Back Massage

Back massage helps to soothe and relieve tension in the back, neck and shoulders, it also stretches out tight muscular fibres that may be tight and sore.

Our techniques.

Gentle introduction:

We begin with a gentle stroke that starts at the base of the neck. Placing our hands on either side of the spine we use gentle pressure and continuous motion, rubbing down the length and then up the sides of the back. We repeat this motion several times until we feel the recipient relaxing.

Thumb pressure.

Going back to the shoulder blades, we apply the fleshy part of our thumbs (not the tips!) on either side of the spine at about mid-back and then push outward for an inch (a few centimetres) or so. We do this from the mid-back to the base of the neck in a series of small, outward strokes. We always check with the recipient to see if the pressure is right. We always apply pressure away from the spine, not towards it.

Trouble spots.

Once you've warmed up a bit with the introduction, we move to the spots that seem tightest under your hands or that you have indicated need special attention. Using the fleshy part of our thumbs, we begin to work in small circles in the areas that need help.

Once the trouble spots are loosened up, we switch the approach to more general strokes:

We shake up the shoulders. Placing our palms on one of the shoulder blades, we give it a gentle shaking by quickly moving the palm back and forth. This should create a nice loose movement of the shoulder blade and arm. We repeat on the other side.

Tender spots.

We are  likely to find tender spots along the tops of the shoulders and even tucked down near the collar bone. If so we use the fleshy part of our fingers in a small, circular motion to help ease these areas.