Love to get massages but don’t feel comfortable taking your clothes off? How about you and your friend / family member learn how to give a chair massage? It’s easy to learn and will relax you in no time. Read the following article for the proper steps…
Does your work and everyday life make you feel tensed and stressed out all the time? Do you wish to relax and unwind once in a while? How about getting a chair massage? Well, you can’t simply learn and give yourself a massage now, can you? In that case, how about you partner up with someone and understand how chair massages can be given. Whether you are at work or home doing chores, massage in a chair is nothing short of bliss. In order to learn and give a seated massage, you need to have a sturdy chair (if not the actual massage chair) and a neck pillow. While giving the massage, you need to focus on the receiver’s shoulders, neck, and entire back. A seated massage concentrates on stimulating various pressure points in the receiver’s shoulders, back, and neck areas.
Different Chair Massage Techniques
The best part about getting and giving a massage is that the receiver can keep his / her clothes on for the entire session. Many people are often shy with the concept of getting a massage without any clothes on. To them, such massages may seem like invading their personal space. If that is the case with you, then a massage is the perfect rescue. Not only does it help release stress, but it also alleviates lower back and shoulder pain. But before we go over the instructions on how a massage is done, let us find out what are the different types of seated chair massage techniques.
| Massage Techniques | How to Perform |
| Compression Massage | A kind of Swedish massage; the compression massage is also known as reflexology. You use your hands to apply pressure on the back, shoulders, and neck reflex points. While doing this massage, you have to use even, rhythmic movements. |
| Gliding Massage | To perform this massage technique, you are basically trying to stretch and relax the muscles. Using the fingers and the palms of your hands, you will glide them in even, circular or long strokes to give the massage. |
| Kneading Massage | A kind of Swedish massage; this technique uses grasping and lifting the muscle tissues. You use the palms of your hands to press down the tissue and then lift them up with your fingers at even, churning movements. |
| Percussion Massage | Using the pummel and pinch methods, a percussion massage is performed to improve blood flow around the neck, shoulders, and back muscles. Here, the pummel and pinch strokes will be faster than other massage techniques. |
| Squeezing Massage | As the name suggests, you use the fingers and palms of your hands to squeeze, and then knead the neck, shoulders, and back areas. This massage helps improve blood flow and release aches and pain in those areas. |
At the time of giving the massage, ask the receiver to sit comfortably on the chair and rest his / her face on the neck pillow. This way, when the receiver is getting the massage, he / she can breathe properly through the opening. And before you begin, make sure that the height is adjusted on the chair, so that you, the massager, isn’t bending too low to give the massage.
Seated Chair Massage Instructions
- Throughout the session, however long it may be, the massager has the liberty to move around the receiver to properly apply pressure and massage specific areas.
- While you’re massaging the back, in your mind, you will divide the back into 4 different sections. This way, you can concentrate on each section properly.
- Start at the top left section, where you can use different massaging techniques mentioned in the table above. Remember, the back muscles can become really tensed and requires extra attention.
- Using the palms of your hands, apply the kneading and gliding massage techniques. Then move on to the top right section of the back, and so on and so forth.
- After you have spent enough time on the upper and lower back muscles, you can start concentrating on the neck area. Be careful while you’re massaging the base of the neck, as any wrong movement or extra pressure can put more strain on it.
- Use gentle strokes at first, and keep asking the receiver whether the pressure is right. Over time, you can increase the pressure and use your fingers as well as the palms of your hands to massage the neck.
- After massaging the neck, sliding to the shoulders is simpler. You can use either the compression, squeezing, or percussion massage techniques on the shoulders.
- By the end of the session, use the kneading and gliding techniques on all 3 areas one by one. Alter the pressure as you move from one section to another.
Now, I know that this article talked about how a massage is given and what different massage techniques can be used. The important thing to know is that without proper knowledge and experience of giving massages, no individual should attempt to try the techniques on themselves or someone else. The reason is that, without proper training, it is difficult to know exactly which pressure points are supposed to be worked on and how much pressure should be given. Which is why, I would strongly advice you to get adequate training to learn how to massage and then apply the techniques.
