Massage Techniques: Abs and Chest

The abdominal muscles (or “abs”) are actually made up of four separate muscles: the internal and external obliques, the rectus abdominis, and the transversus abdominis. Together, these muscles help us stand upright, twist, turn, and bend.



Many professional massage therapists don’t include ab massage in a full-body massage because it’s a soft, vulnerable part of the body, and for some people, having that area worked can bring up feelings and emotions. Always use light, gentle pressure when massaging the abs.
The chest is comprised of two muscles, the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. Those muscles allow us to make hugging and pushing motions.

CAUTION
Do not massage someone who is pregnant or who has high blood pressure or gastrointestinal (GI) issues. An ab massage will probably be uncomfortable for someone who has recently had a heavy meal. At mobile massage London we avoid this.

Begin with the standard effleurage warm-up, but this time use an even gentler touch. Warm the oil in your hands and then ask the person you’re massaging to inhale and then exhale. Place your hands on the abdomen on the exhale.
Place your hands on the abdomen at the nine o’clock and three o’clock positions, with your hands crossed as shown. Next, move your hands in a clockwise direction—the same direction in which digestion takes place. At some point, you’ll need to cross your hands again. As you do, make sure to keep at least one hand in contact with the abdomen.

Now, rake the ribs as you did in the facedown position—make a “claw” shape with your hands and place your fingertips between the ribs. Gently pull your hands upward, toward the linea alba. Repeat several times on each side of the body.
Next, place one hand atop the other and apply gentle pressure around the area between the bottom of the rib cage and the top of the pelvic bone.

Keeping your hands in the same posture, apply gentle pressure along each side of the linea alba—the vertical line that separates the left and right rectus abdominis muscles.

Next, place one hand atop the other so that the bottom hand’s fingers are supported by the top hand’s, and gently massage the sternum. Do not press directly on the xiphoid process—the piece of bone at the tip of the sternum—because it could fracture. Now place one hand on each clavicle and, starting at the sternum, massage in a circle around the pectorals, from the inside to the outside. Keep both hands flat at all times.


Locația: London, UK

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