how to give a shoulder shiatsu
A five or ten minute shoulder shiatsu massage is a beautiful way to connect to someone and help him or her feel relaxed, freer, energised and calmer. You can quickly wash away stress, tension and knots in muscles. Shiatsu massage helps feel calmer, peaceful and content.
This is a quick guide to giving a shiatsu massage for the shoulders. Use the photographs at the side to help. Always make your movements slow and careful. Ask your friend how strong he or she like to be massaged and stretched. Ensure you get constant feedback and make the whole experience gentle, considerate and caring.
intention
Try to approach the shiatsu with loving, sensitive, supportive intentions. See if you can use it as a form of meditation where you stay in moment and are present and conscious of every action during the shoulder shiatsu massage.
shoulder shiatsu massage
Begin by asking your friend to sit in a comfortable chair and stand behind.
Rest your hands on your friend’s shoulders. Be aware of your friend?s breathing. Follow his or her breathing for a while to feel how it is to breath the same way. This helps connect energetically.
Be aware of how your hands feel and whether your friend?s shoulders feel warm of cool.
Start to gently squeeze and massage the muscles along the top of the shoulders. Be aware of how they feel. Are they tight or loose, hard or soft? You can massage the muscles between your thumbs and fingers for a while and then give them a stronger long squeeze between your fingers and the heel of your hand.
stretches
shoulders and upper back
Take your friend?s wrists and raise them up to your neck. Ask your friend to clasp their hands together behind your neck. Hold his or her elbows and lean back to make a long slow stretch. If your friend it particularly tall you may have to ask him or her to slide down in the chair. Try two or three long stretches.
shoulders and chest
Ask your friend to clasp his or her hands together behind his or her neck. Reach over the arms and place your hands behind your friend?s back. From here you can carefully stretch the arms backwards, opening up the chest. Do this slowly and work with your friend to make sure you do not apply too much pressure.
shoulders
Take your friend?s forearms close to the elbows and ask them to lean forward. Pull the elbows back and up gently. Then push the elbows together to make a long, slow stretch.
shoulders and upper arm
With your left hand, lean forward and take your friend?s right arm. Lift it so his or her right hand is on his or her left shoulder. Hold the right elbow with your left hand. Place your right elbow on your friend?s right shoulder. Support his or her head between your right hand and left upper arm. Pull the elbow with your left hand to make a stretch whilst simultaneously leaning onto your right elbow to massage into the top of the shoulders. Move your elbow along the top of the shoulders, working with your friend to apply a pressure and stretch that feels right to him or her.
Repeat holding your friend?s left elbow with your right arm and pressing onto the shoulder with your left elbow.
shoulders and sides of neck
Place your friends head to the left side. Rest your right forearm on his or her right shoulder. Put your left forearm on the right side of your friend’s head, just above the ear. Whilst holding the head to the side, lean on the shoulder to make a long stretch across the shoulders and nexk. Work with your friend to create the ideal stretch.
Come back to the shoulders and squeeze with your hands being aware of how they now feel.
acupressure
Try pressing along the top of the shoulders with your thumbs. Make the pressure slow and gentle and hold each point for at lease 10 seconds. Next, you can pound the shoulders and upper back with a closed hand and loose wrist. Then rub across the top of the shoulders and sides of the arms with a flat open hand.
neck
If you want to massage the neck, stand to one side of your friend and support his or her forehead in your hand. Use your free hand to massage the muscles along the rear and side of the neck with your thumbs and fingers. Again, if you want to make a bigger squeeze, use your fingers and palm of your hand to slowly squeeze the muscles at the back of the neck.
healing
Finish by resting your hands on your friends shoulders and coming back to feeling his or her breathing. Be aware of how the shoulders feel. You could also place your hands over his or her temples gentle and just hold them there whilst being aware of the way your hands feel and the feeling of your friends head. You might engage in a simple meditation to keep yourself in the moment. End by slowly moving your hands away.
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