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Today, we explored the muscular system through Thai massage. Jamie Hall lead us through a hands on exploration that not only familiarized us with the muscles but also provided a wonderful sense of healing and release.We began at the feet, touching and holding the soles of the feet and poured our weight straight down into our hands squishing the muscles in the calves and the thighs. We avoided putting a lot of pressure on the knees (where there are smaller muscles and more bone near the surface).
Next, we took hold of the legs at the heels and rocked the body back and forth and provided traction that created a sensation space in the hips. Holding one leg at a time, we intuitively guided and supported our partners leg as it moved through circular pathways. Crossing the leg over the body provided an opportunity for stretch and allowed access to massage the muscles on the inside of the other leg.
Moving on, we next massaged the muscles in the back where they met the bone by feeling for bony landmarks. We then lifted and supported our partners arm and rotated the shoulder while massaging around the scapula. We squeezed the big muscle of the neck (the trapezius) and laid our partners arm long along their body and pressed it into the body rotating the hands front and back.
With our partners lying on their front, we walked the palms of our hands up the back careful not to put direct pressure on the spine. We kneeled on our partners gluteus maximus and massaged with our knees! Finally, we gave our partners bodies a brush with our hands to refresh and invigorate at the end.
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24 comments:
I really enjoyed today’s exercise. Thai massage was a very interesting way to learn about our muscles. When I was working my partner I felt the muscles in her leg most. I would apply pressure to her upper leg and the muscles would move slightly. I felt the thickness of her leg muscles in comparison to her back muscles.
The feeling of touch is so calming. I was completely relaxed and succumbed to my partner. Her touch was warm and it put in a calm state. I concentrated on the muscles as she worked on them. I could feel myself melting into floor and letting her take over. I had a quiz after class and Thai massage was the best way to prepare myself before my quiz!
-Jasmine Boado
I enjoyed this class. We had done this Thai massage in anatomy, so there were no huge surprises for me, but it was great to do it again. One of the side benefits was reviewing and remembering the muscles learned in anatomy class. While I liked receiving the massage the most, I found giving it way more exciting than I used to before having taken anatomy. I enjoyed feeling the different muscles, especially going under the scapula. It kind of freaks me out how deep you can massage. My favorite part of receiving the massage was the spine area and, of course, the final brush to refresh and invigorate at the end.
Oh my gosh! This class sounds like a delicious exploration. I could not be in class yesterday. Anyone feel like teaching me what was learned in class?
-lindsey g.
I experienced Thai message before I tried in the class today. The message itself just so amazing; it can really help you on your muscle’s problem as well as your relaxation. As a touch person, I can feel my partner’s legs the most. I can feel that there are so many muscles on her legs. However, as a person who never done a message to others, I was not quite sure that whether I put my weight enough on her body. I was afraid that she would get hurt because I know if I did it harsh, her body will get sore on a day later. However, as a person who receives touch, I feel relaxation of my muscle. My partner did a good job as a touch person. She slowly messaged my tense muscle very wonderfully. After this class, I feel that my relationship to my muscle was changed. I could feel that every time I walk, exercise, eat, talk, etc., my muscle is involving in every situation. I should use my muscle carefully and also need to get them relaxes sometimes. After the class today, I can say that I really enjoyed the class and I wish we could explore more about the message again next time.
Pitchaya N.
Thursday's class was really interesting. It was very awkward at first having to touch someone and being touched even though my partner was a friend of mine. I was the first one to give the Thai message and felt like it was pretty simple and it was just about touching all the superficial muscles of the body. I didn't thought that it was going to be relaxing or anything. My partner kept telling me how relaxed she was and she didn't want it to end. When it was my turn to be massaged, that was when I realized that it really does work. I felt like the Thai massage made my body more flexiable and less tense. I was very relaxed and didn't know how to go on with the rest of my day, since all I wanted to do at that point was to sleep. It made sense that by touching and massaging the fascia on the muscles we are relaxing the tension that is there. I had an anatomy exam just the day before and as I was being massaged at different spots I kept imagining the muscles that were there and their connection to one another through tendons. It was an amazing feeling and I wish we get to do more massages in future classes! :)
~Afsoon Fazeli
This class was awesome. I love receiving massages (who doesn't?!) and I also enjoy giving them. So it was really fun to learn a new technique or type of massage. I ended up giving my boyfriend a Thai massage that night. I love being able to use knowledge learned in the classroom outside of class and share it with others.
My partner didn't like having her feet touched. I substituted by gently holding her ankles to establish my touch. Throughout the massage I felt myself gain more confidence: At first I was slightly hesitant to pour my weight into her, but I eventually became more comfortable with doing so.
It was a shame that we didn't have much more time in class. Being the second partner to receive the massage, I felt that it was a bit more rushed. But at least we were able to learn the steps and ideas behind the technique with the first massage so we can still use and practice the technique on our own and such.
At first I wasn't really sure what I should be feeing for when giving the massage and feeling the muscles. But then I just let go of my worries about whether or not I was doing or feeling correctly and just allowed myself to feel what I was feeling. Muscles, connected to one another, connected to the bones. It was really interesting to give a massage with this in mind. I hadn't really ever before thought about the muscles I was working on while giving a massage. I usually think about the person who I'm massaging and making them feel good. It was interesting and also pretty cool that I could give a massage and learn about the muscular system while still resulting in the other person feeling good.
-Lauren Cook
When I found out we were giving and receiving massages on Thursday I was very excited. It seemed like a great way to relax, especially since I had a mid-term the next day. I was the first person to lie down and receive the massage and so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. When my partner first started massaging my feet I was surprised at not only how good it felt, but at how comfortable I was with being touched. I think this partially had to do with my partner simply connecting with me through touch before the massage even began. I struggled slightly with letting my partner fully carry my weight when they were holding up an arm or leg, however by the time she was working on the second side I was able to fully let myself relax. After being massaged all of my muscles seemed to be very flexible and relaxed. When I was the person giving the massage I was nervous about putting too much pressure on my partner or accidentally hurting her. However, at one point Jamie came over to show how she was massaging and did it much harder than I expected she would. After that I used more of my weight to massage certain parts of the body such as the legs and back. It was great to not only get the massage but learn how to give one as well. I even enjoyed learning a little about the history of Thai massage and about how useful it still is today.
-Emily Stromme
This was probably the most interesting class session I’ve ever had. Overall, I really enjoyed Thai massage. As the giver, at first, it was weird, mainly because I hate feet. Hate is a strong word, but I am not a big fan of feet, and Thai massage seems to put a lot of focus on our feet and lower body. But after a while, I started to understand why we did the things we did and actually found the muscular system to be pretty cool. I have obviously known that there are all these different muscles in my body, but I rarely pay attention to them. I only notice them when they are sore! What I realized was our legs are so strong and powerful. This was evident when we had to lift our partners legs and rock/move them around. I feel like I never give enough credit to my legs for dealing with what I put them through everyday … running around, wearing heels to work, etc. Giving Thai massage is quite a workout! With any massage, being the receiver is, of course, awesome. In the beginning, I thought it was kind of weird having someone else touch me everywhere in a class (haha), but after a while, I really got used to it and found it very relaxing/enjoyable. My favorite part was probably when my upper body was being massaged. Even though my lower body is always worked harder than my upper body, I usually feel more tension and tiredness throughout my upper body, so it was great to relieve some of the soreness with Thai massage. A great explanation for me always feeling sore can be found in this phrase in the Body Systems article: “While the muscles might have their preferences for the kind of movement they like to do, they are constantly being affected by neurological intentions, habits, and gravity” (pg. 128). Being the extremely busy person that I am, my body goes through so much. When I first start doing something that I don’t normally do, my body and muscles feel so sore, but after a while, the soreness goes away, only to be replaced with soreness in a different area :(
-F. Widjaja
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I think this was the most enjoyable class yet. It was so soothing to be
massaged, and it really loosened my tight leg muscles, though the butt
massage left me very sore for several days.
Jessica (Mairi) Holtzner
I really enjoyed class on thursday. I love the body, which is why I take dance
classes. I just love being taught different ways to move it and think about it.
Learning about the muscle system was really beneficial. It was interesting
moving someone else muscles because I was not on the feeling end of it, but more
on the observational end. I found that the muscles are stonger and more tough
than I usually think, and I could apply alot of presure on them without hurting
the other person. I felt like the layer that covers all the muscles got really
streched out and it made my Yoga practice and bike riding later in the day alot
more enjoyable. Often in the Winter I feel that I have to really motivate my
body to do something, but on Thursday my body was really to challege and push
harder than usual. Overall, it was a really beneficial class and makes me want
to be trained in it with a friend, so I can enjoy that wonderful practice more
often.
-Joanne
I was so excited to hear we were doing Thai Massage on Thursday! I’ve done it before with Jamie and remember how much fun it was, or rather how relaxing and rejuvenating it was.
My partner was very shy to this new idea of touching one another and stuff. I, on the other hand, have not only done Thai massage, but contact improvisation where trusting, touching, and communicating is key. I am very comfortable with this kind of touch. She didn’t really want to relax fully. In turn I tried to be soft and gentle, but her timidness made me more timid. I tried to talk to her and tell her to relax. It helped a little bit in the short run, but then she would tighten back up.
Then she massaged me. Again she was timid. It was still a good massage, but I know it could have been better.
In doing this activity before, I never thought about the muscles. It was really interesting to feel exactly where the muscles started and ended and just how big they were. As dancers I feel like we know more about our bodies than the average person, but I still learned a lot from this class.
-Sandi Viall
When I heard that we were going to be learning Thai massage on Thursday I could not have been happier. I love massage, both giving and receiving, mostly because I am fascinated with muscles.
When using Thai massage on my partner, and this weekend on my boyfriend, I was very excited and amazed to experience the wide range of sizes and uses of our muscles. From the small and often forgotten muscles in our feet to the large and obvious thigh muscles, muscles are so important to movement as well as to living in general. Giving a Thai massage is much different than giving any other massage that I have given, it seems to require much less finger work and is much more enjoyable for the masseuse, at least so is the case in my experience. I feel that it is a more intimate form of massage, as energy was being transferred between partners and movements were made very smoothly.
When receiving the massage, I was happy to find how enjoyable it was. I wouldn’t have thought that simple pressing into the muscles could feel so good or release so much tension. It was very relaxing yet also invigorating to receive this type of massage, and left me in a good mood for the rest of the day.
I feel like I felt the strongest connection to the muscles though when giving the massage. I was able to focus on each muscle and experience its power. When receiving the massage I was more focused on the experience and the feeling. Both experiences were great! ~ Miranda Schmidt
This class was very nice; I really needed this. Though I usually have issues with my back, I know my leg muscles are very tense and always need some love. I’ve always had some ticklishness issues when it comes to massage, but I always tell the person giving the massage to carry on and that I’ll just deal with it. I never really know how much pressure to use when I am giving the massage. I prefer a little more pressure than most others do, but I know that everyone’s pain tolerance and sensitivity level is different, so I never really know what to do. In order to make sure I don’t hurt the person to whom I am giving the massage, I constantly ask them if the pressure is fine, which, as I know from experience, totally takes them out of that “happy place.” That sucks, but I know I have to do it in order to be effective without hurting them. I had a hard time figuring out what muscle was what, so I didn’t really think about that anatomy aspect as much as the therapeutic/pleasure aspect. We really needed more time in class for this little activity. Maybe we should revisit this in the future…
~Marcee Wickline
This was one of my favorite classes so far. It is remarkable how calming a massage can be. It was interesting to learn from Jamie how our entire central nervous system calms down we we are touched. I loved how the thai massage used the weight of the massager's body to get deep into recipient's muscles. I was also impressed with how the thai massage was almost like a dance that was being done between the two people. It was full of great techniques and left me wanting to learn much more about this healing practice. Thank you for the great class. - Suzanne Wilson
This class was extremely fun!!! It was by far my favorite class ever. Learning how to do a Thai massage was so fun and really useful. I have already practiced it on one of my friends, who absolutely loved it!
In class, when I was massaging my parter, I felt like I was getting a workout myself. It was hard to hold her legs up in the air because my arms got so tired! I also felt sort of tired when I was applying the pressure to her legs.
When my partner was massaging me, I was very comfortable. If I had not been really good friends with my partner, which I was, I think I would have had a harder time relaxing and allowing her to massage. Even with the partner I had, I was uncomfortable with her touching my feet because they are SOO incredibly ticklish. I felt very relaxed and calm when I was being massaged and felt great for the rest of the day!
Thanks for a wonderful and informative class!
~Melissa Eckstrom
I'm notorious for not wanting massages. Actually whenever the occasion arises I have always been the giver not the receiver. But in class today there was an open wave of connection and I released the tension in my body and just allowed my partner to manipulate my body positively welcoming the activity at hand.
It as nice not to worry about what always causes me to cringe, the kneeding hands of someone poking and prodding in different areas. In stead the idea of "pouring our weight" into the partner's body was our technique and this felt wonderful; plus it was an easy feeling to receive because it didnt cause any spontaneous tense feelings. Cetain tight areas of my body definitely felt the releaase of the withheld tension that Jaime described in the beginning of class, which has been the opposite effect for and other massage I can recal having. My body normally has a counter reaction to what is expected when it comes to massages.
Being the giver was awesome because it gave me a new way to look at the body while I gave a massage. Normally I simply focus on the tense areas, feeling for knts, but instead I was able to take in the overall feel of the muscles moving and reacting to my touch, feeling how they react to pressure when it was applied and where natural tension occurs. To be introduced to a point that I have never focused on was such an eye opening experience.
After this class I was able to think of a few more words I could add to the list we had in the beginning of class when we were describing what we saw in the picture:
complex, pliable, flexible, multiple, plentiful, connected
The Thai masssage was quite a surprise for me. Probably it was quite an effective way to understand muscles on our body. Receiving the Thai massage was a pretty good experience as well. On the contrary giving the Thai massage was pretty exhausting even though I went last (and for a shorter time).
I really thank my partner for giving me such a great Thai massage. All of my muscles were relaxed, although for a short period of time (they pretty much tensioned up at my turn for giving the message). It seems as the muscles or ligaments around the joints felt the most soothed (perhaps sensitive) while touched.
While giving the massage I was more exploring my partner's muscles rather then putting adequate pressure through my arms. I was fascinated by the muscles underneath the Scapula (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Human_skeleton_back.svg) since I had never noticed or felt the muscles there. I was also highly reluctant on giving massage on my knees. I will guess that initially body weight of our middle-lower part of our body which I think will be more then two-thirds of the total body weight be on the gluteals, before being slightly reduced as hands are pressed on the back. (Which might not be a good idea considering my body weight.)
All in all, this was another great class. Thanks to Jamie and Louis.
I absolutely loved thai massage, although I got really ticked at times. It was so nice and relaxing to have someone put pressure on all the muscles that felt really tense. I was lucky to get a massage first and afterwards I was so relaxed that I didn’t really want to switch places with my partner. Learning how to give the thai massage was also a great learning experience. I have learned about all the different muscles throughout the body in my various anatomy classes, but being able to actually feel the different muscles and relieving tension from them was something else. I got to compare the size and strength of different muscles and also learn which parts of the body should receive less or more massage pressure. Overall I really liked thai massage, and I would be more than happy if we got to experiment it again!
Sahar Z.
Overall, I really enjoyed learning about and getting a chance to experiment with Thai massage. It was interesting how Jamie explained that giving a massage of this type (with the proper form and bodily alignment) can be just as beneficial as the receiving end. As the first person to administer the massage, I felt a bit awkward at first, mostly because it's a bit bizarre touching a complete stranger. More than anything though, I was concerned that I might be applying too much pressure and I didn’t want to hurt my partner. Once I got into a rhythm, both of us seemed to relax, and the exercise was actually quite enjoyable. It was particularly fascinating to see how our bodies truly speak for us; if something was sore or tight, my partner would naturally tense up, despite the rest of her completely relaxed body. When receiving the massage, I was shocked at how the simple application of pressure could really relieve muscular tension I was feeling. I loved the part in which my partner held my ankles and gently pulled on my legs—an extension that I don’t normally get in day-to-day activities. Having the muscles beneath my scapula worked was another part that relieved significant stress. –C. McCoy
This was truly a wonderful day.
I was the receiver of massage first, and I really enjoyed it. I never notice how tight my muscles are until someone is really squishing them. It felt so good when my partner grabbed my heels and pulled them, creating so much space in my spine and hips. Oftentimes when I am just laying flat on my back I feel my lower back hurting, or my upper back curving, but the act of pulling my ankles really alleviates these problems. When my partner moved to my arm/shoulder blade/upper back I could feel all the knots and tension. My back is ridiculous. But it felt amazing, I just don't know how to really get rid of my knots and keep them gone!
I enjoyed giving the massage almost more than receiving! It was nice to take a moment before we began to hold our partners feet and just connect with them. I really liked exploring the different muscles and bones, and as I later found (in massaging my boyfriend) how amazingly different bodies feel. This seems obvious, but to really feel the density/tension/boniness of different bodies is pretty incredible. OH and the butt massage--BRILLIANT! Such a wonderful, neglected muscle.
-L.O'Neill
On this day I was running a few minutes behind and came in when Jamie was talking. She told us that we would be working in partners and we would be learning Thai massage. I immediately became anxious and as she continued to talk and demonstrate I became even more nervous. I finally got up and told Jamie and Louis that I just could not participate in this right now. When I left I was so upset and confused as to why this scared me so much. Generally I like my space. I don't really like strangers touching me and I definitely don't like touching other people unless I know that person very very well. Hopefully some day I can get past this, but for right now I am just taking baby steps because this is a big issue for me. Thanks Louis for you understanding and help.
*Kali
For some reason, this session with Jamie seems to be the quickest and most straining on the body for me. It was very interesting to find my body in pain after this relaxing exercise. I felt the connection with my partner while slowly touching the surface of my partner's legs. Hesitantly, I slowly transfer my weight onto the surface of her skin and muscles. Even if I was transferring weight onto my partner’s body, my body still resisted in putting my whole weight on her. This caused contraction to my abdominal while I resisted weight bearing. The sensation of my finger tips on the surface of her covered skin caused me to feel and imagine all the muscle tendons in her body. I had a visualization of her tensed muscle.
Next I placed my partner’s legs on the surface of my thighs. Posing in a slight squat and baring the extra weight, it increased the tension on working out my own thighs. While my hands secured her legs on my thigh, I slowly rocked my body back and forth. This motion created a strain on my legs. After finishing rocking my partners legs, I stood up and stretched my tensed muscle. By now I was starting to realize how tiring this exercise was.
Soon after 20 minutes, it was my turn to get the therapeutic massage. I felt comfortable laying on the floor while getting a massage. I usually get massages once in a while for relaxation. But to compare this massage to the regular one I get at my chiropractic. It explored a whole new dimension in my body. My body was especially tense knowing that I had an upcoming midterm later that day. I had a difficult time relaxing and easing my body into position. One place that I felt most interested in was the buttock massage with the knees. I never experienced anything like that before. I couldn’t really feel much until after class. Two days after my experience, I still felt the effect of pressure on my buttock, since I never had that type of massage before it was sore whenever I sat down.
QMLN
Doing different stretched and comparing the strength and flexibility of my muscles to those of other peoples is such a satisfying experience for me. I loved learning about the actual qualities of my muscles; the best to accomplish such an objective interpretation is through the eyes of someone else. It was interesting to think about what experiences have caused my muscles to be the way they are. There is tension in my shoulders, probably from stress; my legs are more flexible, perhaps from my experiences with gymnastics so long ago in my childhood. Focusing on musculature brought me back to thinking of my history, my past, and how I am a living reflection of those things. One relatively short thai massage instantly reveals I didn't spend hours on end running after a soccer ball so many years ago.
-Eugenia Prezhdo
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