How to Give a Swedish Massage
The Swedish massage is one of the most popular types of massage given by massage therapists today. You will find it available worldwide in many locations, from upscale spa resorts to local massage therapy venues. The Swedish massage helps improve circulation throughout the body, allows for greater flexibility, gets rid of a person's tension, reduces muscle aches, and gives an overall sense of relaxation. This is done through a few different techniques, the most important being long gliding strokes along the muscles. Other techniques include friction, tapping, and kneading of muscles. Read on to learn how to give a Swedish massage.
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Things You'll Need
- Massage oil
- Sheets or towels for draping the body
- Massage table--preferably one where the head can lie face down comfortably
- Strong hands to give the massage
- Ability to learn how to give the massage
- Desire to give a Swedish massage
- Person to let you massage him or her
Instructions
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Prepare the room for the massage. Get together the sheets and towels for draping the person to be massaged and the massage oil. Place the massage table where you want it.
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Have the person who will receive the massage go into the room and undress, usually down to just underwear or a bathing suit. The person will then place the sheets over them while lying on the massage table before the massage therapist comes back into the room.
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To give the Swedish massage, you will uncover one body part at a time, putting oil on your hands and rubbing it onto the person's body parts as you go. Start with the arm. Uncover one arm, and put massage oil on your hands. You will then move to the other arm, the legs and the back.
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You will employ the techniques as you go. Start at the hand, and use long strokes to go up to the elbow. Then, start above the elbow and use long strokes to go to the shoulder. You will use the palms of your hands, and use the rest of your body to give you more strength and not wear yourself out. You start at one end of the muscle and go to the other end, pressing along the muscle with the palms of your hands.
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When you finish with one arm, you cover that part up and move to the next arm. Continue along the body parts, uncovering and covering as you go, using the massage oil on each part.
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When you do the back, start low in the back and employ long strokes to go up the back, just as you did with the arms.
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Once you have used the massage oil and long strokes on the arms, legs and backs, you can employ one of the other techniques. To use the Swedish massage technique of tapping, tap using the sides of your hands on the person's muscles, especially the back, with quick hacking movements.
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Friction is done by using circular motions with the thumbs or the palms of the hands. With the thumbs, you can go along the person's spine on either side with small circular motions. This technique can also be used along other parts of the back and muscles in the arms and legs.
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To employ kneading, shorter, but still gliding strokes are used with the hands, just like you are kneading bread. This is most often done on the back, but can be used on the arms and legs as well.
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For vibration, you can tap in quick motions to cause the muscles to somewhat vibrate.
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Once you are finished, allow the person private time in the massage room to get dressed. Direct the person to drink water after the massage to stay hydrated.
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Tips & Warnings
The Swedish massage is great for those wishing to achieve an overall sense of relaxation and calm.
The Swedish massage is the massage of choice for those who are generally stressed out and wish to ease away the day's troubles.
The Swedish massage is usually given for a half an hour or an hour, but can be done for a longer period of time especially if all body parts are being massaged.
If you are recovering from a sports injury or have a problem area in the muscles, you may be better suited for a deep tissue massage which gets more into the muscles and works them.
If you prefer a massage that is more in depth and uses more pressure directly into the muscles, you may wish to get a deep tissue massage.
