The Massage Routine

[Aitellalkmiz]

Hi everyone

Is there a set routine to do Body Massage?

My tutor told us to start at the:
Legs/feet
Arms/hands
Abdomen
Chest
Back Legs
Back

So I was doing this last week, when the assistant tutor came along and said I was doing it wrong, I should be doing:

Legs/feet
Abdomen
Chest
Arms/hands
Back Legs
Back

My original tutor wasn't in so I couldn't ask her. What is the correct way?

Love Angel xxx

 

[Lie Ryan]

Hi Angel,

When giving a client a treatment there is no correct routine, only routines that are appropriate to the client. However on some courses, for example my Beginners Course, they teach you to follow a set routine to follow. So for the course sounds like they want you to follow a routine, i'd definately check with the course tutor which routine they want you to follow.

Hugs
Foz xxx

 

[Ardes.regilas]

Hi Angel,

I had 3 different tutors for massage, and all of them did the routine a different way. For Swedish, I start my clients off face-up, and start on the chest/shoulders, moving round to the side - more on the chest/around collar bone area, then: left arm; left leg; right leg; right arm; stomach (if client is female); turn them over; back of legs, finishing with the back.

All my tutors did agree on was that Swedish should finish on the back, and Aromatherapy should begin on the back and finish with the face. Even so, every routine is different, so don't worry

 

[cagrekfi]

Hello

I was always taught to do it this way and have done ever since and i find it finishes off nicely with the client face down on their back they have a chance to have a quick snooze before returning to reality.

Here is my routine
full body swedish
Client lies on back so massaging the fronts of the legs first.
Starting at the bottome of the legs always working with heavier pressure towards the heart. then tops of legs.
Feet next finishing on feet then to stomach area then arms and hands
then shoulders and neck area.
Turn client over backs of legs in same order feet then finishing on back.

We were never taught to do massage on the face during a full body massage so I guess this is optional. I do all beauty treatments anyway so include this in my facial routines but not full body massage.

Love angelic xx

 

[Pompal 09.]

I agree with everyone here, it's about tailoring a treatment so that the client gains the best possible benefits and has the most enjoyment and relaxation from it. I understand that colleges do a set routine when they first teach you, but once you're on your own you tend to go with what feels right - and try to vary it lots for returning clients so that they don't get bored thinking three of these four of those then this then that - how dull!

What is most important is that you're giving a good quality massage, and that you're gaining confidence, if you miss something / do something in the wrong order it's not a huge deal, if you're called on it again I'd simply say you've either forgotten the order, or you're seeing if a slightly different order may give greater benefits, or something else like that.

I wouldn't stress, they can hardly fail you for effleuraging in the wrong place! If that's all they can criticise you for you must be doing everything else right!

 

[y n]

And here's my Swedish Routine!!

Client on their back:

I start with the clients left arm, then move onto the front of the left leg, then round to the front of the right leg, up to the right arm, onto the back of the neck, upper chest, followed by the abdomen.

Flip them over (that makes them sound like fried fish!)

Back of left leg, left gluts, followed by right back leg and gluts ending up on their back for the final bit. I do change the movements a bit , particularly on the back becuase it depends on what you find.

LOL

FBX

 

[blueeyes44]

Been an interesting read, I always start with my client lying face down. Unless requested otherwise basic routine for me follows something like:

Back of legs
Back
Shoulders
[Client flips over]
Front of shoulders and neck
Quick head massage
Arms
Abdomen
Front of legs
Finish on either feet or hands depending on client preference

Foz xxx

 

[fineprnt]

Wow, thre is so many different way, I guess there is no right or wrong way to go about the routine.

Love Angel xxx

 

[kld726]

I've just finished Holistic Masage course and the routine we were taught

Back
Back of leg
Front of leg
Abdomen
Arm
Chest and Neck
Face and Head

I think the routine you are taught in class is more for the movements and the more you do you can adapt it to yourself and client. With friends and family I have practised on I have done the routine differently and started them face up rather than the usual face down and got a mixture of responses some liked starting face down while others didn't. Go with what feels right for you and the client.

 

[sjegzuciizviumewp]

My tutor always told us there was never a routine you should follow - just massage the person. But we were taught as follows?

Right Arm,
Left Arm,
Collar Bone, Shoulders, neck area, chest up to breast area
Then Stomach area (from under breast to just above hip bone)
Then from of right leg, front of left leg
Turn them over, back of right leg, back of left leg and then the back.

 

[Magicandmyth]

i like to start my routine with client face down, doing their back. i think it helps them to relax and perhaps feel less vulnerable than lying face up at the start. i always finish with a head massage.

i am a creature of habit and like to stick to a routine although i may vary movements within it. i am sure if i chopped and changed, i'd forget bits!

 

[Kiss my befuddlement]

I start a full body with them lying on their back and go:

Neck
Arms
Front of the torso
One leg then that foot
The other leg and that foot
Turn them over
Back of legs and then the back of the torso
Finish

 

[honeydipn]

Hi,

In real life, the client may want only a back massage, or a leg massage, or a neck and shoulder massage, the possibilities are numerous. Then there is the consideration of time and budget. Some may only have half an hour, others may have 1 1/2.

My advice is to find out what you need to pass the exam, do it, then forget it as soon as you have walked out.

 

[Theodore Macmahon]

They teach you at college to do a set routine so that when you do the exam everybody is doing the same thing (almost!) and the examiner knows what is going on.

As said above, don't be a slave to it. I was taught on massage course to do back first, back of legs, flip, front of legs, stomach, arms and then chest. On the aroma course it changed to client on back, chest first, arms, stomach, front of legs, feet, flip, back of legs and finish on back.

I pretty much stick to this but if I go back in the room and the client is already face down then I leave them and do their back first.

Personally I think most clients enjoy the back massage best and usually find it best to end on that, but if you do face and head then this is a good one to end on.

I always say: There are no rules!

 

[Creasseelanna]

As already said stick to the routine you're taught so you can pass your exam but also more importantly to ensure you can make a massage flow.
This gives a professional feel to the person receiving your massage.No matter how good your individual strokes are the....mass..age,,,,,,ne eds.........to......
flow.
To my mind and observing human behaviour we receive an arm (arms) around the body (at waist level) in many situations that can denote acceptance, caring, concern, (caressing) ect.
I think it is because of this I start my massage with the client face down beggining on their lower back and working across the body calming the CNS.
Steve

 

[szbwyoav]

as has been said stick to what you need to do to pass your exam then forget about 'routines' .
A massage is tailored to a clients needs so it all depends on waht they want.

We were taught NOT to use a routine..that may sound odd but in our exam we had to do the case history and draw up the routine from that, and thats how i do it now. Granted if i client has no specific needs and wants a full bosy massage i may ask them were they would like me to start f they have a preference, or it would depend on how you used to massage they were and how nervous in which case i would start on a safe area like the back, i would not ususally begin with abdomen or chest as they are rather 'personal areas. but there again it depends what you have agreed with them.

Anyway..do your routine, pass your exam with flying colours, then chuck it out of the window and free-flow !!! best of luck
kind regards
paul

 

[aladdinwa]

Hi
i just wanted to say that although i am actually doing the ITEC Holistic Massage, when i went for a massage to a local sports club (only for research purposes obviously LOL) i was amazed to find out how vunerable i felt being on that table undressed........even though i knew exactly what to expect!!!
and i found that lying face up was worse.
In addition ( and probably because of that) my tutor suggests to start with client on stomach so they are relaxed by the time you turn them over. However she has said it is not as important as a routine where they are turned only once!!!! ( i was turned 3 times when i went).
I usually go:
back
back of legs
front of legs/ feet
abdomen
arms/hands
face neck and shoulders......

 

[Kimbra Nessa]

All very different, mine varies each and everytime depending on clients needs and preferences, some just have an hour on there legs or 2 hours on the back but generally in a standard treatment of one hour full body start front lower work up, flip, back lower and work up...

Have to say in answer to Red Bess : you put only work on female clients stomach, why not the men?????


T
x

 

[Sarah Stone]

How many variants here then??

My routine is similar to Fozzyo's, and I do abdomen of all clients, no matter which gender.

 

[Sakura Shaunessy]

Another no routine here, though usually I start them face down. As it's been said repeatedly above, do it the way you need to do it to get through the exam and then don't worry about it, follow it if you need a routine, forget it if you want to go with the flow. If you start to do more than a few massages a month, you'll want to forget the routine anyway, you'll be bored by it, then you'll probably go do another course, it will teach some other routine, you'll finish the course, forget half of the new routine, but add extra bits into what you do, according to what the client wants/needs and how you're feeling that session. Set routines are boring after you don't have to worry about 'have I done the left leg yet?'

'Standard' massage - face down, start on the back
Pregnancy massage - face down, start on the gleutes over the sheet, this is usually the most area of discomfort, I keep coming back to it as they relax more. Almost everyone will tense up when a stranger starts working their gleutes, even if it is through a sheet, I just keep going back to that area until it relaxes.
Stone therapy - face up, stones placed underneath the client, letting the stones do all the work on the back muscles before they turn over
Thai - face down
Lomi lomi - face down
Ayurvedic - varies (depends if there is shirodhara or not)


BUT if it is a relaxation type massage, rather than treating a problem, I let them direct what areas to concentrate on, I've got a couple of clients that ask for just face, neck and feet every so often. If a client's shoulders are really bad and they say they just want their back done, I won't - I will always include more, and get them to turn over too - too many other muscles are usually involved in back/shoulder/neck discomfort - usually a little bit of firmly working the upper arm will make them understand



Someone once said to me 'no animal lets a stranger pat their belly straight away, it always starts with the shoulders & back, why would you start a massage face up?' I don't totally agree with it, but it's one line of reasoning.