Massaging is a great art that sates way back, many centuries ago. The ancients Greeks knew of this and termed it
massÅ; "to touch to handle to work with the hands,the way dough is knead. The french also knew of it but termed the art antripisis."
Massage involves acting on and
manipulating the body with pressure –
structured, unstructured, stationary, or moving – tension, motion, or
vibration..
In order to perform the massage task, correctly You need to know the art and that is the purpose for this post.
To enlighten you on the art and then take you through all the techniques you need to become a massage artist. Like Leonardo Da Vinci was a great artist at drawing naked women.
Massage is thought to be the oldest form of medical therapy practiced
on the human body. The different types of massage and the various
techniques that encompass them stem from our most celebrated
civilizations and their traditional beliefs ancient Greek and Rome,
ancient India and China.
Dating as far back as 2,700 B.C.,
ancient Eastern Chinese cultures practiced massage to heal a variety of
ailments from labor pain to paralysis. Ancient Egyptian tombs have been
discovered adorned with images of figures being massaged. In addition,
according to traditional Indian medicine, a system known as Ayurveda,
therapeutic massage was performed using a variety of aromatherapy oils
and spices for their healing properties. Even Greek and Roman heroes -
such as the great Julius Caesar - underwent daily massages to treat
nerve pain.
In Western culture the most practiced form of massage is undoubtedly
Swedish massage. First introduced in the 19th century, Swedish masseuses
were thought to have borrowed many of their techniques from traditional
China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome masseuses. A variety of the most
effective massage techniques have also been incorporated into other
complementary therapies - aromatherapy, Reiki, reflexology, Rolfing,
Amma therapy and osteopathy.
Many of our now popular modern massage techniques were created in
order to heal specific health conditions. For example, soldiers who
fought in World War I were administered massage for nerve damage and to
soothe shell shock in western hospitals during the 1930s.
Massage is still used today for treating a wide range of ages from
babies to seniors - in a variety of intensive care, health club, and
health clinic and hospital settings.
During massages target tissues may include muscles, tendons, ligaments,fascia, skin, joints, or other connective tissue, as well as lymphatic vessels, or organs of the gastrointestinal system. Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearm, and feet.
In the posts that follows I will introduce one technique after the other....