Module 2 - Chi Machine

I tried the Chi-Machine rocking technique on my practice partner.  My first attempt didn't really work well.  I had to rock pretty hard to get the desired movement in my partner and she didn't really get much of a relaxing feeling from it.  After some further review of the training video, it seemed like I was doing things right, so I couldn't figure out why this wasn't working.  So I slept on it for a day and tried again the next day.  Same thing happened -- but this time, I watched my partner closely and saw that most of the rocking motion that I was conveying was being absorbed by the foam padding that I was using as the massage mat.  So I removed the foam, which I had thought would make my partner more comfortable, and replaced it with a standard yoga mat, which is much thinner.  Voilå, the technique worked.  I was able to use a lot less energy to move my partner and yet she was moving in a more rhythmic pattern.  I had to adjust the strength of the rocking a few times to get the right feeling, but it worked well in the end.  Lesson learned -- no thick foamy padding, just yoga mats.  Also, I found that the rocking motion has to be sufficient to get my partner's hips, neck and head swaying a good bit before the desired effect was achieved.  My partner didn't get a big energy release or anything like that, but felt that she was more relaxed and loosened up by the technique, so I'll take that as a beginner success.

Module 3 - Foot Massage Part 1

Somehow, the foot massage moves came more naturally to me than the Chi Machine.  I think the movement of the hands from position 1, 2 and 3 on the foot for the first few moves almost automatically creates a swaying movement in my body and makes the techniques rhythmic.  The circular motion of my body also helped make the rocking of my partners foot outwards seem natural. The push, rotate and pull technique was the only thing that didn't go very well.  It didn't have the rhythm of the other moves and my partner didn't find it very relaxing.  I think it may have to do with me not being so comfortable in the extended leg position myself.  This one I need a lot more practice on so I can get the rhythm right and I also need to get the transition with my leg under my partner's leg much more smooth.  Right now the whole thing was kind of jerky and then I was not very comfortable and it reflected in the massage.  I also have to work on the transitions between moves a lot more because my stopping and then adjusting to a new move is creating a palpable interruption of the overall relaxation of the massage.  But hey, this is just the beginning of the course, so I have time to get better.  As in all things, practice makes perfect.

Module 4 - Foot Massage Pt 2

I was glad to have a chance to go through the moves from part 1 of the foot massage techniques again and get a better understanding of the ideas behind the moves.  That helped me focus on the motion I was trying to create in my partner's foot (whether a twist, push, or pull) and that made my mechanics more natural.

My partner has a little bit of pain in her left foot between the top and the ridge that runs down her foot between her fourth and fifth toes.  I combined a circular motion with my fingers with a compression technique using one thumb to push down along the ridge, from top to bottom.  I only used one thumb on the foot because that's all that can fit in the ridge, but I laid my other thumb on top so that I could evenly rock my body weight through both my arms into both thumbs, with one pressing down on the other.  That worked really well and she was quite happy with the result.  It was a bit off script, but I was willing to try something new because it was just using the same principles that were useful for the sole of the foot and the ankles to the ridge that was hurting.  So your points regarding understanding why the techniques are used instead of just focusing on mechanical sequences were well taken.  I think this will help make sure that I am more in-tune with my partner as I learn more massage techniques.

Module 5 - Leg Warmup

So far, this was the easiest module to practice.  As you mentioned, it was mainly applying techniques already learned to a larger muscle group.  One thing that I noticed, though, was that the calf massage was a bit tricky.  The lower part of the calf (near the ankle) "rolled out" easily and felt good to my partner.  But when I did the same thing to the higher part of the calf in the middle of the muscle, my partner said it hurt a little.  I softened it up immediately and then it went fine, but I was puzzled why the same pressure that was applied to the lower calf would hurt when applied to the larger part of the same muscle.  I did it on myself and experienced the same thing -- it seems that there is a sensitive band in the middle of the main part of the calf that, when rolled, causes discomfort (I think it is a ligament).  Now that I know that, I am just changing my hand position to a little lower and that allows me to avoid the band and keep the same pressure without causing discomfort.  The rest went smoothly.

Module 6 - Leg warmup with forearm

The elephant walking technique was the highlight of this module.  It seems like a very natural way to rock from arm to arm and apply pressure as I move up and down the calf and foot.  I used the same technique with my palms on the thighs and calfs together and that worked well.  Frankly, it seems more comfortable than using the forearms and my body weight seems sufficient through my palms. But I practiced with my forearms too and applied a slight rocking as my forearms sunk into the thigh. The "vice" technique of pushing my fist to apply pressure from my triceps to the thigh, while pushing back with my torso, was a little harder.  The motion didn't seem seem as natural or fluid, but I suppose that comes with practice.  For now, I am emphasizing those techniques that seem more natural in order to make the massage feel good for my partner and also allow me to relax while doing the massage.    

Module 7 - Leg Stretches

The stretches in this module really felt good to my partner.  Her hips opened up a bit and made her feel more relaxed and loose.  I found that rocking into a stretch made the actual stretching a little easier.  I had to watch the video a few times to sort out my own positioning, though.  The hardest part was figuring out how to sit comfortably and position myself so that my partner was relaxed.  I could see the transition in this module into applied yoga and am looking forward to more of this.

By the way, your comments on Module 6 related to the vise technique was helpful -- I tried it again and it was smoother when I really focused on leaning into my fist to create a slow pressure.  Thanks.

Module 8 - Leg Stretches pt2

I found that doing the rocking motions and the calf pulls really helped ease into the stretches.  The pie concept really helped me in understanding the way to do the stretches, so thanks for that.  It's a bit hard to figure out how far to stretch my partner, though.  I talked it through with her, but the discussion took away some of the relaxation for her because she became hyper-focused on what I was doing and was waiting for when something painful might occur.  Thankfully, I kept it very easy, so there was no pain, just the stress associated with the fear of possible pain.  I'm not sure if there is a way around this, though, as just continuing the stretches deeper seems dangerous without having some feedback other than just trying to feel for stiffness and resistance.  Any additional suggestions on how to gauge the level of stretching that's appropriate would be great.  Thanks for your help.

Module 9 - Leg Stretches pt 3

Thanks for the feedback on counting 1-10 after my post for Module 8.  I see that you begin discussing this concept in Module 9 already.  This is very helpful.  My practice in Module 9 went a little more smoothly from the perspective of knowing how far to stretch my partner, but getting my own body posture/position right was challenging.  Thankfully I could just rewind the video and watch your positions more carefully and keep adjusting myself.  This is definitely going to take a lot of practice to get my own orientation proper.  The good thing is that once my position was set, then doing the hamstring and hip stretch moves was pretty straightforward.  It just felt right.  I continue to experience that a little slow rocking helps get each move started more easily.

Module 10 - Leg Stretches pt 4

The adductor stretch at first was challenging because I put too much weight on my partner's thigh while using my foot to stretch her leg upwards.  I ended up adjusting my hand so that it was on the inside of her thigh pushing out so that I didn't put any weight on her thigh and only was using my hand to keep her thigh from being pulled toward me while I was pushing her other leg upward with my foot.  That seemed to work better.  The blood technique on the femoral artery worked well, but I just counted to 20 before I released.  I could feel the pulse but it didn't seem to get any stronger or faster when I pushed down, so I used the countdown as a proxy for this.  My partner said she could really feel the release of blood down her leg, so it seems to have done the trick.  This was a really interesting effect.