Pressure and Massage
Howdy folks,
You may not be aware that May is National "refer-someone-for-a-massage-with-Cameron" month. To celebrate, from now until the end of the month, you will get a $20 credit for every referral that I see at my regular introductory rate. 2 referrals=$40 off, 3=$60, etc. You get the idea. Go nuts.
***
This month I figured I would talk about a question that sometimes goes unasked: pressure and massage. Ideally there is no need to talk about it. It's my job to get it just right, and usually I do. But my style is a gradual process, so if I'm not getting deep enough, it is sometimes difficult for the client to know whether say something, or trust I will get there. (If I'm being too rough, that's easier- just tell me.) To that end, I thought it would help to tell you a bit about pressure from my perspective.
The first thing you should know is that I don't think much in terms of pressure. In fact I try to avoid it. Mainly I think in terms of motion. My goal is to find the ways in which your body's natural motion is stuck, and then figure out ways to get it to move with more fluidity. If I can get the stiff tissues moving, then light or deep, those tissues open up, receive fresh blood flow, and start to function more efficiently.
Looked at from that perspective, pressure becomes completely relative. I may be able to get deep-tissues moving using very little force. Conversely, if the client is tightening up against me, I can fight them like crazy and not get into anything. While blatantly invasive work can have benefits, and I will occasionally resort to it, in the end I don't consider it a very balanced solution. (I often think that the reason people can only appreciate painful work and the reason their bodies are so stressed out are, at root, the same. I used to be one of those people.) That said, there are times when I just don't go deep enough. It can be a tough call.
What keeps my job interesting is that it is a living conversation. Every massage is different, and I never know how your body is going to react to anything I do until I do it. Ideally it is a conversation without words- the more intuitive the massage, the better. (This is true on both ends: sometimes I've been thrown off by clients telling me things, and sometimes clients have lost their ability to relax when I've pointed out things to them.) But intuition is not always a perfect tool. I'm a good listener, but sometimes there are mixed signals, or no signals. If you need to speak up, probably the best time within my usual routine is about 25-30 minutes into the session, or roughly when I have gotten to the first leg. Then it may take a little trial and error; it may take a little time and patience to get back to the intuitive state, but we should be able to create a great session.
Hope you are enjoying the spring.
cam
Cameron Aiken
www.cameronaiken.com
You may not be aware that May is National "refer-someone-for-a-massage-with-Cameron" month. To celebrate, from now until the end of the month, you will get a $20 credit for every referral that I see at my regular introductory rate. 2 referrals=$40 off, 3=$60, etc. You get the idea. Go nuts.
***
This month I figured I would talk about a question that sometimes goes unasked: pressure and massage. Ideally there is no need to talk about it. It's my job to get it just right, and usually I do. But my style is a gradual process, so if I'm not getting deep enough, it is sometimes difficult for the client to know whether say something, or trust I will get there. (If I'm being too rough, that's easier- just tell me.) To that end, I thought it would help to tell you a bit about pressure from my perspective.
The first thing you should know is that I don't think much in terms of pressure. In fact I try to avoid it. Mainly I think in terms of motion. My goal is to find the ways in which your body's natural motion is stuck, and then figure out ways to get it to move with more fluidity. If I can get the stiff tissues moving, then light or deep, those tissues open up, receive fresh blood flow, and start to function more efficiently.
Looked at from that perspective, pressure becomes completely relative. I may be able to get deep-tissues moving using very little force. Conversely, if the client is tightening up against me, I can fight them like crazy and not get into anything. While blatantly invasive work can have benefits, and I will occasionally resort to it, in the end I don't consider it a very balanced solution. (I often think that the reason people can only appreciate painful work and the reason their bodies are so stressed out are, at root, the same. I used to be one of those people.) That said, there are times when I just don't go deep enough. It can be a tough call.
What keeps my job interesting is that it is a living conversation. Every massage is different, and I never know how your body is going to react to anything I do until I do it. Ideally it is a conversation without words- the more intuitive the massage, the better. (This is true on both ends: sometimes I've been thrown off by clients telling me things, and sometimes clients have lost their ability to relax when I've pointed out things to them.) But intuition is not always a perfect tool. I'm a good listener, but sometimes there are mixed signals, or no signals. If you need to speak up, probably the best time within my usual routine is about 25-30 minutes into the session, or roughly when I have gotten to the first leg. Then it may take a little trial and error; it may take a little time and patience to get back to the intuitive state, but we should be able to create a great session.
Hope you are enjoying the spring.
cam
Cameron Aiken
www.cameronaiken.com
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