Family massages encourage communication and openness. Here you will learn how to give a full body massage and what to look out for if there are children or elderly people.
There are those who dedicate a weekend to stay in a hotel with spa and park the worries for a few hours. Others give themselves a visit to a masseur looking to relieve the tensions of their body. Thirsty for physical contact, we forget that the simplest thing is behind the door of the home.
In this article it is proposed to take these sensations home, extend them to the whole family to incorporate them as a pleasant routine, a place of contact, meeting and play. And, given the healing value of massages, a very useful treatment routine is suggested.
PREPARE TO ENJOY
What surrounds the massage itself adds value to the experience. The wrapping of a gift is the door to illusion, to imagine, it is suggestive. Thus, preparing the space for the massage increases the ability to be carried away by the one who receives it and to give oneself for the one who gives it.
When you are going to do a massage at home, it is advisable to pay attention to these basic aspects:
- The warmth of the environment, the light and the support.
- The ambient temperature must be ideal. Feeling cold when you get a massage can break all the charm. There is no need to fear excessive heat. When a massage is received, the body is released and the body temperature drops, like when sleeping. It is advisable to cover with a light blanket the areas that are not being massaged, especially the feet. The ambient heat helps to loosen the musculature.
- Taking a hot shower before you start can also be a great way to make it easier.
- A dim light invites you even more to disconnect from thoughts and open up to sensations. We can lean on candles instead of electric light. Or brighten the sense of smell by lighting an incense or burning essences.
- We already have the space ready, but where should we put ourselves? The optimum would be to have a futon-type mat, thin and natural fabrics such as cotton and wool. It can be a thin mattress. Another simple solution is to stack two or three blankets and put a sheet on top. If they are large, better: whoever gives the massage will be more comfortable and will be able to move barefoot. It is also useful to have a cushion handy to rest the recipient’s head or place it under their knees or feet, depending on whether they are face up or face down.
- The last detail is the oil. You can try one of sweet almonds and add a relaxing essence, such as chamomile or lavender, or invigorating, such as rosemary. Here opens another huge field in which to experiment and feel.
MASSAGE SESSION AT HOME: HOW TO GIVE A FULL MASSAGE
We offer you a complete massage session at home so you can try. Then you will find more information on how to give massages at home for the whole family:
- How to start and end any massage session,
- How to apply the basic techniques
- Recommendations for massages with children and the elderly.
START THE MASSAGE: MAKING CONTACT AND FIRST MOVEMENT
- Circular caressing of the sacrum. This smooth movement allows a first contact to be made. We kneel next to the person who is going to receive the massage – preferably on the side where they have the heart – and support one hand in the center of the back, in the dorsal area, and the other hand, on the sacral bone. In this position, we make contact with the skin – or try to feel it through clothes – and take the opportunity to relax and focus attention. Once prepared, with the right hand we begin to caress the sacrum making circles clockwise, without exceeding the extension of the sacral bone. This maneuver prior to the massage, which can last about two minutes, has a very pleasant sedative thermal effect.
- Run your fingers over your back. To start with the massage, we kneel in front of the head and slowly slide the fingers of both hands upwards, from the sacrum to the neck, to relax the nerve endings of the skin. Repeat for two minutes.
ARM AND BACK MASSAGE
- Slipping down the arms. Without moving from place, with the same movement, we gently put our hands on the hands of the other and slide our fingers down the arms to the shoulders covering the entire extension of the arm. The movement must always be slow and playing with the tips of all fingers. It is repeated between three and five times.
- Sliding hands cross. In the same posture, and making a cross and smooth movement, slide the hands all over the back so that they draw two eights. It starts at the hips and buttocks, and reaches the shoulders through the shoulder blades. Two passes are made using both hands and establishing contact with all fingers.
- Pressure with the palm of the hand. Placing ourselves at the height of the buttocks, we walk with our hands from the buttocks to the shoulder blades dropping our own weight on the person. When we reach the shoulder blades, we make the reverse path and go down again to return to the buttocks. The whole route has to be done with a rhythmic and constant movement, always using all the body weight. The sequence is repeated up to two times without rest.
WALKING ON LEGS
- We kneel between the two legs of the person who is receiving the massage, at the height of their feet and ankles. We rest one hand on each heel, with the palms of the hand open and relaxed to cover the skin with the whole hand. Next, we go up both legs taking steps intermittently with one hand and with another, as if we were walking with them.
- It begins, then, advancing in an upward direction, going up the legs from the heels to the buttocks, using one’s own body weight and always trying to exert the same pressure.
- This pressure has to be pleasant for the person receiving – it is important that you do not feel any pain – and it must also be comfortable for the masseur. It is repeated three times in an ascending and then descending direction.
DRAWING EIGHTS ON THE LEGS
- We move slightly forward to place ourselves at the height of the shins, between the ankles and knees. From here, also on our knees, we ascend with the palms of our hands along one leg – from the ankle to the groin – drawing three eights and without separating at any time the hands from the skin.
- Once up, we descend again. The cycle is repeated twice in each leg.
HOW TO GIVE A HAND MASSAGE
- We ask the person to turn around so that he is lying on his back and, if necessary, a cushion is placed under his head to make him more comfortable. We stand on his right, at the height of the hips. With one hand you hold your hand by the wrist and, with the other, gently pull your fingers one by one as if you wanted to lengthen them.
- To do this, you have to slide through each finger to the nail, exerting a small traction on each one until you feel the limit of the joint. The process is repeated in the other hand.
RELAXING FOOT MASSAGE
- We sit in front of our feet, in a comfortable position so that our back is not burdened. Holding the right foot with both hands, knead the middle part as if we wanted to open and expand it, and repeat the movement from the toes to the base of the heel.
- This manipulation induces relaxation through the nerve endings of the feet.
PRESSURE MASSAGE ON POINTS OF THE HEAD
- We return to place ourselves behind the head, in a comfortable and airy position. Both hands are well supported on the face, covering it whole but leaving the nasal space free for the person to breathe comfortably. The hands give off heat and induce relaxation. Then slowly separate the hands from the face and with the thumbs slight rhythmic pressures are made from the beginning of the scalp to the occipital (behind the neck).
- You start by drawing a line in the center (as in the photo) and then draw one by one another four, two on each side of the head. In each line about 5 pressure points are marked, one second per point.
- A medium pressure is exerted by feeling the skull bone.
WITH CHILD: DANCING ON ONE
- When involving the child in the massage you have to let him know that it is a game in which we are going to have fun. It is important to remain patient, as it is easy to lose your balance.
- To begin with, it may be suggested that you dance on our feet and hands with your heels creating a rhythmic and slow dance. It is convenient to put a relaxing and at the same time stimulating music that bores you. It will be a pact of calm and well-being for all.
THE PASSAGE OF THE BEAR
- Without losing sight of the context of play, you can also be asked to kneel on your buttocks and rest your feet on your thighs.
- Then, without moving your knees, you have to move up and down with your hands simply, to the rhythm of a music suitable for movement.
THE BASIC MOVEMENTS OF A MASSAGE
The intuitive triumphs. Doing what we would do to ourselves when some part of the body hurts is right. However, there are some guidelines to start experimenting.
- Start and end. At the beginning, you have to awaken the skin of the receiver. The simplest thing is to pass with the tips of the fingers, as if caressing, the area to be massaged. With both hands, one starts and goes up and down, and from there back to the beginning, without touching. Meanwhile, the other hand does the same, but alternately. For the receiver, the feeling must be one of continuity, as if they were bicycle pedals: while one hand descends the other ascends, without empty spaces. When you decide to finish the massage in the area, you say goodbye again in this pleasant way.
- Slide. We apply oil in the palm of the hand, place it on the skin and, supporting a little the own weight, we take it forward. It is preferable to do it in the direction of the heart: for the legs, for example, you go up them from the ankle dragging your hand with a little pressure and when undoing the path, the pressure is softened, but without ceasing to contact the skin. We can make the movement repeatedly, slowly warming the area, and match the rhythm with which it advances to one’s own breathing or that of the receiver. In this dialogue that is created between receiver and masseur, asking how the hands feel, what pressure and what rhythm are more pleasant, helps and inspires confidence in who is giving.
- Press. We drop the weight on a part of the body statically. We are changing the pressure from the right hand to the left, while we take the opportunity to move the one that does not press. It’s like walking but with your hands. Each part of the body and each person accepts a pressure, although it is usual that in the back one can support with all the weight. The giver can enjoy the sensation of entering with his hands into the musculature, as if opening the tissues, which respond by relaxing. On the joints you have to be careful, because they are more fragile. The pressure should also be milder in children and the elderly.
- Percussion. They consist of hitting at a constant pace and alternately. Increasing the pace and keeping it steady takes some practice. The most common way to do them is by tapping laterally with your hands on the body. We can vary, hitting with closed fists or with the palms of the hand forming a hole, for example.
MASSAGES AT HOME: A SPACE FOR DIALOGUE FOR THE FAMILY
We must take advantage of the confidence of doing the massage as a family to talk, to express what we like. It is a space to experiment: with oils, with essences or with space. And in the process… communicate, know what is leading us on the right track.
That’s where the game in the family is born: what do I surprise within the next session? If I listen it will be easier: you just have to understand where the comments of the receiver point.
With children communication is more necessary and easier: necessary so that they do not get bored and participate, and easy because they are better able to express their needs. Making body contact a game, adding tickling to the technique, allows you to fill the family space of the massage with naturalness.
The positive effects are great and long-lasting: breaking the taboo of touching, hugging and becoming familiar with nudity. Everything results in better communication and can provide a space for laughter and play.
CARING FOR THE ELDERLY
If anyone appreciates the contact in a special way, it is the elderly. Those who live alone, when they go to visit, can be given a small massage. Sometimes you don’t know what to give them; Few things excite them anymore. No doubt the warmth of the contact of the palm of the hand will be an excellent present.
You have to take into account the fragility of your bones: you don’t need to press hard. We look for an area where they have pain: the ankles, back or legs. It starts with a simple contact, placing your hands on the clothes and letting them rest in that area for a few minutes.
The next step is to massage directly onto the skin. Here the toning power of rosemary can help for muscle aches, or a witch hazel oil, on tired legs. Experimenting and asking how the massage feels is the person who receives it is the best way to give him what does him good.