HACKING WITH CARE

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getting_ready_for_massage [2015/11/11 18:18] – [Making a basic massage plan] emilygetting_ready_for_massage [2015/12/22 16:03] – [Define intentions: What do you wish for with this massage ?] emily
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 ====== Getting ready for Massage ====== ====== Getting ready for Massage ======
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 ===== Set and Setting ===== ===== Set and Setting =====
  
-Create a nice space and time for massage, where you won't risk being interrupted. Make sure neither of you will have to rush anywhere after.  +Find the appropriate space and time for your massage. Ask not to be disturbed. Make sure neither of you will have to rush anywhere afterwards. Switch off your mobile phones and laptops; take off your jewelry. Both of you should then wash your hands; ideally you should have short, clean nails. You can quickly warm up your hands before you start! Your emotional state is just as important as your physical surroundings. Receiver and Giver, please take a moment to notice how you are feeling before starting. Are you having a good day? Are you nervous? Tired? Upset about something, and pretending not to be? Acknowledging your own emotions before receiving or giving a massage will help you find the right, comfortable place to be with yourself and the other. You will be aware of your limits and, most importantly, you will be able to avoid mistaking your emotions for your friend's and vice versa; this will contribute to a successful, pleasant experience for you both. 
-Switch off your whatever, take off your jewelry, wash hands.  +
-You may like to do a small warm-up of your body and hands before starting: Loosen and rotate your neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles... Shake (the stress off) your arms and legs... Breath into your abdomen, center yourself...Smile :) +
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-As important as your physical surroundings, is your emotional world:  +
- +
-Both of you should take a moment to notice how you are feeling before the massage. You too, the Giver. Are you having a good day ? Are you nervous ? Tired ? A little upset about something, but pretending not to be ? Acknowledging your own emotions before you receive or start giving a massage will help you find the right, comfortable place to be with yourself and the other. It will help you respect your limits and boundaries, and importantly, it will help you not mistake your emotions for your friend's and vice versa. All of which contribute to clear intentions, emotional safety, and a massage that will be good for both.+
  
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-Invite your friend to say what they wish for with this massage, in their own words and images, according to how they feel, here and now. Invite them to make a wish. It could be to ease pain, relax, stop worrying, feel safe, loved…  +Ask your friend what they wish to get out of this massage. Invite them to express their wish (it could be to ease pain, relax, stop worrying, feel loved, etc). Defining an intention together, even a simple one (actually, the simpler the better), sets the massage on a good path, and helps you bond and build trust. It can also be an opportunity for your friend to express something important, an emotion, a state of mind, in the comfort of your presence. Whatever comes, welcome it. You don't need to have an opinion, nor do you have to have something reassuring to say. Having a nice moment together, welcoming your friends words and feelings is all that matters.
- +
-Defining an intention together, even a very simple one (the simpler actually the better), sets the massage on a good path, and helps bond you together in trust. It can also be an opportunity for your friend to express something important, to release an emotion, a state of mind, in the comfort of your presence. It will help you intuit and adjust better. Whatever comes, welcome what is, keep it simple.+
  
-Focus more on receiving your friend's information and impressions rather than on interpreting them, avoid overthinking things, and keep the communication lines open. +And you, do you know what you want to achieve with this massage? Again, the simpler and humbler the goal, the better (for example, I want to help my friend relax). Don't, for example, insist on wanting to be some sort of “savior”. 
 ===== Making a basic massage plan ===== ===== Making a basic massage plan =====
  
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 Observing your friend's aspect (by looking, asking/talking, feeling) can give you a sense of the general directions with which to work in order to best support your intentions.  Observing your friend's aspect (by looking, asking/talking, feeling) can give you a sense of the general directions with which to work in order to best support your intentions. 
-Is your friend's face flushed or pale ? Are they hot, cold ? What's hot and what's not in their body ? What's open and loose or tight and closed ? Where ? The jaws ? The knees ? Where does some sort of power seem to need some sort of release, and where does some sort of little joy seems to need encouragement ? Is your friend agitated ? Talkative ? Is their voice exasperatingly high, or strangely low ? There would be many observations possible here, and of course more knowledge to add in to make sense of them. Again, keep it simple. The one thing you do need to know is that massage is about //circulation//, it's about free, harmonious //flow// of fluids, matter, mind... Don't give yourself a headache over this, do what seems natural to restore or sustain "flow". If the upper body is hot while the lower body is cold, you can choose to work from head to toe to “redistribute”. If your friend is cold, you can warm them up with frictions, blankets, water bottles, soulful music. If their mind is confused or agitated, their eyebrows frowned, you can clear the clouds on their forehead... If they need grounding, you can go to their feet.. If they're agitated, you might want to work slow and steady, with a calm confident hand...Etc. +Is your friend's face flushed or pale ? Are they hot, cold ? What's hot and what's not in their body ? What's open and loose or tight and closed ? Where ? The jaws ? The knees ? Where does some sort of power seem to need some sort of release, and where does some sort of little joy seems to need encouragement ? Is your friend agitated ? Talkative ? Is their voice exasperatingly high, or strangely low ? There would be many observations possible here, and of course more knowledge to add in to make sense of them. Again, keep it simple. The one thing that can help you is to know that massage is about //circulation//, it's about restoring / sustaining free, harmonious //flow// of fluids, matter, mind... Don't give yourself a headache over this, do what seems natural to restore or sustain "flow". If the upper body is hot while the lower body is cold, you can choose to work from head to toe to “redistribute”. If your friend is cold, you can warm them up with frictions, blankets, water bottles, soulful music. If their mind is confused or agitated, their eyebrows frowned, you can clear the clouds on their forehead... If they need grounding, you can go to their feet.. If they're agitated, you might want to work slow and steady, with a calm confident hand...Etc. 
  
-In the end, a good massage is a mystery mix of skill, intuition, and improvisation, all coming together in love. +In the end, a good massage is a mystery mix of knowledge-skill, intuition, and improvisation, all coming together in love. 
  
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getting_ready_for_massage.txt · Last modified: 2015/12/22 16:03 by emily