Hawaiian Festival

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I have just returned from a Hawaiian Festival in Inzell, Germany. Yes thats right. A Hawaiian Festival in Germany. Some folks came over from Hawaii and gave workshops on Hawaiian culture, dance and music. But most of the time was taken up with massage. The festival ran over three days and was attended by just over 150 people. It was great to talk to and work with so many other practitioners. Most seemed to work without covers on the massage tables and  used underbody strokes which I really liked. I am going to offer that style to my clients in future. As far as I know I will be the only practitioner in the UK offering that style of Lomilomi. Unfortunately, With the weather in ther UK I won’t be able to work outdoors which is a shame. In Inzell the sports field was dotted with tables under the trees where people worked all day. Three days was really to short a time. Hopefully next year they will run the festival for longer. Anyway, well done to the organisers. It was a truely inspiring event.

 

Receiving a Non Clinical Massage

Not all massage is used to treat purely physical complaints. Some styles are more suited to address mental, emotional and spiritual issues or may be used for pure relaxation. The focus of these styles are more to do with the unconditional love and compassion which the therapist works with as apposed to the more clinical styles like sports or deep tissue massage. Because massage is not a common part of our contemporary cultural experience, many people do not get the most out of this type of massage.  

One of the main reasons for this is that, ideally, you need to be nude. Clothing gets in the way of the most pleasant sensation of total wholeness and connectedness of your body. In our society with its preoccupation with sex and discomfort with nudity a lot of people may feel uncomfortable. This attitude is due to our sexual immaturity as a culture and the fact so many confuse nudity and touch with sex. Once you get use to receiving your massage nude you will feel very comfortable and wonder what all the fuss was about. In a professional massage situation you would normally be covered by a sheet or a towel to keep those “private” parts of our body covered. Normally only the areas being massaged will be uncovered.

There are certain medical conditions that may prevent you from receiving a massage so your therapist will have taken some medical history from you to make sure that there is no reason not to proceed. They will discuss any arrears of the body you don’t want massaged. Some people are very ticklish in various areas but generally a massage does not promote this sort of response.

 Your therapist will leave the room while you get undressed and get onto the couch covering yourself with a large towel or sheet.

Your only job is to relax as completely as possible. Breathe deeply and regularly, allow your body to sink into the table. As the therapist’s hands locate areas of tension, consciously try to let go and release those tense areas.

Generally, talking during the massage is distracting. Good massage requires concentration on the part of the therapist. Great massage is the result of good “energy” between therapist and recipient. However, do give feedback if any particular stroke is uncomfortable or if you would like something done longer or differently. It’s your massage and you will only get the best out of it if you are comfortable. Any good therapist will be only to happy to provide the experience you want so don’t feel you have to put up with anything that you are not happy with.

Just lie there. Allow the therapist to move your limbs into whatever position is required. Be a rag doll. Don’t try to be helpful. Simply receive. The therapist is a trained professional who can be trusted to take good care of your body.

It is not uncommon for emotions to surface. If this happens do not be afraid to give them expression. Sometimes during massage these emotions will come up and it will benefit you greatly let go and work through them. This is all part of the healing process. People who are unaccustomed to such tender physical caring provided by this type of massage may express their emotion by crying. If this happens you should not be embarrassed. You will be accepted and understood. The body does hold these emotions within and they need to be released and lovingly replaced with good feelings. At the very least, don’t be afraid to sigh with relaxation or hum with pleasure.

Close your eyes. See with your sense of touch. Feel your body both inside and out. Closing your eyes during the massage tends to bring your centre of energy out of the head and into the body. Relax and enjoy.

 

No Gain Without Pain?

I had a situation a couple of days ago that is fairly common but it did prompt me to write this piece. I am the resident masseur at the Woodlands gym, Gaydon. A guy, a member of the gym, rang up to book a massage for himself and his wife. When I asked him what sort of treatment he was after, he opted for a deep tissue massage. He went on to say that his wife would prefer something a little gentler. Now I know from experience that most people are not aware of what a deep tissue massage actually is. They assume that it’s working deep and hard and quite vigorously. You Know, it’s a ‘guy massage’. When I explained that, while it was working deep, it was a quite slow and in some respects gentle treatment he was surprised. However, he booked a half hour for each of them working on back, shoulders and neck.  He said he would leave the style of treatment up to me.

 

The day arrives and I meet them at the appointed time at the gym. They had both had a workout and had spent some time in the sauna. So muscles were nicely warmed and ready for a bit of work. I started with some general effleurage. These are smooth, gliding strokes, to generally warm and relax the tissue. I then moved on to working deeper with thumbs, knuckles, forearms and elbows. The idea is to stretch out the muscle fibres, tendons and ligaments. Fibrous areas and ‘knots’ can be eased out with very slow but deep, firm pressure. Press too firmly or too quickly and the muscles you are trying to easy respond by tensing up in resistance. If that happens any benefits you have accrued will be lost. It is important that the therapist gets continual feedback from the client. While a certain amount of discomfort or ‘good pain’ may be felt, any acute pain or discomfort must be avoided. “No gain without pain” does certainly not apply in this case.

 

Happily for me they both got off the table saying it was the best massage they had ever had and would be booking me again. So, if you’re working on your partner and they want you to go deep, remember, the deeper you go the slower you go.

 

Massage – The Timeless Miracle

The typical initiation to massage is usually motivated by a stressful or painful condition.  But massage’s magical ministrations go deeper and offer you far more than you may have ever suspected.  Regular massage can greatly benefit your overall health and well-being.  Read on to learn some of the wonderful health aspects available to you through massage.

 

The more you learn about massage the more you’ll benefit from each of your sessions.  This overview touches on some of the basic massage benefits available to you. Massage can help:

 

·     Alleviate stress

·     Aid digestion

·     Improve circulation

·     Relieve tight or sore muscles

·     Aid detoxification

·     Improve range of motion

 

and much more………………….

 

The most obvious benefit shared by virtually everyone is that a full body massage makes you feel great! The stress-relieving, soothing results are enough for many to include massage as a regular part of their lives.  But what of the less obvious benefits?

 

The first sense to develop is your sense of touch.  It’s not surprising when you consider that each square inch of your skin contains roughly 50 nerve endings.  With as many as five million total touch receptors in your skin relaying messages on to your brain, your body’s initial response to massage is to relax and de-stimulate.  Even a simple touch has been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce the heart rate.  Touch can also signal the brain to produce endorphins, your body’s natural pain suppressors.  Going deeper, massage can restore suppleness and strength to your muscles, improving their overall function.  It’s the ideal treatment for releasing tension or muscles in spasm and helps to release toxins such as lactic acid (produced by muscle tissue during exercise), as well.

 

Proper circulation is vital continued health.  Your blood and lymph carry nourishment to the trillions of cells throughout your body and then carry away the waste to be eliminated from the cells. Massage encourages a better exchange of nutrients at the cellular level and more thorough detoxification.  Remember, the future ‘you’ is determined by how well your army of cells regenerate themselves, so this is indeed a critical part of remaining health.

 

The nervous system is your communication network, sending messages constantly that determine proper functioning throughout your body. Stress can affect the ability of the nervous system to do its job.  The many nerve endings found in the skin and muscles are soothed by massage, and this contributes to keeping your internal lines of communication open and operational.

 

Massage also aids in maintaining flexibility in your joints, such as the knee, hip, spine, shoulder and neck.  These joints are thoroughfares for nerves, veins and arteries so their freedom of movement allows energy and blood flow unimpeded.

 

So you can see massage does quite a bit more than just relax you and work out the kinks in a sore back.  Since massage has been practiced for thousands of years and is one of the earliest known health treatments known to man, why don’t you hear more about it in today’s society?

 

In fact, massage today is rapidly growing in popularity and reputation.  Besides being misunderstood, massage has had to overcome the reluctance many people have regarding physical contact.  Of course, once they experience a therapeutic massage for themselves, most people are hooked.

 

My first post.

Over the next weeks and months I hope to bring you news and information about massage that I hope you will find useful. Please feel free to post comments and questions which I will do my best to answer. If you would like me to comment on any particular subject please ask.