What is Effleurage Massage?

Video Transcript

"If you've ever wondered what the funny word, effleurage means, I'm going to tell you what it is. I'm Sundae with Natural Sundae. Now the term effleurage is actually a French term, and it's the very basic technique used in massage. And it means a gliding, it means a uninterrupted gliding stroke. And it's actually the first stroke that you'll learn when you get into massage school. And gliding just means really a nice, uninterrupted movement right down the back. You're just gliding your hands over the back. And this is a great way to increase relaxation. If fact, it's the best technique to induce your client to relax. So you're just going to glide your hands right over your client's skin. Right over that tight muscle and help it lengthen, increase circulation and reduce tension. There we go. We're going to do this to the other side now, just glide your palms. And you can do this with your fingers, like this, or the palms of your hands, as long as you're....it's uninterrupted. You don't want to take your hands off. Then you can glide 'em back up the sides of the back. You can be uninterrupted all the way to the arms in one movement. See, I still haven't broken my touch with the client. I'm going to go back up from the neck. All the way down the back, up the sides, which feels really good. Over the shoulders. On to the shoulders. Up the shoulders and the neck. So I hope I've enlightened you on the meaning of effleurage. I'm Sundae with Natural Sundae."