Touch is a basic form of nonverbal communication. When you hold your wife tenderly, you are necessarily telling her how important she is to you. When your skins touch, you are talking out the feeling, some new and some a repetition of what you might have said before.
If you express this touching in the form of a massage, you are doing several things: you transmit reassurance, you ease sore muscles and you create a feeling of pleasure. You also speed up the elimination of waste toxins and stimulate circulation. In times of stress, you also relieve it.
And you don’t really have to be an expert. With a little skill and motivation, you’re ready to start. You can already give a basic massage without worrying you can do any harm since you are not interfering with any body systems in an intrusive sense.
Traditional or Swedish, massage uses three main strokes: stroking (effleurage), kneading (petrissage), and striking (tapotement). There are other types of massage such as reflexology and Shiatsu but traditional massage is the most useful for a home massage.
Give Each Other a Massage
There’s no hard and fast rule when you can give your spouse a marital massage. You can give it under normal conditions, when your husband/wife returns from a hard day’s work or when he/she is bothered by a certain kind of muscular pain. You can do it in an open area such as the family room or in the privacy of the bedroom.
You and your spouse do not really need a long time to be able to give each other a marital massage. But you need to concentrate to maximize the benefits. Relax a few minutes before starting the massage. The tension from the person giving the massage can easily be transmitted to the one receiving it.
Proceed this way:
- Begin the massage by warming your hands and resting them on the person for a short time to establish contact. Then rub pleasant-smelling oil onto your hands. Add essential oil to the oil for the additional aromatherapeutic benefit.
- Apply firm and even strokes. Always maintain contact with the skin. This will give the feeling that the movements are continuous and flowing.
- Keep additional oil in a warm dish nearby so you can dip one hand into it without disrupting your rhythm.
- Enjoy the massage. You can do this by changing the pressure on different areas of the body and communicating your thoughts on what’s being done to you. Tell your partner what feels good. He/ She may decide to prolong the massage on the area which, of course, will give you more pleasure.
- As the massage comes to an end, slow down the rhythm. Finish by resting your hands in n one position for about a minute. Doing it this way allows the area you are massaging to return to normal condition.
- The areas around the upper torso are most prone to tension: shoulders, arms, neck and forehead. You may decide to focus on them since stress is bottle dup in these areas by constricting free circulation.
- Pay special attention to any areas of knotted muscles you feel. Knead them with your thumbs and the heels of your palms, and smooth the areas around them to encourage the removal of waste products.
- Massage for about 20 minutes. Rest for a while to maximize the feeling. Then you can switch places.
Words of Caution
- You cannot just give a massage without observing certain precautions. These precautions are necessary.
- Do not take a bath or clean the body part that has been subjected to massage two or more hours after it. Your body had been warmed up. Any sudden change in temperature such as what using cold water brings can cause muscle pains.
- The best time to give marital massage is after a shower. Since it also relaxes the body and the mind, it is a great introduction to a great massage.
- Avoid applying heavy pressure directly over the spine.
- Do not overmassage any particular area. You can massage it for only a particular length of time. Remember that while massage gives an immediate effect, it has a delayed effect, too. This comes when the massaged areas relax and when the collective effects of the various massaged areas come together.
- Some essential oils should not be used by a pregnant woman.