Four Seasons Massage
Confidential Questionnaire
On the last Tuesday (not Thursday) night before Christ's passion his disciples were at supper: “Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from G-d, and was returning to G-d, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment, and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing” (Jn 13:3-5).
Masseuses and masseurs belong to a profession dedicated to the alleviation of suffering, the relieving of anxieties, the relaxing of tired muscles and nerves, and the endeavour to help clients rediscover the joy of living.
Although therapeutic massage was practiced in the days of Hippocrates, this form of treatment was only developed into a scientific art in Sweden in the late nineteenth century.
Such Swedish massage is still the U.K.'s only officially recognized massage therapy. It was introduced to England in 1899, when it was used in Saint George's Hospital, Hyde Park. Just as auxiliary therapists are licensed to give manicure treatment, or to administer electrical treatment, use ultra-violet rays, or give steam- and vapour-baths, so they may be licensed for general massage.
Individual preference rather than any formal prescription seems, however, to have remained each practitioner's main guide in perfuming massage oil. Jasmin is particularly good for normal skin, while tangerine is suitable for delicate constitutions, children and young people. Sage is more stimulating and astringent. Among essential oils lavender, basil and ylang-ylang are antiseptic, neroli and lemon-grass are bactericides, while sandalwood is good for broken veins.
Background music is nowadays often combined with massage, and recordings of repetitive mantra-style music appropriate to the time of day may be found especially effective. Some Western classical music is also entirely suitable.
Persons with access to a 7-channel Rainbow Caduceus or to a single-channel Electronic Caduceus may wish to give or receive a massage with this instrument appropriately activated beforehand. If only a single-channel Caduceus is available, I suggest energizing either amethysts or diamonds, and tuning them either to 6 Hertz or to Chakra-level 6. The presence of natural quartz crystals, rose quartz, emeralds, carnelian, turquoise, lapis lazuli and, in particular, kyanite on or near the body is also usually found to be most helpful.
As well as being extremely therapeutic, massage can help to satisfy a wide range of different human needs - the joys of an experience shared, the heightened awareness of physical pleasure that senstive interpersonal contact can promote, and a helping hand when it is time to let go tensions and anxieties as well as our accumulated burden of fatigue.
Massage is not merely a matter of touching the body. To massage or be massaged means responsibly, and with open heart and mind, to expose oneself to receive the being of a second Self.
More and more people are coming to enjoy the experience of different sorts of massage. For many of them, this development represents a new, personal, life-enhancing discovery, that stimulates them to ask a whole series of fascinating questions:
What can massage do for my body?
How many different kinds of massage are available for my use?
How can my own particular way of either giving or receiving massage best express my individual personality?
How does the massage connection help to make us the unique persons that each of us feel ourselves to be?
In considering such questions one also learns to appreciate how close are the links that connect the massage process to contemporary explorations of the psychology of emotional response, to philosophical studies regarding the fundamental constitution of reality, and to investigations into the ultimate nature of religious and aesthetic experience.
Massage can take us beyond the limits of purely physical experience to operate its beneficent effects on the etheric and psychic planes.
Buoyancy, expansions, upsurge and emergence are the key-notes in developing a programme of massage towards the goals of vitality and rejuvenation. Total openness is the ideal atmosphere for this sort of massage, and it can be promoted by a wide variety of interpersonal, experiential techniques that rely on bodily awareness, bodily relaxation, a responsible attitude towards tensions and discomfort, the free use of imagination, eye contact, non-focussed attention, timelessness, and dramatic fantasy. (Cf. above: Encounter Groups - ASPECTS.)
It is also an article of the Christian Faith that Jesus Christ has, in his body, risen from the dead, and that in his bodily life we are all, whether female or male, together with the entire cosmos, called eternally to share.
The following presentation provide an essential background of anatomy and physiology, but concentrate on the meaning and value of the massage experience in simple human terms.
Such meanings and values are closely linked to the changing moods and varied feelings of the persons involved.
To meet this challenge, the masseuse or masseur must be truly a person for all seasons - some of them unusual!
Summer is a pleasant season, and in Part One I shall speak about some of the pleasures massage has in store: the joys of an experience shared, the heightened awareness of physical pleasure that sensitive massage can promote, and that rhythmic satisfaction which on certain occasions characterizes self-abandonment to the delights of this interpersonal form of communication. For the sake of completeness, the somewhat bizarre ‘pleasures’ of pain will also be touched upon here and there.
In Autumn trees and shrubs shed their leaves and slow down their vital processes. Massage, too, can help us to let go tensions and anxieties as well as our accumulated burden of fatigue. In Part Two I shall focus on three sorts of relaxation massage, compare them, and then suggest how they may be harmoniously combined.
Winter sees the death of the old year. It is an occasion for other deaths, too. It is a season when pain is no distant stranger. Fortunately, the masseuse or masseur can offer a very great deal to help and alleviate such human suffering. In Part Three I review the main points of therapeutic massage, give hints on practical first-aid uses of massage skills for the emergency relief of pain, and show how the specialized massage of selected areas on the feet can foster the well-being of the entire body as a healthily functioning whole.
And, finally, Spring, that yearned for new upsurge of fresh life. Part Four is about the value of holistic massage for vitality and rejuvenation. The main emphasis here is on the methodical and thorough massage and manipulation of the deep muscular tissues of the body. I also mention in passing some practical and helpful daily routines of self-massage, and say a little about its etheric and psychic aspects.
Personal experiences as a professionally qualified and licensed masseur have been my main source of inspiration. I have also drawn on observations made over the years in conversation with other practitioners of this ancient and traditional art. I stand particularly indebted to those, including Mona Lisa Bayesen, Carola Beresford-Cooke, Colm Crowley, Belinda Freeman, Raymond Garner, Ann Parks, Michael Rose, Patricia Ryall, Sara Rochelle-Thomas, Beth Thomson and Valerie Wood, who have allowed me to experience for myself the benefits of their own individual style of massage.
I have, of course, also consulted several of the already available excellent books on this subject (In particular those by G. Downing, B. Gunther, A. Lowen, J. W. Painter and J. Rosenberg), but, in interpreting and evaluating them, I have at all times been guided by my own first-hand knowledge of the realities of the massage process and the massage world.
There are all sorts of background questions to consider, many of them of great importance, but here I touch upon them only briefly, and simply in order to clarify the meanings and values inherent in the massage experience itself. Any lengthy discussion of such subjects might only confuse newcomers to the world of massage; on the other hand, to omit mentioning them entirely would be as mistaken as an attempt to understand the nature of Truth without showing any sort of consideration for that Love which is its heart, the secret Beauty of its manifold charms, whether manifest or not!
Though massage does have a long history, many of the details have been ‘forgotten’; that does not matter too much now. Each transitory instance of massage is a quite unique performance. In any case, historical research is outside the scope of this presentation. Nevertheless, a few approximate indications of the relevant historical background will be provided, whenever this seems likely to be helpful.
Even today for some people the word “massage” possibly still conjures up visions of frustrated, middle-aged ladies or gentlemen reclining on couches in cramped and steaming saunas, where nude toy-boys or topless maidens stimulate them to solitary orgasms in return for a large fee - most of which, of course, later passes into the pockets of some third party of a less accommodating and more aggressive disposition, frequently an individual of the opposite gender.
Fortunately, for an increasing number of other persons, “massage” is now a beautiful word, associated with some of the purest and most sublime expressions of human love.
Clearly, then, there is massage and massage. Indeed, it is not possible to familiarize oneself with the realities of the massage world without very soon learning to appreciate the depths of the cleavage that divides the servants of darkness from the Sons & Daughters of Light. Obviously, each person will choose to place her- or himself in the hands of the Angels…
I believe it is far better for persons to come together than to remain apart. No community of love can exist without some sort of communication, and massage provides more than one valid form.
So, let me say at once that massage begins with people as they are. This is a truism that needs stating.
Massage can contribute towards improving the quality of our shared lives together. But, to achieve such results, the masseuse or masseur needs to be aware of the physical, vital and emotional atmosphere that pervades and constitutes the massage relationship. If a person receiving massage can also consciously and explicitly share this knowledge, so much the better.
The masseuse or masseur should also have at her or his command all the skills requisite to promote the subject's transition to a more pleasant, more relaxed, more carefree and more vital state of being; whenever possible, I like to combine the sorts of massage discussed in this presentation with Crystal Massage, as well as with the vibrant energies of an Electronic Caduceus, preferably a Rainbow Caduceus appropriately tuned.
The professional masseuse or masseur will already possess an adequate level of practical skill and knowledge of this art, understand how massage relates to other disciplines concerned with the fostering of health and the relief of suffering, and have taken care to develop a sufficient measure of ease in empathising with the client being massaged, without over-identifying with that person's problems and moods.
No single teacher, however excellent, could suffice to supply such qualities, which are in the main the fruit of direct personal experience. I can at best only indicate the nature of the ground to be traversed, throwing out a few helpful hints about the journey, as we go along.
I hope what I have to say contains some features of interest to the professional worker in this field. It is, however, intended in the first place for all those who wish simply to keep in touch with their inner selves, while keeping in touch with each other. My chief aim is to make available to the ordinary woman or man a practical knowledge of the main features of good massage practice in all its currently important forms.
Many specialist books already available are devoted more or less exclusively to the examination in depth of just one specific form of massage. Such works are, of course, extremely useful sources of reference for advanced learners, but this presentation can, I trust, serve as a first introduction to massage that all can read and learn from, whether or not they have any prior knowledge or experience of the subject.
1. MASSAGE AS SHARING
It is not good to be too much alone. Massage is one simple way of coming out of privacy into community.
Of course, the atmosphere must be right. In very warm weather one can massage out of doors. Normally a warm, comfortable room is the best place to choose. There person receiving the massage can lie on a sheet on the floor, on a table of a convenient height and size, or on a special massage couch.
A bed is unsuitable, because it does not provide adequately firm support. Personally I find the floor admirable for my purposes. A background of soft music and the burning of some fragrant incense can also help.
If both the masseuse or masseur and her or his partner are nude, the flow of energy between them is smoother and less inhibited. This, however, is a matter for individual choice. Obviously, the person being massaged should be free of all save the most essential clothing.
The pleasure to be derived from massage will depend to a considerable extent on the sort of trust that exists between the masseuse or masseur and the friend s/he is massaging. It will help to increase this trust, if both parties meet regularly, and take turns in massaging each other.
They may also like to familiarize themselves with each other's bodies by mutual exploration, taking a shower together, or simply tuning in to each other, as they lie down together by a warm fireside.
It is not within my present scope to enter into any particulars of such preliminaries. It will be self-evident that the closer the bond of intimacy between two persons, the greater the likelihood of a massage experience being for them one of real sharing.
Oil should be applied generously, but not over-abundantly, to the body being massaged. Johnson's baby-oil is quite acceptable. A very good oil to use is soya-bean or other vegetable oil, such as is sold for cooking, together with a small amount of one's favourite perfume mixed in. Cfr. Max Lake, Scents And Sensuality - The Essence of Excitement (London, John Murray 1989); Richard Alan & Iona Miller, The Magical and Ritual Use of Perfumes (Rochester, Vermont: Destiny Books 1990).
The oil need not be rubbed into the skin, but should simply be spread evenly over the body surface. It is best to warm it in the hand before applying it.
If one has two bottles of oil prepared, one near the head and the other close to the feet of the person to be massaged, there will be no need to interrupt the flow of the massage process when one needs more oil. Non-spill bottles with small holes, old scent-bottles, for example, are most convenient.
In general, oil is best not applied to the head or face, but a little just behind the ears is good, and oil can also be smeared on the masseuse's or masseur's fingers before she or he massages her or his friend's face.
When the person giving the massage is a novice, there is no need at all to attempt any complex or sophisticated method of massage. The main aim is simply to tune in ones own sensitivity to that of ones partner, to develop a sense of rhythm, and to proceed through a complete massage in one uninterrupted even flow.
The telephone is best left off the hook.
The hands should at all times be relaxed. At the same time they should always maintain a certain pressure on the subject's body, and should mould themselves constantly to its natural contours. Their movement should be confident and unhurried.
A good masseuse or masseur seems never concerned with time. The person being massaged should experience the whole process as something unified and perfectly continuous. At the same time, she or he should be able to register each individual movement in consciousness, without its being blurred by what comes next.
The masseuse's or masseur's finger-nails should be kept well cut.
One effective way of giving massage is to commence with the subject lying on her or his back.
After massaging the head and face, one works in succession on the left ankle, lower leg, knee, thigh, hand, forearm and upper arm. After walking round behind the subject's head, one then does her or his right hand, forearm, upper arm, and both feet, followed by the right ankle, lower leg, knee and thigh.
Then, when the abdomen, waist and chest have been massaged, the subject turns over, and one massages the calf and thigh of the left leg with the corresponding buttock, forearm and upper arm.
Next the masseuse or masseur returns back round the head of her or his subject, and works on the right upper arm and forearm, followed by the right leg and buttock.
The massage concludes with the back, shoulders and neck.
A firm, circular movement with the flat of both hands is good for the head and scalp.
The forehead is best massaged from the centre outwards with the balls of ones thumbs. The thumbs and index-fingers can be used to work gently over the nose, across the closed eyes from the nose outwards, over the cheeks, and around the mouth and jaw.
The masseuse or masseur may adopt a comfortable position at the head of her or his subject, and should take care to cover the whole surface of the skin s/he is working on. S/he will have checked that her or his breath is pleasant, and will not be wearing a watch or any obstructive ornaments.
One aim of this sort of massage is to reassure ones friend that s/he exists in her or his body, that s/he really is some-body! That is why every part of her or his skin needs to be incorporated and integrated into the massage process.
The massage doesn't only tell her or him that s/he has meaning and value in general human terms; much more specifically it tells her or him that the masseuse or masseur, whom I here take to be her or his friend, values her or him, and acknowledges her or his personal meaning in the world.
It is natural to pass in massage from the jaw to the neck and shoulders. After a little attention to these areas, one can move to the side of the subject's body, while gliding ones hand slowly down her or his left arm. It is good to maintain a hold of her or his left hand until one has actually made contact with her or his left foot, prior to working on the ankle.
After holding the foot firmly in the flat of both hands for a few moments, apply an even pressure with your hands to either side of the ankle. While maintaining this pressure, move upwards several times, slowly, from the ankle along the lower leg, knee and thigh, using a sort of spiral movement of each hand. It is essential for best results that one hand recommences the movement at the ankle before the other breaks off contact with the top of the thigh.
Next, I suggest taking each of the fingers of the left hand, one by one, rubbing ones hands down them a few times, and then extending them firmly.
The massage of the rest of the hand is simply a matter of holding it firmly between the flat of both ones own hands, while rubbing these round slowly. The arm is massaged in much the same way as the leg.
Take hold of the subject's right hand before breaking contact with her or his left arm, and do this in such a way that you can conveniently step across her or his body, or walk round the back of her or his head, and place yourself in position to massage her or his right hand and arm.
Having done so, and without any break in contact, proceed to massage the feet and the right leg. The method of massaging the leg has been described already, but first one should work on the feet, which are best done in immediate succession. Treat them as you did the hands.
In addition to this, try working with your fingers between the toes, and with your knuckles or the balls of your thumbs all over the lower surface of the feet.
In massaging the abdomen and waist, remember not to press too hard on the bladder, as this could force an undesired discharge. If a woman is being massaged, it is useful to check beforehand whether or not she has had a coil fitted; it is not good to push this up further into the womb by some ill-judged application of pressure.
In general, however, pressure applied to the abdominal area can quite safely be firm and sustained. The arrangement of the internal organs makes it desirable to rotate ones hands over the whole area in a smooth, circular, clockwise motion. It is best to use both hands, open flat, together, arranged so that they slightly overlap. This communicates to the subject a more reassuring sense of contact.
To massage the chest area, I suggest using both hands simultaneously but independently, the right hand for the subject's left aspect, and the left one for her or his right aspect. A circular movement or an upward spiral is good here. I also recommend a firm, upward, gliding movement with one hand over the other from the mid-point of the diaphragm up over the breast-bone.
When the person being massaged has turned over, it is a simple matter to do the back of the left calf and thigh. The left buttock is included in the overall treatment of the leg, and is then massaged independently, supplementing work with ones palms flat by also using a kneading action with both hands over the whole area. The inferior and superior limits of the buttock can also be slowly traced out firmly a few times with a steadily flowing pressure of the index-finger of one hand.
The mode of treatment for the left and right arms, and for the right leg and buttock, follows that adopted for the left leg, both front and back, and for the left buttock.
The easiest way to massage the back is with a broad, sweeping movement of the flat of the hands, one on the right and one on the left. The movements can be circular over each half of the back. A more spiral sort of motion is also good. There should be no hurry, despite the amplitude of the movement.
The masseuse or masseur can work from the side of the body, from behind the head, or from a comfortable position astride the subject's thighs. This latter position is very convenient for massaging the neck and shoulders by rolling ones thumbs, as they bunch up the subject's flesh, over the middle- and index-fingers of ones hands, as well as by the use of a circular motion with the palms.
Whenever pressure is needed in massage, an experienced masseuse or masseur prefers to rely more on body weight than on muscular exertion. It is easy to push ones hands into someone's back by keeping the arms straight and leaning on ones shoulders; to mobilize an equivalent pressure from the wrists would be over-tiring. Unless the masseuse or masseur is comfortable in her or his work, s/he can hardly expect to communicate a sense of comfort to her or his client.
After the massage, cologne can be applied, and any superfluous oil removed by a smooth sweep with an open tissue. This is better than a dabbing attempt at mopping up. Perfumed talc can then be sprinkled all over the body, and immediately removed with a clean towel. Cologne may then again be applied to complete the treatment.
This whole massage requires from 1½ to 2 hours, so that 3 hours can suffice for two friends to take turns in massaging each other.
Provided they are sensitive, and discuss their experience together at some agreed time afterwards (not immediately), it needs only a few weeks for them to learn their own way of varying this simple, introductory form of massage to suit any special requirements they may have. This will increase the pleasure that that can derive from their shared experience.
2. MASSAGE AS AROUSAL
I shall suppose this sort of massage retains the basic format I have already described for it, subject, of course, to any individual variations and embellishments that may suggest themselves to the perceptive learner.
I shall also mention a few procedures which may be used to make massage more exciting for the participants. It is not only, nor even, despite my own Tantric training, primarily sexual arousal I have in mind.
It is obviously very easy to introduce into massage several elements that can contribute to make it sexually more exciting. One may, for instance, lightly brush the genitals every time ones hands or elbows come near them in the course of the massage, a woman who is performing a massage nude may arrange for her breasts to caress her partner's genitals from time to time, and any person with sufficiently long hair may similarly arrange for it to flow gently across any selected area of the her or his partner's body-surface.
More directly, one can press lightly with ones finger-tips while moving very slowly and carefully in tiny circles over the whole genital area, starting from the perineum. However, since the main focus of an explicit sexual massage is not the work on the genital organs, but much more the energizing and eroticization of the body as a whole, this introductory discussion need not devote much space to genital massage. Those interested in the subject can easily learn by experience in the light of the few indications I have provided.
Instead, I want to mention some ways of energizing the body as a whole within the context of basic massage. Massage can be so soothing as to be relaxing, but it can just as easily be the occasion for sensuous excitation and arousal. These feelings may lead on to some more specifically sexual experience, carry over into a religious or other heightened state of consciousness, or simply be enjoyed for their own sake as aesthetic experiences within their own right.
Here I want to say a little about how precisely massage can figure in all this. While massaging the head, I suggest that one also press very firmly with ones thumbs into the skulll four times: below the forehead just above the nose, below the hair-line, an inch or so further back, and in the very centre of the cranium.
It is also good to grasp the inner whorls of each ear with either hand, pull them out firmly away from the side of the head, and then, while they are stretched in this way, to rotate them clockwise and anti-clockwise twice in a semi-circle.
The subject should be encouraged to open the mouth slightly, relax her or his jaw, and breathe out and in as deep and completely as possible, moving both the top of the rib-cage and the pit of the stomach. The masseuse or masseur can stimulate the breathing by regular pressure on the rib-cage for a few moments in time with the subject's exhalation and inhalation.
When massaging the front of the neck, take some time to brush lightly up and down with the finger-tips a few times to either side of the Adam's apple.
As well as massaging the legs, raise each of them slowly upwards two or three times away from the ground, until the straight leg forms a considerable acute angle to the floor. Take care to lower the legs just as slowly, while your friend, with eyes closed, savours the experience.
You can also rotate the knee-cap a few times at the appropriate moment, and move slowly several times over the whole leg with a feather-light touch of your finger-tips. This latter movement can, indeed, become a feature of your way of massaging each part of the body.
The tips of the fingers and toes can be brushed for several minutes with a light but definite pressure of the palms and extended fingers of your hands.
A further possibility while massaging the area round the abdomen and waist depends upon a firm pressure of the four joined finger-tips of one hand. While in contact with the flesh directly above the upper limit of the pubic bone, press down into it slowly, and, at the same time, incline your hand slightly upwards towards the chest; move in and out evenly a few times. With the same part of the hand, work inwards round the left and right top edges of the pelvic girdle.
Similarly, having identified the lower extremity of the rib-cage, press your finger-tips fairly firmly into the flesh below, at the right- or left-hand edge of the body, then work upwards and inwards along to the mid-point of the body, as evenly as you can, while maintaining the pressure. Repeat this three or four times on each side.
These movements are best worked into the basic massage, and duly completed before passing on to use the feather-light touch technique already mentioned.
While working over the chest, it is sometimes quite effective to place the pads of the finger-tips of each hand to either side of the breast a few inches below the shoulder, in such a way that two fingers lie to the side, just below the armpit, and the other fingers together with the thumb cover the exterior aspect of the chest. With the hands placed firmly in this position, perform a few very slow and even circular movements.
The area around the nipples can be worked round with the tip of the index-finger, and, if the subject is a woman, it is also good to define the outer limits of each breast by running a firmly held finger-tip round it several times.
A great deal of attention can usefully be given, too, to the soles of the feet, and to the backs of the knees, and I recommend spending quite some time in working over these areas in whatever way seems most pleasant and effective.
The balls of the thumbs can be used very successfully to massage deeply the triangular area of muscle around the base of the spine, taking care to massage the muscle rather than the bone; this muscle may prove to be quite hard, though the normal state for any muscle is one of alternating tension and relaxation.
It is also good to use the thumbs to define a furrow along the whole length of the spine about half an inch to either side of it. A considerable amount of pressure can be brought to bear on this area, and experience will show whether a particular subject prefers both sides to be done at once, or likes each side to be taken separately.
Assuming that the feather-light touch technique has been used to round off the massaging of each major area of the body, I suggest immediately following up the basic massage of the whole body by rapidly tapping with all ones fingers several times over the whole of the skin surface. The aim is to produce a pattering sound like that of falling rain, trying for a rhythmic effect, and alternating movements of hailstone-like crescendo with a diminuendo snow-flake quality of touch. It may be best for the person being massaged to stand up for this, and in working on such areas as the buttocks the palms of the hands can be used instead of just the finger-tips.
Afterwards, with the subject either standing up or, if appropriate, lying down once more, either prone or supine, and possibly with the eyes closed, the masseuse or masseur may use a feather or other preferred aid to give a final coverage to the sensitive and receptive body of her or his partner.
A light beating with birch twigs is customary in similar situations in the Finnish enjoyment of a home sauna, and some people seem to enjoy such alternative aids as canes, carpet-beaters, prick-teasers, tawses and whips, not to mention freshly molten candle-wax! However, it is not my task here to describe in detail how any other masseuse or masseur should seek to arouse her or his friend or victim, lover or slave…
3. MASSAGE AS DANCE
After some weeks' experience of the pleasures (and perhaps also of some of the individually desired associated special torments) of massage, both as sharing and as arousal, the learner will, no doubt, have already developed some feel for the rhthmic quality that any good massage must have.
I shall now indicate how this very satisfying side to the massage experience can be refined upon and further improved. Once again, my remarks are to be taken within the context supplied by the preceding sections of this preliminary presentation.
The level of work not reached represents a considerable advance on that accessible to the complete novice, and it may be as well to begin with a discussion of a few preliminary matters.
A quick shaking of the hands from the wrist until the whole feels like india-rubber is a very good exercise for a masseuse or masseur. It should be done for about ten seconds at a time, five or six times a day.
Individual preference remains, as mentioned earlier, the main guide to the perfuming of massage oil. A satisfactory massage oil is fairly thin, highly lubricant, and does not become sticky under pressure. As well as Johnson's baby oil (93% liquid paraffin) and soya-bean oil, the best are hazelnut and avocado pear oils. Corn oil and olive oil are not recommended, but a cheap vegetable oil is quite acceptable.
Background music for massage is best played from CD's or recorded tapes,* to obviate any need to interrupt the massage in order to change a record. Instead of classical Eastern or Western music, the sado-masochistically inclined may prefer a selection of the so called ‘Free-Dom’ recordings currently available, or taped extracts from carefully chosen primitive tribal rhythms…
* I have used a selection of music by Catherine Andrews, Bach, Berlioz, Enigma, Steven Halpern, Oyun Havalari, Hildegard of Bingen, Holst, Lyra, Terry Oldfield, Om, Palestrina, Ravel, Denis Stoll, Stravinsky, Suns of Arqa, Tibetan lamas and monks, Les troubadours du roi Baudouin, and Wagner, but there is no shortage of appropriate pieces to suit all moods and tastes, the theme music from “2,001,” for example.
In massaging the forehead, divide it into horizontal strips, and conclude each sideways movement of your thumbs with a small circular flourish downwards by the hair-line.
As well as massaging gently across the closed eyes, use your index-finger tips to press into the rim of the eye-socket three or four times at distinct places below and above the eye. In doing this, it is important to life ones fingers away from the eye-socket, in order to move on to the next spot selected - a lateral movement here could damage the delicate tissues, but a straight, inward pressure is good.
After massaging each foot, get your subject to rotate her or his own foot very slowly several times, clockwise and then anti-clockwise, from the ankle, preferably without raising the back of the knee from the floor or other working surface.
S/he can also be invited, while keeping her or his heels on the ground, alternately to move her or his toes as far away from, and as close to her or his knees as possible. This up-and-down and circular movement of the foot stimulates the internal muscles of the thighs. It also helps the person being massaged to participate in the rhythm of the process in which s/he is involved.
I have already mentioned the individual extending of the subject's fingers and toes. It is also good, after massaging completely each arm or leg, to place one foot for leverage close by the armpit or the waist while one stretches the limb in question with both hands in a single, steady movement.
Similarly, the neck can be extended by pulling out the head somewhat from behind, after massaging it, as already described.
These various procedures are all found to enhance the subject's interior appreciation of the rhythmic flow of the massage experience. In external terms, this is most clearly apparent in the treatment of the back. The circular movements in this area can be made to assume a wave-like quality, by performing them in such a way as to alternate being their light and heavy, slow and fast, in smaller and larger circles. Working from the side of the body, it is also possible to use a figure-eight movement of both hands interlacing across the shoulders.
The whole of the back can be caressed several times by alternately sweeping across it in either direction with both hands; alternate horizontal strips of the surface area are caressed lightly by the two hands, in such a way that one hand begins its movement where the previously used hand left off - the result is felt by the subject as a serpentine undulation of a single hand over her or his back, and is commonly reported to be quite delicious an experience. Light spiral movements over the furrows traced to either side of the spine are also good.
As well as massaging the back from the side, or upwards from a position astride the thighs, it can be a beautiful complement to the experience to massage the back downwards from a position behind the subject's head. The chest and the abdominal regions can also be worked on from this same position, either as an alternative, or as an addition to their more usual treatment from below.
Some small details worth noting are the additional delights of delicate, rhythmic probings made with one finger round the inner whorls of the ears, between the toes, around the pads of the tip-toes and finger-tips, and along the ridges below and between the buttocks.
More generally, it is most important to note that pressure should always be heavier when massaging towards the heart, and lighter when massaging away from it, a point appreciated long ago by Hippocrates, and that assists the venous return of blood to the heart.
If several people are enjoying this sort of massage together, it can be quite enthralling to use the group feeling to enhance ones pleasure even more. One possibility is for the whole group to concentrate its energy on massaging one person, dividing the work between them, so that all of the front of her or his body can be massaged quasi-simultaneously, and all the back of her or his body can also be similarly treated as one.
Thus, if there are eleven masseuses or masseurs to a single subject, they may share the work as follows: one for the head, face and neck; two for the chest, abdomen, waist, buttocks and back; four for the hands and feet; four for the pulling and massage of the legs and arms.
This massage can conclude with the subject being rocked gently in mid-air in a cradle of arms, while lying supine with closed eyes, and in her or his being then gently and slowly lowered to the ground.
Another arrangement is for those being massaged to lie down in a floral patter, so that their heads form the centre of the flower of flesh of which they are the individual petals. While being massaged, they may hold hands. Meanwhile, the masseuses or masseurs can move round the circle clockwise, each one making her- or himself responsible for just one phase of the process. Initially, in other words, only one subject is worked on, but gradually the whole room becomes a garden of activity as the flower unfolds each petal to receive the massage.
While waiting their turn to begin massage, the masseuses or masseurs enter into the feel of what is already taking place, spread oil on the various subjects to be massaged, and deepen their own breathing…
4. SWEDISH MASSAGE WITH OIL
Natural sensitivity and interest suffice to qualify a person to participate in massage for pleasure. To speak of Swedish massage is to raise the level of discourse to a more professional plane.
Six distinctive movements are characterteristic of Swedish massage: effleurage, a stroking movement towards the heart to improve the circulation, and relax the subject; petrissage, applied with the balls of the thumbs or fingers to soft tissue with bone immediately underneath, in order to squeeze out toxins and waste products; tapotement, a light tapping movement with the fingers on small muscles; kneading, or picking up soft tissue to take it away from the bone, and to squeeze out toxins and waste products by a sort of rolling action; hacking, a light and quick flicking action to improve muscle tone, normally applied to the back and shoulders with the edge of the hands; and cupping, a quick movement with cupped hands that sounds rather like a horse trotting, and serves to bring the blood closer to the surface of the body.
Effleurage normally precedes and follows all other massage movements, when one adopts this Swedish technique. Tapotement in this form of massage is usually reserved for facial treatments. Hacking and cupping can be practiced first on a cushion, making sure that the elbows are kept tucked in at the waist.
In Swedish, as in all massage, the masseuse's or masseur's rapport with the body of her or his client is an essential condition for success. The soft rhythmic movements can induce euphoria, and sometimes even sleep. This form of massage is excellent for the relief of muscular tension, and is very relaxing.
In most professional practice the head, hands and feet are omitted in this form of massage, though ideally, of course, they are best included. A table or massage couch is almost always used. The preferred order of treatment means that the masseuse or masseur needs to go round the client once, and then come back again, and that the body being massaged is moved once only. The subject being massaged is turned over by the practitioner, instead of turning her- or himself over, and the masseuse or masseur may also assist her or him to ascend to, and afterwards to descend from the massage podium.
The precise order of treatment commences with the client supine, while the practitioner massages the left ankle, knee, thigh, wrist, forearm, upper arm, the right wrist, forearm, upper arm, ankle, knee, thigh, and the abdomen, waist and lower pectoral region; the body is prone as s/he massages the calf and thigh of the left leg, the right buttock, the left forearm and upper arm, the right arm, the left buttock, the right leg, and the whole of the back up to and including the shoulders. It is felt that by working on the buttock from the opposite side of the body, the massage is more effective.
It is a matter of taste how the various Swedish massage movements are combined for the treatment of different parts of the body. In working over the back with oil, it is good to place oneself at the head of the client, with your feet slightly astride. Place your hands near her or his buttocks, and perform reverse effleurage towards the shoulders, quite firmly, before moving your hands in towards the spine, and so backwards down, without pressure, to the buttocks.
After repeating this movement ten times, execute ten figure-eight movements over the shoulders, having one hand on top of the other, as you move anti-clockwise over the right shoulder, and then back clockwise over the left shoulder. Without interrupting this contact with the subject's left shoulder, you can then move to the side of her or his body, and perform ten ordinary effleurage movements, before coming to rest on her or his shoulders, where, with the whole leading-edge of your hands, you can then use your thumbs to roll-friction her or his shoulders.
After this, transfer the pressure to the flat of your hands, and push her or his tissue in towards her or his spine, with friction, moving your hands in increasing circles that always come back to her or his shoulders, and that eventually also include the base of her or his spine. Having got so far, move up her or his spine three times in 2-inch diameter spirals, until you reach the top.
Now you can perform a slow effleurage, and speed it up gradually, until it is very fast, after which you may slow it down again. Bring this movement to a conclusion with both hands over the client's left shoulder, and leave them there, while you return to your starting position at her or his head.
From there, conclude the massage of her or his back with another reverse effleurage that gradually gets slowers, until it stops.
In massaging with oil, it is necessary for the masseuse or masseur to allow the oiled body to slide out of the hands; one cannot really push it. As in all massage, it is also necessary for the masseuse or masseur to become one with the body s/he or he is massaging; massage is an intelligent,* and not a purely mechanical activity.
* According to David Bohm (Thought as a System, London: Routledge 1994; Foreword by Lee Nichol), body, emotion, intellect, reflex and artefact are now to be understood as one unbroken field of mutually informing thought, the several components of which so interpenetrate one another, “that we are compelled to see thought as a system - concrete as well as abstract, active as well as passive, collective as well as individual.”
If talc is used instead of oil, it is much easier to push into and against the body. Some practitioners find it impossible to use kneading, or petrissage, or even to perform ordinary, as distinct from reverse effleurage in conjunction with oil. For this reason, and also because oil adds calories to the body, it is counter-indicated for massage with a view to slimming. Moreover, if oil is used all over, it can leave the body clammy and smelly, though cologne, talc, and a second application of cologne can be used to remedy this, as previously mentioned.
If any reader feels by now that s/he or he would like to work professionally as a masseuse or masseur, it is well worth noting that no license is required for a visiting practice, in other words, when one visits someone in her or his own home, to give a massage by invitation, whether or not in consideration of some financial remuneration. With this exception, massage may only be carried out on premisses approved of by the Town and Country Planning authority, provided that there are no restrictive convenants in the relevant lease or other title-deed, and if the Public Health and Fire authorities regard the premisses as suitable and safe.
Before opening any Massage Centre, therefore, it is often necessary to obtain approval for a change in the use and usage of the premisses, or even to obtain an entirely new license for them. In certain areas, such as Greater London, the Public Control Department also requires that the masseuse or masseur her- or himself have a proper license to practice. The licenses for premisses, renewable every year, are strictly personal, and they relate only to the premisses specified.
A copy of the relevant local by-laws must be exhibited on the licensed premisses, a price-list must be published and a copy supplied to the Localf Authority, all advertisements must be kept on file for a period of not less than six months, and an Inspector may at any time enter the premisses, and demand sight of the records. These must indicate the nature of any therapeutic treatment administered, when it was given, and what price was charged for it. However, no record need be kept of the administration of massage for slimming, toning and relaxation purposes.
It is also interesting to mention that Clubs are a special category, and, as such, not subject to all these by-laws and regulations.
5. MACHINE-ASSISTED MASSAGE
Like my account of Swedish massage, these suggestions on the subject of machine-assisted massage build upon the basic outline provided in Part One of this presentation. By keeping to fundamentally the same order of massage throughout, it should be much easier for the novice to work easily and rapidly towards proficiency, without becoming confused and mystified by a variety of alternative approaches.
The main available mechanical massagers are percussors and gyrators. Percussors include vibratory cushions, chairs, couches, belts and back-of-hand vibrators. All of these operate in a vertical plane, and their physiological effect is approximately equivalent to tapotement or hacking.
The Pifco vibratory massager is the best known, and is supplied with a spiky rubber hedgehog applicator, a small suction cup applicator, a plastic scalp applicator, and a small solid rubber applicator for the ankles, wrists and knees, as well as a large solid applicator for such fatter parts as the buttocks. Its action is mainly tonic.
Percussors in general are not true massagers. They are aids to massage treatment, rather than a substitute for it. Vibrating belts can, for instance, very pleasantly be applied for two minutes in turn to each calf, thigh, arm, hip, and also to the waist, while waiting to be massaged.
Gyrators are true massagers, since they can, in conjunction with a special head, simulate all the massaging actions of the human hand, including hacking and cupping. The Vibromat is an excellent machine to use, similar in performance and appearance to the Mercede Dual, but cheaper to obtain, because it is imported in larger quantities; the more impressively powerful G5 is not better in practice, because the extra power is lost in the flexible transmission cable.
The Vibromat is made of plastic. The plastic base-plate is used on wet or damp bodies, for example, when massaging someone directly after a sauna. There is a spiked pad or brush-plate for gently inducing hyperaemia, a bumpy pad for use on fatty areas, and a smooth sponge pad for regular use. The plastic parts can be cleaned after use with a mild detergent, and the rest of the machine with Dettol or some other disinfectant.
Gyrators should be used only with talc, and never with oil. Only a little talc should be used, to avoid clogging. Gyrators must never be used on the abdomen or rib-cage, and they should never be run continuously for more than about fifteen minutes at a time.
Massage with a gyrator is never, speaking objectively, as satisfactory as manual massage. No gyrator can detect the reaction of spontaneously twitching flesh to excess pressure. However, many people share the subjective conviction, which is a powerful emotional reality to be respected, that mechanical massage is best. A light mechanical massage with the spiked pad after a sauna produces roughly the same result as the birch twigs used in Finland, as previously mentioned, to induce the blood to rush to the surface of the body.
It is certainly true that gyrators save time, which may be a valuable consideration in the professional setting of a crowded massage parlour; a fifty-minute manual massage could theoretically be replaced by fifteen minutes of mechanical massage.
If one is going to use a gyrator, and has only twenty-five minutes available in which to complete a Swedish massage, the best thing is to spend a quarter of an hour massaging the abdomen, waist and back manually, so as to maintain personal contact with the client, and ten minutes on the mechanical massage of her or his legs, arms and buttocks.
6. BIOENERGETIC MASSAGE
Massage for pleasure is available to all. Swedish massage, whether manual or machine-assisted, is the main professional form used in most saunas, massage parlours and visiting practices. However, just as homoeopathic medicine offers an alternative to orthodox medicine, so increasingly in recent years a new form of professional massage has won favour with a considerable sector of the massage public. This is bioenergetic massage.
There are several varieties of this, all loosely associated with the psychological theory and practice of Wilhelm Reich, whose best book is Character Analysis (London: Vision Press 1950). Alexander Lowen and John Peirrakos have contributed in a major way to the development of the whole field of bioenergetics, and in England Doctor Robert Ollendorf achieved some excellent results, also on the massage side.
In general, bioenergetics is the theory of each organism, possibly each species, and perhaps even the entire cosmos being an integrated holistic field of vitally pulsating energy in dynamic homoeostatic equilibrium, with tensions in one area balanced by compensating relaxations and counter-tensions elsewhere at approximately the same time, and in the same area at some subsequent time.
Some theoreticians have claimed that this view is simply an extension of Reich's orgone theory, and suggest it may be parallel to, or even identical with the essentials of Tantric religious philosophy, with Bergson's élan vital, with Teilhard de Chardin's interpretation of the evolving universe, or with one or more of a dozen equally fascinating theories, that range from universal electromagnetism to ESP on the astral plane.
Whatever the undoubted interest and possible value of these general theories, I shall not be discussing here the extent to which I now regard massage as a way of increasing the down-gearing ratio of human perceptual activity, in order to achieve a consciousness of some of the more rapid changes within that infinitely rapid activity which is the ground of all being, though actually no thing…
Instead, I shall limit this present discussion to the practicalities of bioenergetic massage, and, for the sake of simplicity, I shall also remain faithful to the basic massage format already outlined. Whether or not the learner has tried her or his hand at Swedish massage, I shall assume s/he has by now at least acquired some familiarity with the practice of massage for pleasure.
The pleasure principle is, indeed, almost the core of bioenergetic massage. The human body is a living organism, and pleasure is its normal or natural state. The aim of massage is to restore it to, and to keep it thriving in this natural condition.
Lighting in the room used for the massage is, more often than not, gentle and subdued. The client is encouraged to breathe fully, but to concentrate on breathing out, while leaving inhalation to take care of itself for the most part.
Before the massage proper, the masseuse or masseur, who is often also a qualified psychotherapists, or who is at least likely to have read up on Reich, will spend a few moments tuning in to the client's vital vibrations, noticing any tremors, however slight, anywhere in the body, and possibly taking the client's pulse or blood temperature.
Though tolerant of deviations in her- or himself and others as being merely expressions of “where it's at,” the bioenergetic masseuse or masseur may also recommend non-smoking, walking in bare feet, the adoption of a macrobiotic diet, and the practice of swinging the pelvic floor during exhalation. All these routines are believed by a majority of bioenergetic practitioners to help a more natural flow of energy.
The massage itself can follow the order I have suggested. While in the supine position, the subject turns the palms of the hands upwards, relaxes the jaw, and allows the head to hang well back, so that the forehead may be imagined to be rolling away towards the floor.
The breath or prana is imagined to be entering and leaving the body through all the pores, especially those on the soles of the feet, the palms of the hands, on the skin of the abdomen and back, and from around the area of the perineum.
While being massaged with eyes closed, the subject is invited to signify, either verbally or, better still, by other means, if the pressure is right, and the masseuse or masseur adjusts it accordingly.
While adapting her- or himself to the subject's requirements, however, the masseuse or masseur should also register her or his own interpretation of what is going on.
Sometimes a person seems so relatively insensitive as to complain that even considerable pressure is insufficient, while another subject may be hypersensitive, and interpret the slightest touch as a heavy-handed invasion of her or his skin. The background to such reactions may be worth exploring. Accordingly, the subject is also invited to mention any pains or special feelings s/he has in conscious awareness, whether in the part of the body being massaged or elsewhere. S/he is then told to stay with them, not to react against them, but, if possible, to allow her or his awareness of them to intensify, so that, subjectively, they increase.
It is also suggested to the subject that s/he should freely take responsibility for actively paining bodily, instead of interpreting the pain as some “thing” exterior to her- or himself, or as an unwarranted invader of her or his privacy. S/he is her or his own pain. S/he is paining.
It is usually found that by massaging the area of maximum pain in an appropriate fashion, this paining can be brought to a peak.
In what is possibly the most bizarre application of this doctrine, a dominant and sadistic masseuse treating a submissive male masochist, to whom she is related both as sex-therapist and as surrogate wife, has been known to alternate the pleasurable massaging of his penis with either its flagellation with a prick-teaser, or with the presumably painful to experience procedure of covering both it and her client's scrotum with a gradually accumulating layer of molten wax, this as a preliminary to the sudden, subsequent, forcible depilation of this naturally sensitive area…
Bioenergetic massage sometimes provokes a series of changes throughout the body, possibly a chain-reaction of tremors in the extremities, the limbs, or the body as a whole. This may spontaneously vibrate like a taut violin-string, and the subject may feel a need to retch or vomit, though often no actual fluid will be thrown up. Afterwards, s/he will feel very much relaxed, and the rest of the massage can be at once resumed.
In bioenergetic massage it is often helpful to place a cushion under the chest while the subject is prone, to have her or him draw her or his knees up towards her or his chest while massaging her or his arms, chest and abdomen, and to spend quite some time in discussing the contents of, and the free associations to any ideas and fantasies that occur to her or him during the massage. The general idea is to encourage it all to flow.
7. THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE
Massage is not to be used in such cardio-vascular conditions as thrombosis, phlebitis, angina pectoris, hypertension, or high blood pressure, and varicose veins. Massage could lead to a fatal result, if it drove a blood clot or thrombus towards the heart.
Though coronary thrombosis is especially serious, phlebitis, a form of thrombosis localized in the lower leg, equally makes massage counter-indicated.
Angina pectoris is not to be confused with the continental sort of angina akin to laryngitis. The symptoms of angina pectoris (although they are not all exclusive to this condition) are a bluish tinge on the lips and in the red around the cheeks, breathlessness, and a sharp searing pain down the inside of the left arm and, sometimes, in the chest.
True varicose veins are actual hard swellings, not just blue lines. One must not massage below them, but massage above can bring warmth to the area, and so create a vacuum that helps to withdraw the blood from the affected veins.
Massage should not be used in cases of contagious or infectious skin conditions.
Some mothers-to-be, and some doctors favour oil massage during pregnancy to protect the skin against stretch marks, but one should not agree to massage over the abdomen in pregnancy wihout taking medical advice first.
The body is especially sensitive for two days after menstruation, and one should avoid massaging over the abdomen during this time.
Obviously, one should not massage boils, carbuncles, varicose ulcers, open scars, or gangrene and similar septic foci, as massage would only serve to spread the condition to the rest of the body. Unnatural protuberances or lumps, and areas of unexplained inflammation or pain should not be massaged. In general, one should never massage a condition being treated by a doctor, unless s/he agrees; a doctor may, for instance, sometimes give a local injection, and will not wish its effect to be dissipated around the body.
The masseuse or masseur should never attempt to make a medical diagnosis her- or himself, but in cases of doubt s/he can refer her or his client to a doctor. Professional etiquette also requires that the masseuse or masseur avoids becoming emotionally involved with her or his clients. S/he should not become over-involved with their emotional problems, but should consider only the problems and needs of the person s/he is actually treating at the time.
Although financial reward is important, s/he should place the client's welfare first, and do her or his best to establish a sympathetic understanding with every client s/he treats. All clients are to be treated equally.
Patients' requirements and questions should be anticipated, as far as is possible. The therapist-masseuse or -masseur tries to calm nervous clients, so, if, while massaging them, s/he notices something unusual, s/he should not confide too much in them. Either s/he should contact their doctor directly, or arrange for a close relative to do so, while being very careful to emphasise that there may be nothing at all to worry about.
The masseuse or masseur should never say anything derogatory about medical doctors and other practitioners. S/he should carry out their prescriptions or instructions faithfully and precisely. S/he should return any patients to them for examination at the conclusion of any prescribed course of treatment.
In therapeutic practice a masseuse or masseur should always wear a white gown. S/he should also provide a supply of clean, white paper towels. An illuminated sterilizer will actually help to draw the client's attention to the practitioner's real concern for cleanliness and hygiene. For the same reason, in washing her or his hands before each individual treatment, the masseuse or masseur should contrive to make the client aware of what s/he has done.
S/he should also observe and expect punctuality. S/he should never discuss her or his other clients with any one of them. These rules apply even when visiting.
The actual application of Swedish massage as therapy is very similar to its use for relaxation and toning, or for slimming purposes. It is indicated for such specific conditions as housemaid's knee, a sprained ankle, a broken leg, rheumatism, sciatica, fibrositis, and lumbago. Its use helps to break down and disperse painful toxins or waste matter and waste products.
Massage of this kind is sometimes necessarily rather painful, but the masseuse or masseur can minimize the pain by moving slowly, and by being as gentle as possible, and by taking great care with tense or run-down clients. S/he should want the client that the pain may suffer some initial increase immediately after the massage, since the dispersal of the toxins may lead to a certain stiffness, and result in a dull aching feeling that may persist for a few hours.
These words of warning will save the client from adopting any undesirable psychological set against continuing her or his treatment, and will encourage her or him to return, until s/he is fully cured. Cases of fibrositis, lumbago and sciatica are particularly relevant here.
Massage with oil is safer and less unpleasant than massage with talc, when the tissue is especially sensitive or swollen. It is not unknown for skin stretched as the result of a trauma to be only half its normal thickness, and in this condition all undue pressure must be avoided.
However, although oil has this limited place in therapeutic massage, only talc is used as a general rule in the hospital setting. Talc for massage is placed on the masseuse's or masseur's hands, and never directly applied to the subject's body. Before and after therapeutic massage, the affected part can be warmed in front of a fire, or with a hot-water bottle, or about ten minutes of radiant-heat or infra-red treatment may be administered. This serves to lessen the pain.
The odema resulting from a sprained ankle after a fall from a horse or bicycle, or after tripping over a stone, may swell the ankle up to two or three times its normal size. Though odema looks like fat, it is quite different; after it has been indented by manual pressure, for instance, it may take some considerable time to fill and close up again. Oil can be used instead of talc in the early stages. The actual massage sould be very light effleurage at first. After three or four days, one may proceed to deeper and deeper petrissage as well. The massage can then be supplemented by passive exercise for about a week, the masseuse or masseur rotating the client's foot and ankle for her or him. This will be followed by a week of active exercise, and by two to four weeks of resistive exercise. In order to improve the circulation that helps to disperse the odema and toxins, the masseuse or masseur should massage not only the ankle, but the whole of the lower limb as far as the knee.
As soon as the sprained ankle has occurred, it is a good practice, if at all possible, alternately to immerse it for one minute first in hot and then in cold water, five or six times, to reduce the pain and the inevitable odema. This will certainly help the tendons and ligaments to recuperate. It is also helpful to apply a bandage soaked in water. This should be tied tightly but not too tightly, since the cloth shrinks as it dries.
The treatment for a sprained wrist is similar to that for a sprained ankle.
Sinovitis and bursitis or housemaid's knee are similar in appearance, but one results from an affection of a membrane, and the other from a small sac in the tissue. Tennis elbow and volley-ball shoulder are similar conditions. Quite a lot of odema occurs, and a poultice of kaolin or antiphlogiston can be applied between treatments; paraffin wax is also very good, if available. These conditions respond well to massage.
Sciatica is neuritis of the sciatic nerve. This descends from the iliac down over the head of the femur, and branches into the inner and outer aspects of the thigh. When inflamed, it feels very painful. If sciatica is suspected, place the client supine without pillows, lay one hand under the ankle and the other under the knee, and then raise the leg very slowly at right angles to the body. In the case of true sciatica great discomfort will be already evident, when the foot is only a few inches off the couch.
Rest, possibly in a plaster-cast or restraining jacket, is the first stage of treatment; heat may also be used. Later, when the inflammation is less, one can perform some light effleurage. Later still, kneading or petrissage is recommended. The treatment of brachial neuritis should take in the whole shoulder.
In general, fibrositis is an affection of the soft, usually the muscular, tissue. Lumbago or lumbor fibrositis is in the small of the back. Wry neck or torticollis is a form of fibrositis that locks the muscles of the neck.
A “slipped disc” is now more popular than lumbago, but a real slipped disc includes partial paralysis as well as pain, since the front nerve is caught between the vertebra. In lumbago or Gardener's complaint there is only a clogging of the muscles.
This responds well to treatment, but strong massage is needed, since the muscles are deep and long. Torticollis is only caused by draughts in a very secondary sense; primarily it is a build-up of fibrositis over an extended period of time. The draught inhibits the blood-flow further, by constricting the capillaries, so that the blood no longer disperses toxins from the overloaded area. Treatment may remove the stiffness on the very first application, though some tenderness will usually persist, and two or three treatments may be needed in very severe cases. The massage needs to be carried down as far as the trapezius muscles.
Although it cannot provide a cure, massage increases or prolongs the mobility, and helps to maintain the suppleness of the muscles, during the treatment of such conditions as disseminated sclerosis and poliomyelitis, which is a virus condition.
Some orthopaedic surgeons and doctors favour the massage of extremities not actually encased in the plaster round the rest of the limb. Massage together with passive, active and resistance exercise also seves to ease the emaciated condition of the limb immediately after its plaster-cast has been removed.
In addition to this use for post-fracture conditions, massage is good for stiff muscles resulting from over indulgence in sporting or gymnastic activities. A stiffness that might otherwise persist for three days may vanish after forty-five minutes, if massage is used. That is why many sporting clubs and associations retain the services of a properly qualified masseuse or masseur, though, even today, only a select few have their own Epsom-Salts Floatation-Isolation-Relaxation Tank, and their own seven-channel Rainbow Caduceus installed for their members' benefit and enjoyment.
8. FIRST-AID MASSAGE
Whether or not the masseuse or masseur decides to qualify as a professional therapist, s/he may very well be interested in making her- or himself familiar with some practical first-aid uses of massage for the emergency relief of pain.
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical treatment based on bioenergetics in its widest sense, and depends for its results on the stimulation of key combinations of very precise minute points scattered throughout the body. Cfr. D. M. Connelly, Traditional Acupuncture - The Law of the Five Elements (Columbia, Maryland: Centre for Traditional Acupuncture 1979); Stimul-3 - Manual of Practical Acupuncture for the Pocket Electroacupuncture Device (Bratislava: Tesla Liberec 1984).
There is a special Japanese form of massage called Shiatsu (Cfr. T. Namikoshi, Shiatsu Therapy, Tokyo: Japan Publications 1974) that incorporates several movements performed almost entirely with the balls of the thumbs, and its various techniques in many ways resemble the practice of acupuncture.
To consider them in any detail is outside the scope of this basic introduction to massage as a whole; instead, I propose to rely on their basic principles, in order to suggest some simple first-aid uses for massage as we have so far considered it.
Please notice that I am not in any way opposing the widely known range of first-aid procedures described in detail in the St. John's Ambulance First-Aid Book, but emergency situations can easily arise when no standard first-aid kit is available, and knowledge of the following procedures can then be extremely valuable. Although in many instances no other subsequent treatment may be necessary, in all serious cases suitable advice should always be obtained from a medical practitioner or other appropriately qualified person.
The method is simply to hold the fingers at right angles to the subject's skin, and then to press inwards, for no more than four minutes, firmly and deeply with the finger-tip or finger-nail of one or more fingers, while using a slight rotatory movement.
The emphasis should be on quality rather than quantity, and it is helpful to imagine that the condition has already been cured, and to picture the body's healthy state as vividly and convincingly as one can. This breeds confidence and joy, which are often quite contagious.
There are forty-four points to be considered for the application of this finger-tip first-aid, and, unless expressly stated otherwise, it is immaterial whether one works on the left- or right-hand side of the subject's body, irrespective of where her or his actual injury is located.
|
1. Chang-Iang |
16. Li-Toe |
30. Tche-Tcheng |
|
2. Chang-Tsiao |
17. Linn-Tsri |
31. Tchong-Tchou |
|
3. Chao-Chang |
18. Oæ-Koann |
32. Tchong-Tchrong |
|
4. Chao-Ræ |
19. Oe-Ling |
33. Tchong-Tsi |
|
5. Chenn-Fong |
20. Oe-Tsrang |
34. Tchre-Tsre |
|
6. Chenn-Menn |
21. Reou-Tsri |
35. Tchrong-Iang |
|
7. Chenn-Tchou |
22. Ro-Kou |
36. Tienn-Tchre |
|
8. Chou-Kou |
23. Roann-Tsiao |
37. Tienn-Tsiao |
|
9. Iang-Koann |
24. Rong-Kou |
38. Træ-Iuann |
|
10. Inn-Ling-Tsiuann (left) |
25. Sing-Tsienn |
39. Træ-Tchrong |
|
11. Jenn-Kou |
26. Ta-Ling |
40. Trao-Tao |
|
12. Ko-Iu |
27. Ta-Tchrou |
41. Tsienn-Iu |
|
13. Kroun-Loun |
28. Tchao-Ræ (left) |
42. Tsing-Kou |
|
14. Ledum (left) |
29. Tchao-Ræ(right) |
43. Tsiou-Siu |
|
15. Li-Keou |
|
44. Tsiu-Koann |
The points named above are indicated by their corresponding numbers both in the accompanying diagram and in the ensuing brief indications for specific first-aid treatment.
Their uses are as follows:
9. FOOT MASSAGE
Although Swedish therapeutic and relaxation massage pays little attention to the feet, I included suggestions for working on them in my own basic introductory presentation of massage for pleasure, and a special form of therapeutic massage, known as reflexology, is almost exclusively concerned with the massaging of the feet.
Eunice Inham* deserves the main credit for developing this method of treatment, a Chinese custom, and one already familiar to the Ancient Egyptians in 2,330 B.C., and of which the re-discovery was pioneered in the U.S.A. by Doctor William Fitzgerald under the name of zone therapy.
* E. D. Ingham, Stories The Feet Can Tell and Stories The Feet Have Told (Rochester, New York 1938 and 1963). Cfr. C. B. Erede, Massaggio Zonale, Como: Edizioni di red. 1979).
Reduced to its very simplest terms, the theory of zone therapy, prenatal therapy, or reflexology is that, if one looks at both feet from below, and imagines them to be bisected horizontally by a line representing the person's waist, then in exact proportions as the various organs in the body are located on the left side, above or below this line, reflexes corresponding to them will, for one reason or another,† be found in analogous positions on the left foot, while the right foot will correspond to the right-hand side of the body.
† Reflexologists, prenatal therapists, and zone therapists differ in the reasons they put forward to explain this.
The practice of reflexology is based on the idea that, by massaging minute areas of the feet with a finger or thumb, proceeding somewhat as in the application of first-aid massage, one can, in proportion as one dissolves the crystalline deposits, and eases the tenderness in that area, simultaneously cure malfunctions in the corresponding parts of the body as a whole.
The accompany diagram sufficiently illustrates the general idea behind this form of therapy, but, to begin foot massage, it is quite sufficient to accept the fact that the feet are important, that it is difficult to spend too much time in caring for them, and that massaging them well will inevitably benefit the body as a whole in one way or another.
|
10. DEEP-TISSUE MASSAGE
Encounter groups are dynamic learning situations that serve as catalysts for enlightenment and liberation. Often no more than adult play-groups, at best they develop into communities of trust, empathy and love; at worst they are marionette theatres, in which one dominant personality plays the piper, and the rest dance to her or his tune, regardless of where s/he may lead them.
However, whatever the meaning and value of such creative group situations, individual problems are often best tackled by specialized work on the individual body.
Here, therefore, I shall say a little about one of the most rewarding forms of massage in the broad sense, viz., deep-tissue massage, popularly known as Rolffing. This technique was orginally developed by the late Doctor Ida Rolf, when she began her work in Chandos Street, just off London's Trafalgar Square, and was afterwards further refined by her and her collaborators in the U.S.A. She herself preferred to call it Structural Integration.*
* Ida P. Rolf, “Structural Integration” in Journal of the Institute for the Comparative Study of History, Philosophy and the Sciences, Vol. 1, June 1963; I. P. Rolff, “Structural Integration” in Confinia Psychiatrica, Vol. 16, 1973, pp. 69-79; K. Hammann, “What Structural Integration (Rolffing) is and why it works” in Osteopathic Physician, March 1972; “Ida Rolf - A Profile” in Human Behaviour, May 1977. Cfr. J. W. Painter, Deep Bodywork and Personal Development (Mill Valley, CA: Bodymind Books 1986). Ida Rolf's widely reproduced Diagram Differentiating Normal From Abnormal Posture should certainly be consulted.
It is a technique for aligning the body vertically in the field of gravity, repositioning its segments so that a straight line can be drawn down through the mid-points of the ear, shoulder joint, pelvic girdle, knee and ankle.
This more or less permanent result is arrived at in ten 2-hour sessions, usually spaced a week apart, in which the practitioner uses her or his fingers, open hands, fists and elbows to manipulate in depth the connective tissues and major deep muscle groups of the body in a carefully planned and systematic way.
In severe cases, more than one cycle of ten treatments may be needed, but a considerable length of time should be allowed to elapse between cycles.
The first session, keeping to its format as originally taught by Ida Rolf herself in London, begins with the subject supine on the floor while, for upwards of an hour, the Rolffer works on the deep muscles of the back, in order to draw them laterally outwards from the spine. One general principle in Rolffing is to work down the back of the body, and up the front. So, having dealt with the back muscles as far down as the bottom of the rib-cage, one works upwards and inwards on each side of the chest.
The body is then turned on its side, while the Rolffer does a little probing and pressing with her or his elbows, knuckles and forearm on the subject's pelvic and thigh muscles.
When both sides have been done in this way, the knees are retracted to the chest, so that heavy pressure can be applied down along the backs of the thighs.
Next, one works inwards and upwards above the pubic bone, and pays some attention to the area of the stomach and diaphragm. The pelvis is stretched downwards by applying pressure underneath the body, and the neck is similarly extended, after some preliminary work on the cervical region, and on the lateral muscles of the neck.
The subject then sits up, so that more work can be done on her or his back muscles, using the back of the knuckles.
The main point is that great pressure is being used in a controlled way, and that the focus of the practitioner's efforts is provided by the deep and not the superficial muscles of the area being attended to. It is very hard work.
The second session is mainly devoted to the feet, somewhat as in generalized reflexology, though with a very different immediate goal in view, but this is balanced by some further work on the back muscles.
Session three deals with loosening the sides of the shoulders and of the pelvic girdle, and with extending the length of the body in between these areas, so that there is a hand's breadth between the bottom of the rib-cage and the top of the pelvic girdle.
Session four is mainly concerned with the insides of the legs, session five with the stomach, session six with the backs of the legs, and session seven with the face and neck.
The three final sessions are adapted to meet individual need, and return on those parts of the body dealt with previously, where there was too much built-in tension to permit of its all being released at once.
The above mentioned technical diagram here made available by the gracious gift of Ray Garner, a former teacher of mine and one of the very few practitioners to have in the course of his professional training Rolffed ida herself, undoubtedly conveys a much clearer picture of the objectives and methods of Rolffing, but an appropriately detailed acquaintance with this subject can only be gained by direct hands-on experience.
This is, of course, true in general of all massage, but it is especially true of Structural Integration, since here the physical, social and psychological aspects of life are being intentionally integrated, by quasi-simultaneously both stimulating intuition and loosening the deepest tensions of the physical body.
11. SELF-MASSAGE
It is possible to accumulate tension in many ways, and any person who massages others is particularly vulnerable to acquire some of their tension.
It can be extremely frustrating for a masseuse or masseur to see many people benefitting from her or his exercise of her or his professional skill, while s/he her- or himself has no one to turn to for massage.
Even when the masseuse or masseur has a friend or colleague available to render her or him this service, it is still extremely useful to know something about self-massage, which is not, however, the preserve of the expert or professional. Unlike Rolffing, it is readily accessible to everybody.
The particular method of self-massage I shall describe here is known as Do-In (cfr. J. De Langre, The First Book of Do-In, Magalia, CA: Happiness Press 1971), and it relies on much the same principles as acupuncture and bioenergetics.
While sitting back on your heels with your back straight and your knnes one fist's width apart, rest your hands diagonally on your thighs, and breathe in. As you exhale, touch your forehead to the ground, supporting it on a triangle formed by your thumbs and fore-fingers. Remain for a few moments in that position, before returning to your first position to inhale once more. Repeat this sequence a few times slowly.
Rub your hands a few times briskly, starting from the wrists. Press your hands together, and bend them back at right angles to the wrists. Bend your fingers back at right angles to the palm.
Hook the fingers of one hand into those of the other diagonally across your back, first in one direction, and then in the other.
Pound the upper side of your fore-arm along its whole length a few times with your other wrist.
Rotate all your fingers and thumbs one by one, twisting them with your opposite hand. Each finger may also be crooked inwards, and cracked at each of its two joints.
Rub your palms vigorously on your cheeks in an up-and-down motion.
Shake your head rapidly from one side to the other in a 180° turn, having the mouth slack and slightly open.
Use your finger-tips to massage your gums.
Beat your scalp lightly with your fists.
Hook your thumbs, and dig them in under your jawbone. Press lightly and rapidly a few times down your neck to either side of the Adam's apple with your index-finger and thumb.
Pull your hair vigorously by fistfuls.
Strongly pinch your upper nose at the narrowest part of the bridge, and pull it forward several times. Lightly pinch your upper eyelids, and pull them rhythmically away from the eyeballs. Pull your ears upwards, as if to lift your body by them, pull them down with similar force, and then bend them forwards flat against your head. Use the tips of your index-fingers to trace spirals inside your ears.
Rock backwards and forwards on your backside, while your legs are crossed and your toes are in your hands.
Slap your back and hips thoroughly with your clenched fists. Rub up and down the sides of your rib-cage.
Any detailed theoretical justification of these practices you require is best obtained either from your own personal tutor, or from a specialized text-book. Notice, however, that several aspects of massage considered in earlier sections of this presentation can, with a little imagination, also be safely adapted for purposes of self-massage. Here personal experience is your best guide.
12. MASSAGE BEYOND THE BODY
Leaving several other sorts of massage to one side, in this concluding section I want very briefly to mention an exciting form of massage, known as etheric massage, and which is likely to prove especially interesting to users of the Electronic Caduceus, since that, too, works not directly on the visible physical body, but on what practitioners of the art commonly identify as the subject's astral or etheric body, although it may, in fact, be no more than the lattter's bio-electromagnetic concomitant. Whatever be the difficulties in justifying this practice theoretically, it certainly appears quite frequently to be highly effective.
Photographs of tadpoles taken in special conditions show the shadow or ghost-image of a fully grown frog around the image of the tadpole. Apparently, the young tadpole already enters its claim to territorial rights over the space it will later occupy as an adult frog, and precipitates some sort of frog-shaped energy-field around itself.
All living things are believed to carry a similarly chaged field around with them, and this may be what is sometimes referred to as the etheric body. Alternatively, as already mentioned, this field, which typically extends some 55 feet around a human being, may be no more than a quasi-material manifestation in space of some other, quite distinct, though not necessarily separate reality. I have been told that Great Britain currently leads the world in the investigation of such tantalisingly evasive ranges of possibly very important phenomena, but even in this country there is quite obviously no agreement as to their precise nature and purpose.
I have detailed and described several procedures for massaging the physical body. In etheric massage, one may follow exactly the same procedures, but one applies them to the etheric envelope rather than to the visible physical body. In general, the process is one of massaging an invisible layer, identical in shape to the visible subject, but running through the air some three to four inches away from her or his skin surface.
That description is by no means technically precise, and I offer it merely as a preliminary pointer. Unless you happen to have the use of that special sort of sensitivity that enables you to see or feel the presence of this etheric body, you will require a lot of practice, if you wish to learn how to massage in this way a space that offers no obvious resistance to your touch, and to do that with at least as much love, care and attention as you would devote to an ordinary physical massage session. The results, however, can be most rewarding.
Although I have just now suggested that a learner without esoteric gifts in this field does best to imagine the subject's etheric body as larger than, but identical in shape with her or his physical body, and have made no very clear distinction between the former and its astral counterpart, even in a brief mention of this kind of massage at least a little more precision is required.
Strictly speaking, it is the astral body that surrounds the physical one, as an egg-shell surrounds an egg. When a person is in perfect health, her or his astral body stands upright in the same vertical plane as the fully erect physical body occupies, and, in this condition, the etheric body runs up vertically through the centres of both the physical and astral bodies like a straight stick or silver cord.
However, when a woman or man is unwell, these three bodies will no longer be in perfect alignment. In epilepsy, for instance, the astral body can be pulled over so much as 180° to the right in a sort of spiral twist, while in cases of chorea it will be completely upside down.
Because of such facts, advanced practitioners of this sort of massage do not take the position of the physical body as anything more than an approximate indication of the whereabouts of the astral one, and they massage the latter wherever they actually find it. Moreover, they regard the etheric body as capable of existence independently of either the astral or physical bodies, and some ‘spirits’ are thought of as being instances of such independently existing etheric bodies.
The astral body, or golden bowl, depends on the etheric body, but it can exist, apparently even for centuries, apart from, and independently of the physical vehicle. This physical body cannot itself survive independently of the astral body to which it is linked via the sympathetic nervous system, nor of the etheric body to which it is connected via the astral body and a point between the eyes.
After physical death the astral and etheric bodies separate from their physical vehicle, normally within three days, but not immediately.
Ancient Egyptian thought and practice was very rich with regard to this important subject, but here I only wish to mention one traditional Eastern method of bringing a dead person back to life. S/he is propped up with her or his back against the practitioner's right knee, which should be placed slightly further forwards than the left knee. Meanwhile, the practitioner should press her or his thumbs hard into the clavicular fossa of the deceased's neck, just above the collar bone, so as to exert pressure on the vagus nerves and on the sympathetic nerve centres. The remaining portions of her or his hands and fingers should extend downwards and outwards over the upper part of the subject's rib-cage, and should be used to apply pressure on the chest wall at the same time as the thumbs are pressing on the sympathetic nerve centres.
This procedure encourages exhalation, and also stimulates the cardiac plexus of the heart. While the pressure is being applied, the practitioner's fingers should slide more and more downwards, until they can take a firm hold of the pectoralis major muscle of the chest wall. In this way the whole of the thorax and chest can now be pulled upwards, to inflate the chest, stimulate the large arteries and veins of the heart, and cause the latter's dilation.
After pausing for 3 seconds, this cycle should be repeated during the following 3 seconds. Then, very gradually, the rhythm should be accelerated, reducing the time for movement and rest to 2½, to 2, and then to 1½, and finally to 1 second.
After 20 seconds of this, the practitioner should use her or his knee to deliver the deceased a severe kick between the shoulder blades, while hitting the prominent seventh cervical vertebra, and saying into the subject's left ear, in a very loud voice: “Oye, oye, oye.”
Although one such operation may suffice for a resumption of life, it may be repeated up to seven times in long-standing cases. Provided there is no mortification already, life can usually be restored in this way.*
* Cfr. Alexander Cannon, Sleeping through Space (Woodthorpe: Walcot Publishing Co. 1938); The Invisible Influence (London: Aquarian Press 1969).
If drowning was the cause of death, the water should be removed from the lungs first, using Schafer's method of artificial respiration, as detailed in the St. John's Ambulance First-Aid Book.
But is this massage? And is there life beyond the body?
Obviously not, if there is no body!
“The best day of my life was when I found I had no head. It was eighteen years ago, when I was thirty-three, that I made the discovery. To look was enough. I found khaki trouser-legs terminating downwards in a pair of brown shoes, khaki sleeves terminating sideways in a pair of pink hands, and a khaki shirt-front terminating upwards in - absolutely nothing at all! Certainly not in a head. It took me no time at all to notice that this nothing, this hole where a head should have been, was no ordinary vacancy, no mere nothing. On the contrary, it was very much occupied. It was a vast emptiness vastly filled, a nothing that found room for everything - room for grass, trees, shadowy distant hills, and far above them snowpeaks like a row of angular clouds riding the blue sky. I had lost a head and gained a world. It was all quite breathtaking. Here was this superb scene, brightly shining in the clear air, alone and unsupported, unstained by any observer. Its presence was my absence. Ligher than air, clearer than glass, altogether released from myself, I was nowhere around. This vision was no dream. It was an end to dreaming - a sudden waking from the sleep of ordinary life - the revelation, at long last, of the perfectly obvious.”
One tenet of Buddhist teaching, popularised in this country by Douglas Harding, whom I have just quoted, is that the body is no more than an illusion. This is an interesting and an important doctrine, and acceptance of it is quite compatible with taking up massage as a professional career…
- Shalom & Welcome! - 
© The Neith Network Library 2003
Webmaster: H.B. ExtraReverendDoctorColinJames Hamer, The Rainbow Programme
Creativity House, 9 Oxford Street, St. Thomas, EXETER, Devon EX2 9AG, U.K.
Updated 00:00 25/12/2003.
