Unfortunately, booking an appointment with a professional massage therapist requires time and expense. But what if you had the know-how to give (or receive) a massage at home that was almost as good as one that you would receive from a professional?
That’s where MASSAGE ANATOMY comes in. This detailed guide to massage provides you with everything you need give a massage in your home.
The massage demonstrated on the following pages is a basic Swedish massage. It incorporates a series of hand strokes, kneading movements, and “friction” (more about that later) to work the muscles. Our massage is about relaxing tense muscles, improving the range of motion of joints, stress relief, and enhancing circulation.
MASSAGE ANATOMY also offers you flexibility. When you don’t have time for a full-body massage, you can pick and choose from the techniques to create a shorter massage. For instance, perhaps your spouse has come home from a long day on her feet. You could treat her to a foot massage using the instructions from this book. Or you may choose to focus on the head and neck of a friend suffering from a tension headache.
From anxiety to tension headaches, massage therapy has been shown to provide relief for a whole host of conditions. Here are just a few. (Keep in mind that some of these disorders require professional massage therapy to show improvement.)
• Allergies
• Anxiety and stress
• Arthritis (osteoarthritis and rheumatoid)
• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Chronic back pain
• Depression
• Fibromyalgia
• Insomnia
• Lower-back pain
• Shoulder pain
• Sinusitis
• Sports injuries
• Tension headaches
MASSAGE ANATOMY opens with a discussion of the basics of massage. We include expert advice about how to set up a massage space in your home, what items you’ll want to have on hand, how to set the mood, and even which oils work best. From there, the book proceeds to the massage itself, starting with the back, moving to the legs, feet, abs and chest, and ending with a soothing face and head massage that will rival any you might receive from a professional massage therapist.
At every step of the way, we provide detailed and labeled anatomical illustrations that allow you to “see” the muscles you’re working on as well as the other structures, such as bones, that you need to be aware of as you give your massage. You’ll also find “Caution” boxes that alert you to important information, such as when not to massage a particular part of the body, and “Massage Tips” sidebars that explain more about a particular stroke.
At the back of the book are a series of massage programs, ideas for shorter massage sequences when you don’t have time to offer a total-body massage, a glossary of frequently used massage terms, and finally, a page of resources, including retailers that sell oils, tables, and other massage-related supplies.
Leave a Reply