too much massage???

RE: too much massage???

wow, lucky man being able to afford a massage 2 or even 3 times per week!

I would suggest that you change your massage routine slightly, to make the strokes towards the end of the massage more stimulating, I find this helps the body to "wake up" and know that the massage is coming to an end. Less or stronger effleurage strokes, and more hacking, tapotement etc.

It is lovely that your massage is provinding him with such relaxation, have you tried having a chat with him to see if he feels that he is reacting any differently to the massage? Maybe he is just scheduling the massage for times that he knows he can really relax.

Keep us informed!

Karen

RE: too much massage???

I agree with Karen, just stimulate as you finish, you don't have to hack just speed up, apply a little more pressureand think energetic thoughts, it works a treat 🙂

RE: too much massage???

Hi innerpeace, as above finnish with hacking and cupping to bring him back to earth.
All I would add is to try and have some friendlychatwith him at the start of the session,especially if its a while since you did a medical history,check he issleeping ok no major crisis going on.....ect.
Regards Steve

RE: too much massage???

Thankyou all for your comments. I like the idea of hacking but because i finish on his head/face its not possible lol. I did ask him if i could change the routine one time so that i started massaging his front and finished on the back ( i did this to test wether it was something on his face or head that was knocking him out) the outcome was the same he was out of it so that wasnt the problem. He says he prefers the usual way with me finishing on his face so as i said i cant hack him there haha.
Other things i've tried are changing his oils. I used to use relaxing ones now i use stimulating oils (even thoughi'm reluctant using these as he talks for England already and is a bit hyper lol)
Today i asked him to try his best to stay awake. he managed to do this up til the last 10 mins although i could see it was difficult for him . As soon as i noticed himdropping off i started talking to him but his response was like he wasdrifting offunder anaesthetic. His eyes were rolling and he was going cockeyed trying to fight to stay awake. He couldnt respond to my questions when i was asking him where he was .
I spend 2 hours with this client so we always have half hour chat before and20 mins afterwards. I am updated on his medical history and lifestyle each time he comes. We discuss what exercise hes been doing ( he walks alot and rides his bike) we talk about any changes in his diet ( hes given up jelly babies, crisps nuts and snacking between meals) he has a jaccuzi and sauna every week so hes quite active for his age .
By the way Karen because hes been booking in with me for the past 18 months i offer him discounts now and again lol At the moment he pays for 2 full price treatments per week and gets the 3rd half price ( i dont loose out because he still tips well hehe
will keep you all informed of any changed
Thanks again for your advice

Innerpeace xxx

RE: too much massage???

Ok, something that I have just thought of, as you finish with the face, is the use of cold stones, or an eyepack from the fridge.

I also offer hot stone massage, and the use of cold stones is great! When you have finished the face massage, you could use cold stones around the eye and sinus area, or if you don't feel comforatble with that, just used cold stones or a cold eyepack to rest on the eyes for a few minutes. It really helps to come too!

Also maybe grounding after the massage by simply going to the feet and holding them for a few minutes - also good for helping come to.

Karen

RE: too much massage???

I have never used stones before but its something i hope to train in after the new year (well hot stones),sounds good to use cold ones too. I will also try grounding by holding the feet aswell
Thankyou for sharing your thoughts
ps Something i forgot to mention was the fact that although he says hes not been stressed about it he did loose his father in law a few weeks ago and it was left to him to do all the running around and organization. Maybe him falling into a deep sleep could be his bodies way of giving him the complete rest he needs.

Innerpeace x

RE: too much massage???

I agree with the finishing with the feet, though I'd actually do a bit of work on the feet rather than just hold. I quite often will work the feet through the sheet at the end, and just rotate each toe and give it a bit of a stretch, finishing with the big toe and more pressure, then hold the feet, thinking grounded energitic energy 🙂 This follows Polarity/Ayurvedic priciples with the head and feet being 2 poles of the body, if you work one you should work the other, and it does add a lot of grounding energy.

I find if I finish on the face and tell them 'the massage is over take your time, I'll just leave the room and wash my hands', they're hardly ever dressed by the time I come back. If I do the face then just a minute or 2 or the feet and say the same thing, they're always dressed by the time I get back to the room.

Another option might be a bit of a misting, either face or feet, rose hydrosol, or even peppermint on the feet. If I used peppermint on the face, it would be a very very very light spray, very refreshing.

Added: have you discussed his sleeping habits? Does he drink coffee in the evening? Try putting a chilled bottle of water in his hands at the end, similar effect to cold stones without the equipment

RE: too much massage???

Hiya Cola
Some good advice there too. Thankyou for your suggestions. I will certainly try the mist spray.
He drinks coffee through the day only about 3 cups per day though . On an evening he drinks herbal teas. He doesnt have any problems sleeping on a night but he does tend to stay up late although he tells me he only needs 6-7 hours of sleep.

Innerpeace x

RE: too much massage???

Hi Innerpeace,

Blood pressure tends to be at its lowest when we sleep, and one of massages key benefits is lowering blood pressure (because the therapist is assisting the blood flow, the heart doesn't have to work so hard). It may be a natural parasympathetic response that he's drifting into a deeply relaxed state. You could invest in a blood pressure monitor, one of the major chemist chains was selling the electronic ones for a tenner last month. Take his b.p. and resting heart rate before and after the massage - NOT for clinical diagnostic purposes, but to see what effect the massage is having on his cardio-vascular system.

Got me thinking - does anyone else do periodic b.p. & heart rate measurements as part of their consults? Wasn't on my training syllabus, but that was in the days of the old mercury level sphigmomanometers! 😀

dw

RE: too much massage???

Hi Innerpeace

I sometimes use a wake up pressure point I learned in Thai Yoga Massage - it is midway between the centre line of lips and nose. This usually works. Then a nice cup of Peppermint Tea does the trick.

Luv Binah
xx

RE: too much massage???

Thankyou everyone for all your replies. I'm grateful for the suggestions you have come up with and will be trying some of them out.
derek its funny you should mention the bp machine as i was just looking at them the other day at the chemist and they are still only a tenner lol. I was thinking of buying one just to test bp before and after treatment with a client who has high blood pressure. For my own records really just to see if massage does bring it down a little. I learnt about blood pressure on my A&P course but is there a course I can do that trains us to use these kits professionally?