Before I start today's experience, I wanted to explain a typical day at Massage Therapy School. We spend 2 hours in lecture in the morning. This is either an Anatomy, Pathology or Physiology lecture, although more often than not, they all overlap with their information. After lunch, we spend 3 to 4 hours with the massage, either learning new strokes/techniques or practicing ones we learned previously. So yeah, that's my day in a nutshell for the next 6 months.
So today as the wind almost blew the building away, us students finally got our hands working. It's only the 3rd day and we already get to get someone under the sheets and took all their worries away! Okay, maybe not that much. The one under the sheet was our student partner, they were still clothed (we undress next week :) ) and we only massaged the scalp and face. But it still felt amazing.
If you ever get a scalp massage, make sure to ask for the "hair tug". Essentially, it is hair pulling without the pain. The therapist (BTW, I will never refer to a massage therapist as a masseuse... it is derogation and not appreciated in the community) grips the hair as close to the scalp as possible and then gently pulls. Training allows them to know just when to stop. It doesn't serve much purpose other than to feel good. However, that is pretty much the only technique that does not help the circulation of blood on the scalp/face.
There is another technique we learned to day which clears the sinuses. If you feel just below the eyebrow in the eye socket almost next to your nose, you can feel a small divot (almost like a crack) in the bone. That is your sinus. Gently pushing on them for about 5 seconds will clear them right out. The therapist does have to be careful not to push too hard or it will cause a headache. BE AWARE! This technique is usually performed by a massage therapist with a client. Please do not take this suggested technique as medical advice. Sorry, but I just gotta cover my butt.
If you would like to try it yourself, I would suggest this site. How to Give Yourself a Face and Scalp Massage
A major part of what we learned today during our hands-on session was it is very hard to receive a good massage unless you have open communication with your therapist. You must say "I love having my face worked a bit longer than typical" so they know to spend 15 minutes on it instead of the usual 5 minutes. You must say "please press deeper" so that you don't get up off the table and think to yourself "I don't feel as relaxed as I could be" because your tissues needed a deeper massage. And most importantly, say something if it hurts in a bad way! A good hurt is good for a reason. A bad hurt should never happen because the massage therapist is trained to know what will cause a bad hurt, like nerves and pressure points.
I think that's enough for now... please comment and let me know how I can improve my posts! Also, anything that you may want to know about I can try to post about in the future. Cheers and stay limber!
No comments:
Post a Comment