Remembering massage sequence

[Hergierne]

Hi - I'm a couple of months into a VTCT Swedish Massage course now and enjoying it. I'm OK with the assignments and tests which I'm pleased about because it was all completely new to me.

I am getting a bit flustered about the sequences and have to keep referring to a booklet which our tutor gave us. We get plenty of practical experience on other students but they all seem more confident than I am. I just seem to go blank!

I am perfectly fine with other people and their bodies and they all say the pressure I use is fine but I start doing something then I'm thinking "should I be massaging with one hand or two? How many times should I massage this area? Which way should I be standing?"

I'd really welcome any help or advice. My tutor is always willing to explain and says that it will all just "click". Thanks.

 

[Kojiro]

Someone on my course told me this course is equivalent to 2 "A" levels is this right - don't understand this new qualification structure.

 

[Myles Hobbs]

Hi Twohoots,

I've been a Massage Practitioner for over 12 years. I never and I mean never massage anyone using a sequence. I always work intuitively. My advice for you is close your eyes and feel the body via your hands communicate with the body via your hands and go with the flow. If you connect with the body you will know what to do next.

Every body under my hands is different with different needs on different days. I never ever do the same massage twice.

Go with the flow of the massage, stop thinking about it!!

Feel free to PM me if you want to explore this more.

Cheers, Sue

 

[?Volleyball Babe?]

Quite right, Sue, but that probably won't get Twohoots through the course!

 

[Xavierts29]

Hi Twohoots - love your user name !

Whilst Sue us of course right, so is Supersub.

I would recommend that firstly you go over the course notes then try and write yourself a cribsheet - then check your cribsheet against the notes to check that you've have got everything down and then in the right order for the practical exam which is of course the only reason why you need a 'set routine'.

Take the cribsheet with you everwhere for a few weeks and learn it until you know it by heart - and of course practice on as many people as you can get your hands on. Lucky them !

Good luck with the rest of your course and yes you can do it !!!!! By the time you do the exam it will be second nature.

love Lou xxx

 

[chiyou51290]

Like the others have mentioned once you qualify you won't need to follow a sequence.

Yes crib notes are a good way to remember your routine.

What I used to do when I was learning was to massage an imaginery body on the couch. To help me visualise it I would use a pillow to represent the body and then rolled up towels to represent the limbs. Also when on buses and trains I would imagine myself going through the routine.

 

[Justin King]

When I did my VTCT course we we given a sequence for each body part and what we had to do. eg. Effleurage 5 times, pettriagse 3 times etc. This was good to get the hang of the movements and different techniques. When it came to the exams, our tutor wasnt bothered if we missed a few out or in the wrong order. As long as the pressure was good, you could see erythma, and it was flowing movement, she was happy.
After I passed, I don't bother using the sequence, i go with the flow. As sue said the massage is never the same. Some people are tighter in areas and need to be worked on longer than others.

If you haven't been given a sequence, write one out for your self and ask tutor for your help, and then just practise as much as you can. It will all fall into place, so don't worry. Use your family, friends anyone who is willing to have a massage to practise on.

Hope this helps,

Vickie

 

[MarMaraoae]

I agree with all the others. You will need to learn a set routine for your exam, so you do not forget anything. We wrote in brief form every movement in a way we could understand it so it just filled two A4 pages. We then had it laminated so it could be used over and over again, so the oil did not ruin it ( or you could just place it in a plastic folder). My friends drew a little diagram to help them if they could not describe it. This worked really well and initially when i qualified i used to go through it the night before a client came but now i just go with the flow and see what is needed. Good luck, it will come but what you need to do is practice, practice, practice, or imagine you are doing it on a teddy or empty couch or even in your head if you can, good luck! Our tutor provided us with a disc with the routine on it, but when i tried to follow it it was way too fast for me to use whilst actually massaging someone, but the college i was at helped organise it so this could be a possibility for you too. It was good for the movements initially if I had forgotten wahat to do. Take care and good luck with it all.

 

[Pilminhambnap]

Our tutor had the sequence typed out, but then drew bodies and the way the massage went, so much easier, but like others I rarely use the sequence as taught

 

[vampyre4blood]

Hi,
I agree with TotallyJane - laminate the routine and then prop it on your case studies bum when you're doing back/neck/shoulders or legs - and on their stomach if they are prone.
I found that none of my case studies minded - and after a while, I didn't need it anymore.
Once the exam was over I never used the sequence again!
Good Luck!

 

[Serendipity2]

I'm a newbie (my ITEC training course only started last month) so I am still at that "what happens next" stage. We are learning the 'ITEC routine' - the one that will get us through the practical exam next June. Our tutor has already said this is just 'the routine' for the exam (along with the way towels are folded and placed on the couch and various other things that are deemed to be 'the ITEC way'). But I can already foresee the time when any massage I give will be much more spontaneous and be changed to suit my clients needs.

My partner was my first guinea-pig last week as I wanted to try out the back, neck and shoulders moves I had learnt. So I wrote out the names on a flipchart pad and propped it up on a nearby chair. I like the various ideas people have suggested for learning the routine. If needs be I'll put a memory-jogger on a chair when doing my case studies - they are all friends and I doubt they will mind.

BTW .. re the moves themselves .. my own notes consist of strange little diagrams which help me remember what my hands should be doing at any one time. Not sure anyone else would understand them!

 

[mabisking26]

Yes that's right Twohoots.

 

[Digital Forest]

Good idea... I think when I was first learning, I just rested my cheat notes on my wife's towel-covered bum!

The key thing is to keep going. If your mind goes blank, don't just stop when you've done your three strokes of this or your six strokes of that. Keep doing what you're doing while you think of your next move. Your client won't mind... they won't even notice - but they will if you come to a dead stop!

 

[Liberals-R-Idiots]

I used a laminated print out of the sequence and put on a trolley at the top of the couch so I could refer to it while I was training. I'd also recommend breaking it down. Perhaps practice the arm routine for a few days on people outside of college or on a an imaginery person, and visualise it in your head, then when you feel you've got that move on to the front of legs, back of legs, etc until you are familiar with each individual section then piece them all together. Also when I trained, we were taught pretty much to do 3 of each move which made it easy to remember how many we had to do.

 

[The brain]

One other comment my partner made after my first practise session was about contact. At the college we have small trolleys near the couch which the massage oil is placed on - at home, I had it on a nearby coffee table. My partner said it was slightly disconerting when I broke contact several times to get more oil. So I obviously need to have a look at A***s or similar for something suitable before I start on my case studies.

 

[GOD is my FATHER]

Not sure what A***s meant!! I move the bottle of oil to different places near the massage couch so that it is always close to hand to avoid breaking contact. There are also holsters you can buy to go around your waist to hold your bottle of oil.

 

[Piano Chick 26]

I have a bum bag type of thing with my 2 pump bottles of oils in, so the contact isn't broken.

 

[Angelsky]

Re A***s .. I was trying not to give Argos any free advertising! As it happens, they didn't have any suitable trollies so I'll look elsewhere. But I will definitely follow up on the bumbag/holster solution (just had a quick search and found some examples).

I gave my partner another massage yesterday and had my crib sheet propped up on the sofa - but I didn't need to refer to it quite as much as last time. This time I positioned the oil on a stool near the head of the couch and it worked much better - I was able to keep one hand in contact as I collected more oil with the other. My partner remarked afterwards that she hadn't noticed one hand dissapearing from time to time.

Slightly off-topic but she also remarked on her arm not being 100% comfortable when I placed it behind her back to do her scapula. I had a small towel rolled up to rest her elbow on - she thought a bigger towel would have kept the arm more level. All good stuff to know for when I start on my case studies.