Massage therapy is what these western nations need a lot more of, for we have come to the age of extremes.  It seems that it is either sex or no touch at all.  In addition, massage therapy has become a rare and expensive commodity.  Below are problems that tend to result to due to the lack of good touch:

     - Lower productivity
     - Major psychological shutdown
     - Fetishes
     - Masochism
     - Sexual immorality
     - Death of babies
     - Longer and/or more severe sickness
     - Less compassion and/or lower perception of compassion of
       others
     - Probably numerous addictions
     - Strange behaviors in bed
     - Possibly impaired immune system
     - Excessive ease in getting penile erections (penis erects with very little or no stimulation)
     - God knows what all can go wrong due to lack of touch!

    Thank God massage therapy is not an exact science.  It is also an art.  Massage therapy can be given while the recipient is standing, sitting, or lying down.  It can be done over the clothing or through direct skin-to-skin contact.  When direct skin-to-skin contact is used, some sort of lotion or oil is usually used.  Sometimes powders are used, but be careful that you and the recipient does not inhale too much of this.  Also be aware that some people, like me, do not like the smell or greasy feeling of lotion.  In addition, massage therapy where clothes are removed requires a much more private setting.  While there are many techniques, no one technique is perfect for everyone, for there are "different strokes for different folks!"  However, there are a few guidelines to follow in order to reduce or eliminate the risk of injury.  However, most guidelines are based on good old common sense.  Here they are:

1.  Do NOT put much pressure directly on the spine.  However, you may apply a fair amount of pressure along the sides of the spine.

2.  Do NOT use jerky movements, and DON'T jerk parts around.  This kind of activity constitutes to chiropractic medicine, which requires a well trained professional.

3.  Be careful that you don't poke into the neck (more of a problem when giving a chest massage), armpits, inner aspect of the elbows, and the back of the knees.  Failure to heed this guideline can cause discomfort for the recipient.

4.  When applying substantial pressure on the limbs, be sure to massage TOWARD THE HEART.

5.  Here is one that many men are guilty of--using too much pressure, particularly on the shoulders.  Note that it is better to have the recipient to tell you to do it harder than for you to cause immediate discomfort and lingering soreness.

6.  To avoid accidentally startling the recipient excessively, ALWAYS keep at least one hand in contact with the person.  If a lotion or oil is being used, grab the bottle with the free hand and pour some into the other hand (back of the hand against the recipient).

7.  If clothes were removed, it is best to keep a sheet draped over the whole body except for the part being worked on.

8.  Do not administer a deep massage to a person with a fever, for this may increase the discomfort.  However, a light touch may do wonders.

9.  Do not administer a massage when you are burnt or stressed out, or else you may radiate bad energy or whatever to the recipient.  However, treating a person that is stressed out can do wonders.

10. Unless you are married to a woman, DO NOT try to massage her breasts.  This is to stay within the marriage.

11. When working on the lower back, do NOT use as much pressure, particularly doing the first five minutes of the treatment, or back strain may occur.

12.  Do NOT apply much pressure on the front of the neck, or your recipient may have choking sensations and/or pass out.

13.  Do NOT have the recipient sit on a high chair or bar stool, for if he or she conks out, you may have a severely injured recipient.

14.  Unless you are formally trained, do not attempt to treat injuries through massage therapy.  The information that I gave here is mainly for psychological benefit.

Below is a partial roundup of different techniques that may be used.  Please note that this is not a comprehensive list.
 
 

    The first method shown is where you go up the person's spine and circle around and come back down along the sides.  Ideally, this should be done with both hands in a symmetrical fashion.  WARNING:  Do NOT apply much pressure on the lower back for the first 5 minutes or so of the treatment in order to help eliminate the risk of strained back muscles.

    A common massage method that is good for sitting recipients is grasping the shoulders and squeezing them repeatedly.  WARNING:  Many men (and some women) are guilty of using WAY TOO MUCH force when using this technique.  Using too much force makes the procedure uncomfortable and causes muscle soreness.  Using too much force can also even turn a person against massage therapy altogether.  For relaxation purposes, one cycle of squeezing and releasing should take at least about three seconds.  This technique can easily be synchronized to relaxing music.  There are no diagrams for this technique.
 
 
 
 
 

    Here is a technique that is enjoyed by many people that I work on.  Grasping the shoulders, take your thumbs and press in with moderate pressure and move upward in a manner shown in this picture.

    Using this technique, you take one hand and start close to the arm pit of either side and work downward diagonally toward the spine.  Before you take your hand back off of his or her back, repeat the process, but moving downward about a couple inches until the stroke ending is near waist level, using the OTHER hand.  Keep alternating hands this way.  When you are done with one side, repeat the process on the other side.

    This technique involves direct compression.  Just place your hands flat on the upper back where the upper two red circles are shown.  Now slowly compress with approximately 20 pounds of force and sustain this for about 5-10 seconds.  WARNING:  Do NOT exceed approximately 10 seconds, for the person's breathing is hindered.  Luckily, people can withstand about 15 seconds of this type of compression with little or no discomfort.  Doing this for more than about a minute can be very dangerous.  Now repeat this about 2-3 more times.  Do the same further down into about the mid-back area.

    In this technique, you spread out your fingers and just all five them them down each side of the back using both hands in a symmetrical fashion.  When you are down to the bottom, just go toward the center and close to the spine and go upward.  You can repeat this process several times.  Please note that you will be using a lighter force here.

    Using this method, you place one hand on each side of the recipient in the areas shown by the red circles, starting with the top two and just compress inward for a few seconds at a time.  You may repeat this several times.  Now do the same, but further down on the sides (where the lower two circles are shown).

    This is an area where a lot of people get tense at.  Using your thumbs, just massage in a circular pattern as shown below.  Do this several times.  Some people may require this for a few minutes.

    You may wish to have music playing in the background.  However, do NOT play "New Age" music.  The New Age Movement is NOT of God!  In fact, the New Age Movement was so evil that it even brought the Roman Catholic Church to its knees!  A technique that I have been exploring is SYNCHRONIZING massage therapy with music.  I like to think of it somewhat like a kaleidoscope synchronized to music.  Recommended tempos are around 50-60 beats per minute if in 2/4 or 4/4 time.  If you are using 3/4 or 6/8 time, tempos around 100-120 beats per minute are good.