Body Mechanics

How to Move Your Body When You Massage

“Body mechanics” refers to the way the person giving the massage moves his or her body.

The way you move your BODY is more import than the way you move your hands.

Good body mechanics is the key to giving a LONG massage and injury prevention. Not only protects the giver from harm from repetitive motions, it also allows the Giver to massage without getting tired.

If you want to massage for a hours,
you better have excellent body mechanics!

1. Breathe
As a general rule – the more relaxed the giver is, the more effective and relaxing the massage will be. Reminding yourself to breathe will help you to flow with the process.

2. Unlock Your Joints
Keeping a slight bend in your joints – including elbows, fingers, knees, jaw, etc – and free of tension will create a much better experience for the Receiver.

3. Gentle Hands
Imagine your hands to be like water running over the Receiver’s body. Both Giver and Receiver will experience a much fuller connection during the massage.

4. Use your Lower Body
THIS ONE IS KEY! The lower body is much stronger than the upper body. The lower body is much stronger than the upper body, so push with your feet to activate the movement in your arms.

5. Move Them Hips
If you feel like you’re hula dancing while you’re massaging then you’re doing it right! Have your hips correspond with your hands. (Right hip forward when right hand moves forward.) Also, try to tip you pelvis forward because if you stick out your butt, eventually your lower back is going to hurt.

6. Open the Heart
The massage feels better to both Giver and Receiver when the shoulders are back, chin is up, face is relaxed and smiling (seriously it helps), and chest is open. This position will help you take fuller breaths.

7. Protect those Fingers
Finger muscles are small compared to arms, back and leg muscles. Any motion that requires you to repeatedly grip will get tiring really fast. Try putting one hand on top of the other to reinforce the pressure, and avoid using thumbs.
When i massage, I rarely use thumbs and I always place one hand on top of the other to reinforce the pressure of the first hand. An excellent way to practice proper pressure is the Cornstarch Experiment. (That page will be up soon.)

8. If it Hurts… Don’t do it
This probably seems like a pretty obvious one, but I occasionally find it very tempting to push my body beyond what is safe because I am so into working out high-tension areas on my client. If in doubt, don’t do it. Work that area with a different technique instead.