massage strokes

3 Great Strokes in Effleurage

These 3 great strokes in Effleurage will make your massage better.

Add these 3 strokes to your Effleurage arsenal and be the best at massage.

For this example, let’s work on the upper back. First, make sure your client is laying face down. Then, add your almond oil to the area you are going to working on. Now, position yourself comfortably by, or in-front, of your client.

Effleurage on the back is the ideal place to start a massage. So place yourself in-front of your client.

You relax your clients back with a sequence of smooth, flowing strokes. You want to use them on the back to stretch the muscles so the cardiovascular system gets a huge boost.

Now, rest your hands on opposite sides of the spine, then slide them down the long muscles of the back, as far as you can reach.  Fan your hands out to the sides of the body. Mold your hands around the contours of the rib cage, and then draw them around the shoulder blades and out to the shoulders in one elegant and continuous movement.

These movements benefit the nervous system and reduce stress. Plus, they are psychologically and physically soothing.

  1. Fan Strokes
    In effleurage, these are used to relax and lengthen muscles after the main strokes and before deeper work.  You need to place your hands flat on the back at the base of the spine. The, glide them gently up the back and then fan them out along the contour (or sides) of the body, and pull them down towards you.

  2. Circular Strokes
    The unique trick to this somewhat complex stroke is to achieve an unbroken circular fluid motion. First, you place both hands parallel on the lower side of your clients body, and you start to slide them in a circular motion. Then, you lift your right or left hand of the body (depends on which you started with) and allow the other hand to finish its full circle, before dropping the other hand. We use circular strokes to loosen and relax muscles on the belly, back, and the sides of the rib cage.

3. Side Strokes
Which are also referred to as cross-over strokes, are used to work on the superficial tissue of the         muscles. These will be along strokes from the lower back, up to the shoulders blades, and back down again. Slide your hands past the opposite sides of the back. Glide the heel of your hand firmly, but gently, down the side nearest to you to meet the edge of the mattress. Repeat this movement, swapping your hands back and forth, from one side to the other. Move your hands hands up and down your clients body as you go, and do this a little at a time.

The gliding strokes describes here are a great way to relax the body, and decrease cortisol levels, which means, that the body’s immune system and response to injuries are improved, and production of serotonin is increases.

Why is Serotonin good?  Well, It’s said that serotonin is good in helping to produce healthier sleeping patterns as well as boost your attitude and mood. In addition to that, research shows that serotonin levels can have an effect on behavior, and the chemical is commonly linked to feeling good and living a healthy long life.

Not bad huh?

All in all, its really a good thing to incorporate a massage regimen into your lifestyle. It keeps you young! What other reason do you need to do it? Seriously!

So these are my final words: Incorporate these movements into your massage and deliver a better massage experience for clients, and, believe it or not, for yourself .

If you would like to take your massage-game to even higher levels then I encourage you to visit Life Force Secrets. Here, you will find out more about an Acupressure, Shiatsu, and Tai Chi Grand Master named  Ahn. He has been helping people take at least 10 years off their age (and looks) for over 60 years, to an elite and private clientele.

And now, all of his anti-aging secrets are available to you, to use again and again, in the comfort of your own own.

The techniques are simple, safe, and very effective in improving body alignment and facial symmetry, too. They will guide you, and help you to release blockages in the muscles, skin, and fascia that are preventing optimal circulation; the techniques will also help you release tension that you don’t need to carry anymore. And when we release tension and restore optimal circulation, posture improves, deep lines soften, and the skin becomes rosy and plump again.  Naturally.

The techniques are proven, and many, many people have enjoy their results.

All of this is available to you as a downloadable PDF and can be found at Life Force Secrets.  It’s all there!