The other day a client asked me if everyone had tension in the same spots or if I was specifically finding the spots that needed attention.
And the answer is yes and yes.
Yes, people mostly carry tension in the same areas. Almost everyone in the last couple of weeks of treatments needed attention to the shoulders, neck and chest. And so to some extent there are patterns there that set me up for a certain degree of success (success as in, successfully finding the spots that need attention).
AND, at the same time it’s not just a matter of pressing on exactly the same spots for everyone. This is where it becomes a millimetres game. Because each of these areas have almost endless possibilities for where trigger points could be housed.
So whilst it would be a decent treatment if I were to just generally press the same areas for everyone, it wouldn’t be “mind-blowingly awesome”, which is what I’m aiming for.
That takes detail. It’s a millimetre to the left on this side of their body and 2 mm to the right on the other side. It’s an extra mm deeper in the muscle for today’s client than yesterday’s. The slight shift of the angle at my elbow makes the world of difference for the trigger point I’m seraching for right now. The extra mm of rotation of my arm takes me from being “oh so close to the right spot” to “stay there and don’t move”.
It’s in those details on a person-by-person basis that make all the difference.
It’s also the process by which this work takes on so many potential shapes, so many (almost endless) options for the application of pressure. It’s the investigation required in this process that makes the client feel like they’ve just had the most thorough massage treatment of their lives.
And on the practitioner side of things it’s also the process by which the work never gets boring.
Because when we’re working the millimetre game, you have to be so deeply attentive to what you’re doing and to the effects of what you’re doing, that there’s simply no time for feeling bored.
It’s an exploration of living tissue and at this minute level it’s remarkably different every single day, for every single person.
That’s the game I try to teach you when you come and study with me.
If you’re reading this with a keenness to explore on such a detailed level, check out our course calendar over here.
And if you hear your massage therapists mentioning that they’re getting bored of their practice – send them my way please. We’ll peel back the next layer of their explorations together.
Drew.
You might also enjoy reading “Sometimes leave it alone.“.