Chair Massage Techniques - Doing Safe Effective Massage Part 1

Chair Massage expert, Eric Brown, has created eight principles for effective body use that he advises you employ to minimize the stress on your muscles and joints. This the first article of a four part series of articles:

Principle 1: Keep your torso in a neutral position

The back must be held in a neutral position. The curves of the torso should not be exaggerated or minimized. By maintaining this neutral position, there is minimum strain to the vertebral discs or the ligaments that support your spine. Because we generally have sedentary lifestyles, we tend to lack the strength and body awareness necessary to stabilize the torso in this position.

Because of this you must be positively cognizant of having the torso in this neutral alignment. This stabilization is vitally important and makes it possible for you to transmit your body mass solidly into the patient's body.

You should lunge when utilizing many of the massage techniques. If our spine is aligned in a lunge position, you will see that you are looking downward at the floor. This is a very unnatural position. We have a very instinctive orienting reflex that causes us to align our gaze to the horizon. So your reflex inclination will be to lift your head and extend your back in a very upright position to look straight ahead. This pulls your back out of a neutral position and causes hyperlordosis in the low back. This makes it a lot more challenging to stabilize the lower back and causes undue wear and tear to the spinal joints.

It's all-important to fight this instinct and to keep a very neutral alignment of the trunk. Initially it will feel quite unnatural. Interestingly enough though, as you bring your focus to your back you'll start to be aware in a kinesthetic way why it's the right thing to do. At first it will take intense focus to keep this neutral positioning. But over time you'll start to become increasingly comfortable with the sensation and it will become very comfortable to maintain.

Here's a easy exercise you can practice to develop a strong sense of stability in your torso in a neutral position.

Practice this exercise for an neutrally aligned back...

With a previous career in dance, I've been made aware of alternate ways of thinking about the human body and how it functions. Dancers don't have a lot of technical knowledge about human anatomy so they are likely to communicate movement in the form of imagery. One image they constantly use, whether standing still on stage or jumping into the air, is the image of pushing downward into the floor. It's like Newton's third law of motion: \"Every action has an opposite and equal reaction.\" The more they press into the floor, the more their spine rises and lengthens.

For this exercise, stand still in one spot with your feet slightly apart. As you remain quiet for a second, notice the sensations through your feet, your legs and your back. Scan your body with your mind's eyes. Now as you are standing there quietly, think of pushing into the floor with your feet. Imagine attempting to push the floor away from you. As you do this, be aware of what takes place in your body. Recognize how your legs feel as though they become more stable while staying relaxed. Feel your pelvis rotate into an upright alignment so that it feels like a bowl that supports your abdominal contents. Notice how your spine appears to straighten without any work and how your body lengthens around a central axis.

Repeat this a number of times letting your body relax and then engaging your feet into the ground to really recognize that lengthening sensation.