Relaxation Chair Massage

The basic relaxation chair massage routine begins with work on the face and scalp, but only if the client wants work done there. Always get permission from the client prior to working on the face and scalp as makeup and hair will get messed up. Your client may need to go somewhere looking great, such as back to work, so please do not touch the head/face area without asking first.

Remember, you are promoting relaxation with your chair massage. You do not want the client to be upset and leave more stressed out than when he/she arrived.

If the client says no to the head/face portion of the chair massage routine, move on to the stretches below. Once you have permission, begin the relaxation chair massage with circular digital friction to the temples, forehead, cheekbones, and jaws.

Then use deep digital friction to the scalp. Perform gentle tapping or light pinching on the scalp, but only if the client does not have a headache. The tapping and pinching should not hurt at all.

Perform stretches on the head and neck and then the shoulders and arms. These should be the stretches you learned in massage class. If you are not familiar with the stretches, take a good workshop and practice prior to performing stretches on clients. Do not do any prolonged or bouncy stretching.

Let's move to the client's back. Stand behind the client, who is seated in the massage chair. Use brisk superficial strokes with your palms and move them up and down the sides of the spine and then side to side, back and forth across the shoulders, back and hips.

Next do compressions using your fists or the heels of your hands, down both sides of the spine, but never directly on the spine. Have your client breathe out as you compress and breathe in as you let up.

Compress the shoulders. Knead the shoulder, back, and hip using both hands, one side of the body at a time.

Go to the neck and do cross-fiber and parallel friction up to the base of the skull and back down to the bottom of the neck.

Press at the hairline on top of the head with your fingers and hold for 10 seconds.

Go back to the shoulders and squeeze the trapezius, one side at a time using both hands all the way across each trapezius. Then do deep palmar friction on the shoulders, back and hips, one side at a time.

Now move to the scapula. Place the ulnar border of one hand on the vertebral border of the scapula and rotate the scapula while grasping the shoulder with your other hand. Repeat with the other scapula.

Go to the side of the chair and take one arm off of the armrest. Gently drop it to the client's side. Vibrate the shoulder at the joint.

Using both hands, compress the shoulder and arm all the way down to the wrist. Then starting at the top of the arm, roll the arm between both of your hands down to the wrist. Place the arm back on the armrest.

Massage the palm and wrist in your hands. Place back on armrest.

Use deep circular friction with the heel of your hand on the front and back of the forearm. Grasp the hand and shake out the arm. Return it to the armrest and repeat the same process on the client's other arm.

Go behind the client again. Depress the shoulders together and hold for a few seconds. Release.

Work the neck again, repeating as above.

Go to the back and with the flats of your knuckles, do deep circular friction down along the sides of the spine and the iliac crest (hipbone).

Then perform deep ironing strokes down the back with your forearm. The forearm works better through layers of clothing than the heel of your hand.

Then do tapping and hacking on the shoulders, back and hips if the client wants to leave feeling invigorated.

If the client wants to leave feeling relaxed but not invigorated, leave out the tapping and hacking.

Do some brisk strokes up and down the sides of the spine and back and forth across the shoulders, back and hip.

This relaxation chair massage routine should take you about 15 minutes to complete, with some practice.

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