How to Give a Back Massage

After hours at work, it is great to come home to a soothing massage. Massaging improves the circulation by warming and soothing areas. Having a professional massage can be expensive but you here are some tips you can learn to give your spouse a great massage right at home.

First have the person you are giving a massage to lay down in a comfortable place. It must be easy for you to be able to reach the entire back area.

Put a towel over them from their neck to the waist. Breathe deeply. If they hear deep breathing, they will breathe deeply and relax.

Just touch their back in a gently massage for about 30 seconds, then remove your hands and put oil on them. Pull back the towel and it is time for a massage.

There are several types of massages for the back.

First is stroking. Start with your hands just below the spine with your fingers pointing towards the head. Lean into your hands and apply downward pressure.

Then put your hands on the shoulders and stroke down the curve of the shoulder.

Next put your hands around the sides of the body stroking downward and applying pressure but not pulling skin. Repeat each movement about 10 times.

The next type of back massage is called fan stroking. It is very similar to the initial stroking but has a few variations.

Start with your hands below the spine but this time press on the muscle on either side of the spine. Then fan your hands over the lower ribs and glide down the sides of the waist. Each time you do this, fan your hands out wider until you reach the shoulders. You just need to keep giving wider and wider strokes until the entire back is massaged.

Alternate stroking is another type of back massage. With alternate stroking you continue one hand strokes upward massaging the upper back area and the other hand strokes downward massaging the lower back area. This can take a lot of practice. But your partner will enjoy it while you are trying to get it right.

If someone is extremely tense, kneading may be the massage they need to get out those kinks.

You need to turn so that you are across the body at the waist area. Start from the side farthest away from you with your hands facing each other and grab the flesh one hand at a time. You will knead the waist like dough. Be sure it is a smooth flowing motion. Start at the hips or waist and move upwards.

When you find an area that is tight or very stressed you will have to do this kneading massage until the area relaxes or shrinks a bit. The muscles at the top of the arms are often very tense. So look in that area for kinks or tense spots.

Side stroking is simple. Just relax your hands and put them around the sides pulling up towards the spine. Use one hand and then the other. It is very relaxing.

A circle stroke requires you to put both hands one side of the back near the spine and stroking in large wide curves. Massage in a clockwise direction with one hand following the other. You can have one hand do half a circle and the other hand complete the circle or you can do complete circles with each hand. Do whichever is more comfortable for you.

Applying pressure can help someone relax as long as you do it properly. Start at the lowest part of the back with your thumbs on both sides of the spine. Lean your weight onto the pads of your thumbs and apply a relaxed pressure. Do not poke or pinch. Move upwards giving areas that need relaxing a bit more pressure and repetitions.

Finger drumming is a unique movement that can tire you out, so only do it for a short time. Try it mostly on the shoulder muscles since they are the most tense. Drum each finger individually down on the muscle keeping your hand close together on the area. Do not hesitate to use both hands. The drumming method brings blood to the area helping release pain and tension.

The last massage technique is called circle thumb stroking. It is similar to circle stroking but the stroke should be much smaller. Start with both thumbs on one side of the spine and massage in a small circle. One thumb should follow the other thumb as you stroke up and out pushing the muscle away from the spine.

Those are the basic techniques. There are other more complex methods such as cradling, crisscrossing, caterpillar walking and cat stroking, but I’m sure your partner will be happy if you just learn the basics. You do not need to do all of them either. You can try and see which ones your partner enjoys the most. Be sure to start off slow and gentle until they get used to the feel and finish slow as well in order to relax them.

Source: The Complete Book of Massage by Clare Maxwell-Hudson