Massage tips?

Contributor: Breas Breas
I love giving massages and was thinking about getting this book link here at EF, but was wondering if there are also any tips from the members to give a better massage. I've used a few oils, but I am unaware of different techniques,etc. The book will probably be handy but are there any tips that you can give that you swear by? I'd love to hear them!
09/01/2011
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Contributor: Illusional Illusional
Hmm, since I'm in massage school I might as well give this book a look.

Some moisturizing lotions are preferred over oils, personally.
Um... are you trying to be sexual or possibly even help them like with common aches and pains?
09/01/2011
Contributor: EJ EJ
I have that book and it's not bad, but it does include a lot of extra stuff, like Shiatsu, reflexology and body reading. There's a WHOLE lot of information packed into it and the diagrams are fairly small.

If, however, you just want a good basic massage book, I'd go with something like Therapeutic Massage by Denise W. Brown. It teaches you the same four basic massage moves that we learned in school, and then takes you step by step through an entire massage session, one body part at a time, using large, close-up diagrams. I was really impressed.

As far as tips go, I think it's pretty hard to learn massage by a book alone, but you can go YouTube and just type in the name of any of the four basic moves (effleurage, pettrisage, friction, tapotement/percussion) and see a ton of demonstrations. I just typed in "effleurage" and this was the first video that came up: link. Eh, not bad.

Good luck with your shopping. Let us know what you decide on.
09/01/2011
Contributor: Illusional Illusional
Mmmm. I love Tapotement.
It's good for when I'm all congested.
Friction is good when I'm chilly.

Mmmm. EJ, did you graduate already?
09/01/2011
Contributor: Taylor Taylor
To learn techniques, try finding a couples' massage workshop in your area. Massage schools often have them or other intro classes you can take without doing a full maggase therapy program. Also like EJ said youtube is actually a pretty good resource.

Practicing on your partner frequently is probably the best thing you can do to improve. You will get better at listening through your hands and picking up on what your "client" needs.

Also I bet if you know any massage therapists, you could probably hire them to teach some techniques one afternoon or something. I have done that for a couple of clients and several of my friends. You might even try putting an ad on craigslist or something similar to arrange something like that.
09/01/2011
Contributor: EJ EJ
Illusional, I graduated in 2003. Even if I hadn't gone into it professionally, I would still be thankful that I had the opportunity to go through massage school. It was such a healing experience, in so many ways. I hope you're enjoying your experience.

Sktb0007, I hadn't thought about it, but like Taylor mentioned, I used to have a massage co-worker who taught weekend workshops on the side. That's an even better way to learn than reading and watching YouTube videos, if you and your s/o (or a good friend) are interested and you can find a workshop in your area.
09/02/2011
Contributor: Breas Breas
Quote:
Originally posted by EJ
I have that book and it's not bad, but it does include a lot of extra stuff, like Shiatsu, reflexology and body reading. There's a WHOLE lot of information packed into it and the diagrams are fairly small.

If, however, you just want ... more
Thank you for the basic move names!! I'll have to check that book out, as well as surf the youtube!
09/03/2011
Contributor: EJ EJ
You're welcome.
09/03/2011