COMING OFF TRANQUILIZERS: MASSAGE

Apr 21 2009

Work in pairs. Allow your partner to sit in the chair in the position that has been discussed, with closed eyes. Support their forehead and gently massage the scalp from the hair line to the back of the neck. If headaches are a problem, support their head on your chest and work with both hands, stroking their brow with the first fingers from the centre to the temples, using firm strokes.

You and your partner will soon get over the embarrassment of being touched when you realize how relaxing massage can be. Continue to support the forehead and with the other hand move the muscles of the neck on both sides of the spine in a circular movement. Switch off your intellect and let your hands do the work. Next place your hands over the shoulders with the fingers pointing towards the chest and the thumbs on the back. Use these to massage the muscles of the shoulders. Find out from your partner any areas that need particular attention. Continue by supporting your partner with your arm across the top of their chest, tipping them forward and working around both shoulder blades and down each side of the spine. Finish off by stroking lightly and rapidly from the head down the back. Place one hand on the upper and one on the underside of the arm and use the same stroking to the finger tips. Repeat with the other arm. Take at least fifteen minutes over the massage. The person in the chair might want to sit for few minutes, enjoying feeling more relaxed, before doing the same for you.