Video Archives

Video: Myofascial release for iliacus and psoas

Here’s how I work with the hip flexors. While I show some variations for clients who prefer more direct contact, my usual approach for iliacus and psoas is one of broad contact and slow sinking.

My reasoning:

First, these muscles are rarely touched, and so it doesn’t take a lot of stimulus for them to reduce their tone and sensitivity. I find that simply making contact and waiting can produce fairly pronounced softening in a short period of time. It’s like they’re waiting for a chance to take a break.

Second, these can be sensitive areas, and it’s worth keeping the human in mind as you approach them. Attempts to dig into psoas can be anxiety provoking for some people, and even the best work can be counteracted if the contact is perceived as threatening. Why not start with what’s friendliest to the client’s nervous system and see what results you get? ... continue reading.

Video: 5 Confidence-Building Exercises for Massage Therapists

In this video we do some bear walking, we tear phonebooks in half, we throw fireballs… it all makes more sense in context.

Basically, I want everyone watching this video to try to find the outer boundaries of what feels good, and then step back, at least when working with friends who will give you the straight dope. By always anticipating what might feel like too much and preemptively avoiding it, we can wind up with a massage that feels a little bit small or accidentally superficial.

This is also a great way to preserve your own body! Always holding back and letting things come from smaller joints means more muscular effort, and more repetitive movement. Allowing your massage to be more about dancing and playing means always having variety built in to your day.

Let me know what you think about this one. It was a bit of an experiment in and of itself, and I’d love to know if it hit home. Also, if you post a video of yourself trying these exercises anywhere (especially if you leave your partner’s feedback in) I’d love to see it! ... continue reading.

Video: Myofascial release for “tech neck”

We’re talking posterior neck pain and tension, and the protracted posture that might develop from years of working with computers (or cleaning teeth, fixing cars, painting tiny models, etc.). This isn’t so much about “fixing” as it is about helping clients feel a sense of freedom. As they stand up from the table, I’d like them to say, “ahh, it feels like I can stand up straight.” Between our work on the table and small changes they make through their day, I find that even previously persistent neck pain can resolve fairly quickly!

And that brings me to the topic of our sermon today: Emphasizing resilience and adaptability. During our sessions, we can send a variety of messages, often without meaning to. For instance, let’s say we spend an hour digging into the back of the neck. The message that might get received is, “this part is broken, it’s gummed up like a poorly maintained transmission, and it needs to be repaired.” Not only can this reinforce some self-stigma that the client might already have about a painful part, it’s also false! That part isn’t broken, and it doesn’t need to be fixed by a someone with special tools. ... continue reading.

Video: Myofascial Release for “That Damn Spot”

My goal with this session is for the client to stand up from the table feeling ease and freedom in their posture. If they say something like “I feel an inch taller,” I know I did it right.

Why not just “dig out the knot”? Because I don’t think that spot is to blame. This seems to be an area that becomes sensitized when the upper back muscles are in an untenable position: Being required to stay long and strong for hours a day, and generally being overpowered by the pecs. If we can get all the nearby muscles to give up some of their baseline tone (which I think myofascial release is a great choice for), then that gives the client’s nervous system a chance to reevaluate that tug-of-war.

And that brings me to something I’d like to address: Client buy-in. Are you giving the client an idea of your clinical reasoning before you proceed? Are the two of you determining the best course of action together? This has implications for a lot of things that we value as massage therapists: Pain outcomes, rapport building, informed consent, and client return rate. ... continue reading.

Video: How to Sit More During Massage

New massage video! This one is on how to sit more during your sessions (yes, I’m serious about the whole “massage lazy” thing):

The benefits of sitting more: Less time on your feet, which is also kinder to your low back than a full 6 hours of bending and lunging. More variety for you AND for your client — you’ll find that the same techniques feel much different when performed from this new angle. And most importantly, easier access to the lateral portions of the body!

I love seated massage for prolonged, deep dives into the lateral hip, the fibularis group (aka the peroneals), and the shoulder, both in supine and prone. In the video I demonstrate a brief routine for working with the entire rotator cuff group while the client is prone, but just realize that this can be extended considerably. You can sink doubled up thumbs toward the lateral scapula and target the teres, you can strip supraspinatus and infraspinatus and look for points of exquisite tenderness, and you can sink into that subscap for as much as a minute, inviting your client to breathe as you do so. ... continue reading.