The Ultimate Massage Therapy for Stress, Anxiety & Headaches, Ultra Relaxing

Before we get started today, I wanted to mention our Patreon channel, where you can find some really great exclusive content. If you're interested, you can find information in the link down below. Other than that, let's go ahead and dive right in. So if someone's feeling a little more anxious, I usually start with something still, and I might just place my hands on the head. And you don't want to linger too long, but even a soft touch like this on the scalp, it stimulates the nerve endings in a really soothing way and helps the nervous system begin to unwind a little bit. It might not look like very much. So the frontalis, the superficial muscle that covers the part of the forehead and scalp, and the occipitalis are constantly communicating. And if you can get these two muscles to just soften, you're going to help your client's nervous system feel naturally more calm without trying. The occipitalis in particular is in constant communication with the nervous system. That's why sometimes if you have chronic forward head posture, you're kind of in a defensive position and you're putting more pressure on your upper traps, your neck muscles, including your occipitalis. So if you can remember to just, you know, keep your shoulders relaxed and upright, your nervous system naturally feel more calm, even just throughout the day to kind of give yourself those little reminders. And whenever I am doing more scalp, I make sure that my arms are supported. Trying to do scalp free-handed is a lot harder, usually less effective as well. And if somebody's feeling more anxious, I kind of set a pretty relaxed pace. I don't move super quickly. I don't really ever move super quick, but maybe just slowing it down a little more. And I try to cover as much of the scalp as I can. Initially, stop turning your head. I'm just doing bigger circles across the scalp, making sure that I'm not pulling Mallory's hair. This is really good for the soft tissue and also the nerves. And sometimes we'll just throw in a few little pauses. And these pauses where you're resting your hands on your client are really great for the nerves. Just a chance for your client to tune in a little more to those subtle sensations of the nerves relaxing, focusing quite a bit on the temples. I like to just drag my fingers across. So do more sustained pressure on there. I usually like to do some softening of the senses as well. Sometimes I'll start with that or just throw it in, but it can be kind of awkward to just throw in. So that's also kind of awkward to do at the end, but now would be a good moment to just kind of cup the ears a little bit. And if I'm doing it kind of after I've started the massage, I'll very deliberately walk my hands down, just shutting out some of that noise. And you're not trying to create, you know, a total noise barrier with your hand. Just kind of softening everything. And same thing with the eyes. You're not trying to block all the light, but you want to cup your hands enough where you're not brushing either. And even my fingers resting on the skin is going to be really good for the nerves. I do that every time. And again, just deliberately kind of walking my hands and starting with some more scalp. So I really like to just cross over that hairline pretty firmly. This really helps the frontalis muscle relax and let go more. Nice and firm on the backstroke as well. I'll eventually rest above that hairline, focus on the forehead more. Focusing on that area in between the eyes, the eyebrows, and landing on those temples. Finally tracing those eyebrows and ending along the temples. Tracing the underside of the eyebrows. As I begin to work along the cheek, the cheeks and whatnot, I'm extra deliberate about resting my hands. Again, really encouraging the nerves to soften more than a typical face massage. Just pausing a little bit longer. I feel like you're just touching the skin very lightly. And as I kind of move into position, I'm aware I'm not losing contact. Just walking in with these temples. There are some techniques that are really provide a great bridge to different areas of the body. I try to keep my sequencing of things nice and smooth and flowy. The goal with a massage like this is for someone to be able to just relax deeply and feel like they've received a true reset of their nervous system. Just keeping things nice and flowy really helps. If someone is like half asleep or asleep, as I turn the head, just moving extra slow. Making sure that Mallory's head is supported with my left hand. Making sure that my right arm is supported as well. We've done some really good work for the frontalis, for the nerves along the scalp and face. And I'd like to work my way down towards the occipitalis and working above that hairline, doing almost invisible circles here. More often than not, I'll be working on the suboccipitals. Working directly on the occipitalis can really help the nervous system calm down. I usually like to spend at least a moment on the suboccipitals using about the same amount of pressure. Reversing the process towards the left side. Kind of more deliberate compressive circles along the occipitalis. And then finally, some more relaxed movements for the scalp. If you're someone that works very deliberately, you're more detail oriented, it's really important for you as a therapist to give yourself those little breaks of just being able to take a breath and not focus super hard on something too. That doesn't mean you start thinking about like what's for dinner and try to stay present. Just giving yourself little breaks is important. And same process more or less on this left side. Not uncommon to feel a little bit fumbly with your non-dominant hand. I feel pretty flowy more or less, but even after over a decade of doing massage, I still have those moments of feeling a little awkward with my left hand. Landing on the occipitalis. This is a very thin superficial muscle, so treating it pretty gently. This kind of work can really help with headaches as well, in combination with other things. And ending with some scalp massage for both sides. This is how we started, coming full circle. I don't really like to end my massages with softening of the senses, so to speak, because at this point I want my client to just accept the reality that they have to get off the massage table. And you know, clients can sense, like if you're twiddling your thumbs, it's really good to work methodically and with somewhat of a loose plan. Because I, you know, the goal is for your client to feel truly satisfied with their experience. That is all for today. Welcome to Yoga Plus. Courses available from pupil to yogi. Sort by yoga, fitness, and instructors. 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