do as my partner had long arms and it wasn't a strain on my back or quads. The straight and bent leg spinal twists were really nice and well received. I got a couple of good pops. My partner liked the gentle effectiveness of these techniques.
June 28, 2010
Offline I am a big proponent of maintaining body contact since I know from personal experience that when I get a massage, and the therapist totally disconnects, I also open my eyes and wonder if it's over or what's gonna happen now. It just disrupts the flow of the experience and the nice trance-like state which I so enjoy during a good massage.
Correct transitions are just as important as the techniques. They are "what turns individual notes into a symphony".
January 19, 2014
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I was traveling and my computer got a virus...a double whammy which delayed my posting ability but not my practice.
I began with the 12321 elbow on soft part of foot. My partner enjoyed this move and the body weight pressure.I did the heel traction into the forearm calf stretch,achilles massage and elephant walking. I copied what you did to get a feel for it before I improvised into my own routine. My partner found all of the moves to be relaxing as well as offering a nice stretch.
I moved into the forearm hamstring moves,center lateral then more lateral on IT band. I was told it felt good especially on their IT band which typically hurt to be worked on.This move was effective without the pain. I petrissaged the calf and went into a figure 4 bent knee calf work with my knee being careful to stay off the bone. Then I moved to hand on glutes in same leg position. My partner especially liked the calf work as they had sprained their ankles a couple of times a year ago this relieved the discomfort that had traveled up the leg. I ended with some rocking
January 19, 2014
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I had to be careful doing the bent knee heel to glute stretch as my partner was not very flexible in one knee due to previous surgery. I just went to their comfortable end range of motion,communicating with them all along.They were more comfortable with their knees angled out and both feet to glutes.
I sat on their butt and did the quad stretch.They were bigger than me so I sat lower on their glutes toward their legs. It was a nice and effective stretch for them. I did the knee in glute and pulled up on their opposite hip. It was a comfortably strong stretch for them.
From here I did the sacral thumb rocking,center and edge followed by percussion 1 and 2 handed. I did then the sacral rocking with one hand on the glutes moving circularly. I practiced the rocking cross over to other side and finished with knees in glutes compression and side to side rocking. My partner commented that they really liked this segment. It addressed a lot of their issues and felt good on their lower back as well.
June 28, 2010
Offline It seems that you are doing well even with some of those power stretches. You are getting good feedback, so now it is just a matter of practice and refining and becoming more sensitive and intuitive about what you are doing. And that comes with time and experience.
January 19, 2014
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I began this session with the gentle rotating and then rocking compressions on the back,being careful to stay away from the spine, on the muscle. I palpated with my fingers prior to leaning on erectors up and down the spine. I also leaned into the upper traps.Prior to using my elbows I again palpated with my fingers on the lumbar laminar groove.I then used both elbows in the laminar groove of the lumbar spine,first with some rocking and then leaning. the back cracked a couple times on my partner and they reported that the techniques felt good and not too strong which appealed to him. I did 3 of the the 4 knee techniques first with the one knee and rocking proximal to distal on lumber spine. I did the second one with both hands on the body distributing the pressure 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. I began with a little less pressure on my knee and increased gradually. I skipped the straight leg one because my partner didn't want any more pressure. I finished by changing the angle toward upper back and went up to the shoulder blades. My partner said that they felt lighter afterward. I suppose it was the release of back tension that they had experienced before the session and was absent afterward.
January 19, 2014
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I began with my right leg under partners left arm and worked on the near side of the back,entire length, with my forearm. I worked the firsts line in the laminar groove and then the lateral line at a 45 degree angle. I worked over the scapula with the soft part of my arm. My partner has been liking these techniques as they are firm but not painful,like the point of the elbow can be.
I then did galloping on the opposite side of back glutes up. I did both elephant walking and galloping with both hands and both sides of the spine.I then tried some forearm rocking at a slight and quick pace. I finished with thumbs along sacrum and then rolled over the erector muscle all the way up the back.
I put a pillow under the head and chest for the neck squeeze upper trap massage. my partner especially liked the neck squeeze trap circles as they carry a lot of their tension there. These techniques are effective and feel good. They don't leave me sore and tired either!
June 28, 2010
Offline If Thai Massage is done right, it should never leave you feel sore or tired. The trick is to work with your whole body, use body weight only, to get the ergonomics just right, and to know which techniques to skip if the client is too big or heavy.
January 19, 2014
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I didn't spend as much time on the lower body as my partner wanted more of a focus on his glutes and back today.I did the soles of his feet with my elbow and moved to the bent leg achilles /calf stretch.I did elephant walking up the leg and pushed heel to butt and the figure four TFL work.I did the hip quad lift which my partner said felt really good on the lower backand front of the hip and leg as well. I did the percussion on the sacrum and lumbar sacrum rocking. I did some elephant walking and fingertip palpation up the back before using my elbows and knee in the laminar groove and then the erectors.I did the entire forearm in the laminar groove and transitioned to upper back trap work . I did shoulder circles with an upper body twist into rolling the traps. I did a neck squeeze with trap circles. I spent extra time on all of these as my partner expressed an interest in me doing so.I also did the shoulder lift/twist as I walked my other hand down the back...kind of a leverage twist. I moved in to the cobra moves sacrum, glute and then hamstring, a gentle medium to strong stretch. My partner loved this. He liked the pec and back stretch that he felt. I finished with a tapered down percussion.My partner felt great relief on his back and was surprised this could be accomplished without experiencing the customary deep tissue pain that he had been accustomed to.
June 28, 2010
Offline "Customary deep tissue pain that he had been accustomed to" - doesn't sound very appealing to me. Thai Massage done right is deep work but not very painful. Looks like you are accomplishing this.
January 19, 2014
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Side lying,I started with elephant walking once I got my partner situated with bent leg an pillows. Next I sat on the adductors starting near glutes and moved distally. I was instructed by my partner where to sit and what felt better,like not going too lateral.
I did fingertips,palm circles and forearm rolls medial to lateral. My partners hips were sensitive so I adjusted the pressure to their liking. I moved into the leg cradle with my knee in lower back then glutes,bending their body like a bow. My partner liked this a lot. It was a good strong stretch and felt good in the hips and lower back.This transitioned well into sacrum/up erector elephant walk with thumbs for a warmup into palms on erectors and TFL
I did the push pull shoulder work and then the right push left pull. It felt like a nice spinal twist for my partner. My partner asked me to repeat the knee in lower back and glute hip quad lower back stretch because it really felt nice and opened them up releasing a lot of tension
January 19, 2014
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My partner had separated both shoulders at different points in their life,so I began this session with some shoulder circles and the friction/rocking move to loosen things up. It also helped them to be less guarded and to discover that this wasn't going to hurt. I had to keep an open communication with them using the 1-10 method especially when using thumbs and fingers under the scapula and when doing range of motion moves.
After doing the first couple of warm up moves I did the shoulder/trap circle move. I did the push back circle move with a gentle rocking motion. I found that I was Integrating gentle rocking in to the moves because we both liked it. I eased in to the bent arm circle,communicating a lot. I started with a lesser range of motion circle and increased as their shoulder permitted. My partner liked the way traction of the arm felt I did it in their comfort zone. I did all of this before doing the move where I pull back the arm to get under the scapula with first my thumbs and then my 4 fingers. I did the 1-10 scale and the move was very successful. I started gently and increased gradually. I finished with some gentle rocking shoulder circles.
June 28, 2010
Offline As you discovered, rocking moves are often something that you just add in spontaneously and intuitively. They are not really totally different and separate techniques, they are just another and often better way of doing something.
It's good to hear that you are making plenty of use of the 1-10 method. Very soon you will get to module 35 which is all about the importance of therapist-client communication. I think you will really appreciate this module.
January 19, 2014
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Aside from the fact that the sitting position lends itself to being stimulating rather than sedating or relaxing its kind of fund and effective especially when my partner wanted to be up and awake.. My partner loves a good neck and shoulder/upper trap rub,which is where I began. I liked the two handed squeeze technique,so did my partner. I also did the one handed techniques...equally enjoyed. Positioning of the neck varied as you had mentioned.If the neck is too forward the muscles become taught so I brought the head more vertical as needed. We did the back stretches,remembering to have my partner begin at less than 90 degrees to achieve the stretch. I finished with the spinal twist and a bit of percussion on the upper, traps and back. My partner liked these techniques.They are particularly good for a partner who is larger.My partner wasn't that flexible so I eased into the moves and communicated, increasing the strength gradually. I also put pillows under my partners knees while sitting cross legged to alleviate the strain of sitting in this position.
June 28, 2010
Offline Yes, pillows can help. In the sitting position the most important thing is to provide as much body support to the client as possible. Here in Thailand that's not an issue since pretty much everyone can sit cross legged comfortably, but in the western world that's often not the case.
January 19, 2014
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In this session I practiced a little more communication than I normally would with my partner in conjunction with the sitting position stretches. I loved the analogy of the stream blocked by debris as it relates to cell memory and blockages within the body. These shoulder and upper body stretches really open up/release blockages.I have found that is the description used,by my partner, to describe how they feel after having applied these stretches.The upper trap area is easily accessed in the sitting position and allowed me to use my full body strength to address my partners knots or trigger points. Its a much more comfortable and ergonomically correct posture for me as the practitioner and more effective. The back and arm traction was well received, no problem with the physical contact. The neck/trap work with the forearm felt very good to my partner and they did ask me to go in deep here with my elbow, to address the knots in the upper trap area. I did do that ,gradually, and asked them to not let the pain go above a 7 or 8. I have found that my partner will start to tense up and resist what I am doing if the stretch is too strong or the pressure is too deep.
Thank you Shama, for your diligence and hard work in putting together a wonderful and comprehensive Thai Massage course. I enjoyed the class.
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