(upbeat music)
- Welcome back everybody.
Today I wanna talk about tools,
and the tools that I use tools of the trade
that helped me with my massage practice and with my hands.
So I'm gonna talk to you about
the ones that I've used throughout the years
and some I've incorporated into my massage,
and some I kinda use by themselves.
So let me start with cups.
I'm gonna take you from the one I use the least
to my favorite one.
So let's start with the cups,
and I know you're gonna say,
how can your cups not be your favorite?
But it just takes a whole session to do cupping.
I feel that in order to give the client
the treatment that they need,
it's very important for you to spend
at least half an hour doing the cupping
where you put all the sets,
and that just takes too long for me for what I do,
I like tools that I can incorporate to my massage.
So I have the glass ones also
however, glass ones are not covered by our insurance,
so we have to use the plastic ones.
What I do is I like to use them on the back,
and I pump it three times
and I don't even have to take it off unplug it,
I can just move it around,
and it really works on the superficial fascia
it go it warms it up, it creates vasodilation
and see I can incorporate this into my massage
and just make it like a few minutes routine
instead of putting the cups all over.
It's like I mentioned that's a whole other session.
In order to unplug it you just raise it
and put a finger underneath and there it is,
and as you can tell there's vasodilation right there,
it's nice and bright and red
creating blood flow to the area.
The next one that I like to use are my bamboo sticks,
and these are warmed up I have a heating pad,
and they work really good for big areas.
This is kinda like when you're making tortillas
or when you're you know (laughs)
I just made myself laugh, okay?
This is like you can use it
if you know how to make tortillas,
or if you know how to a pie crust roll out a pie crust,
you can go for bigger people,
you can go in between the vertebrates here
and the rector spinae and it's nice and warm,
so the clients really like this.
Also for the glutes you know,
you can really get the glute work right here,
go from lateral to medial,
remember you never wanna spread out the cheeks,
so you wanna go ahead and do lateral to medial,
and the smaller one I like to use for smaller areas.
So I can put it on my hand,
and it gives a little bit slight pressure
and it feels really good on the clients.
You know, you can use it also on the scapula,
so like I said this is a tool that
I can incorporate to my massage.
You can go around the scapula,
and it's nice and warm and it saves my hands,
so this is one of the tools that I do like to use.
Now there's a whole routine that
you can do with a bamboo sticks,
and it's a whole massage that it takes about an hour.
So like I said I just incorporated here and there,
and this is really also good even for the neck here.
You know, you can go up the neck it feels really good,
and the heat from the bamboo makes it good
for the client too.
The other thing that I like to incorporate is moist heat.
Remember we can do hydrotherapy,
and this does wonders it does the work for me.
So let's say I am working on her low back,
so I can put this on her upper back,
and leave it there for 15 minutes
while I'm working another area
and by the time I come back to the rhomboids
they're nice and warm and supple,
and I can go ahead and start working on them.
So during the winter time I love using the moist heat
and during the summer time I like to use the cold
and I won't dare put it on her 'cause she'll jump,
but I use this like on the back,
on the low back, on the legs,
this really gives you a lot of
it numbs the area remember heat and cold have
the same secondary effects,
so if you use cold, if you use ice
it makes your skin really white 'cause
it pushes the blood flow away from the surface,
but once you remove the ice the blood flow comes back,
and it makes it really red,
and the same thing happens with the heat.
The heat draws out the heat and the redness right away,
the blood flow but once you remove the heat
the blood flow goes away and it turns white again,
so it's the same secondary effects on both of them,
they have the same effect it reverses.
So using ice or heat is really good to incorporate
into your practice and it makes your work a lot easier
because it works while you're working in another area,
you can come back to it and the muscle is nice and relaxed
and it lets you go in a little bit deeper and do your work.
Gua sha is a technique,
it's a oriental Chinese technique,
and you can use tools with it.
Gua sha is the technique not the tools.
I actually have several tools here.
I had an instructor that taught me gua sha,
and he was a Chinese doctor about 20 years ago
and he told me just use spoons,
it's a lot cheaper to use the spoons.
Then this is the water buffalo bone,
you can use a credit card even a credit card will work,
the thinner it is the more you're gonna draw out the blood,
and it's gonna create vasodilation a lot faster.
The thicker the edges it's a little bit slower,
you don't have to use it for a lot of times
you can use it for like 20 seconds,
just use it for 20 seconds,
and it does the same thing as the cups.
So lemme show you how that works.
So you wanna make sure you use a little bit
of lubrication here so that the skin doesn't get irritated,
and I'm gonna start with a thicker one,
so what you do is you scrape,
and you only need to scrape for like 20 to 30 seconds
not too much and this is why this one is a very good one
to incorporate into your massage.
It feels really good and what this does
and it shows you right away where there is ischemia,
like right there I can feel it,
it's really tight and also the fossa where it's really tight
and what I'm doing here is creating vasodilation,
and it pops up where she has the most congestion.
So this is a really nice tool to incorporate
only 20 to 30 seconds.
So it's easy to incorporate into your massage.
The spoon I really like it for neck,
you can really just scoop, scoop out.
It really is good as long as you're not on the cervicals
you can really get the upper trap,
I wanna see if you can get a little better view
of what I'm doing.
All I'm doing is scraping up right along the neck,
I'm really getting the levator and the upper trap,
and I'm not on the spinous processes
or even the transverse processes all I'm doing is scraping.
I can scrape by the rhomboids,
even the infraspinatus and supraspinatus,
so this is really really easy technique
and it's comfortable on my hand,
I can really grasp it good with a handle,
these cost a dollar at the Oriental Store,
so this is actually one of the best tools that I like to use
and gua sha is the name of the technique.
One of my favorite things to use is the beveled L-bar,
and this little edge right here lets me go right close
to the lamina groove right by the transverse processes,
and I can really go up and down off from C7
all the way down to the lumbar area.
I can use also the scooping out motion
like you're scooping out between the vertebral column
and all the way down the lamina groove.
It's also good to use in between the vertebrae people
that have breathing problems in between the intercostals
this is also good for that.
You never wanna use anything like this on the cervicals.
So it's really from T1 all the way to the lumbar area,
and also to get to the QL it's another good one
because you could set it at an angle,
you can get to the belly of the QL right here
with this bevel tool.
My second most favorite is the flat one.
I use this one almost in every massage that I do
'cause it really it's flat it lets me get to
in between all the muscles here, the rhomboids,
all the lats, all of the infraspinatus, supraspinatus
even a little bit right here up by the levator
and the upper trap and on the glutes this is really good
to use on the glutes the origin of the QL
and the lats even on the forearm.
Now for my favorite I know you guys are gonna be surprised
what favorite tool is and you're gonna think
it's not a tool but for me it is,
and it's my CBD massage cream from Lacuna Botanicals.
It really is my secret weapon because at the same time
that I'm helping my clients you know relax,
and it does relieves their pain,
it also relieves the pain from my hands.
I rub it in and then I rub it on my client
so it really helps me to be able to get
through the whole massage without my hands hurting so much.
My thumbs really hurt now after
so many years of use and abuse,
and I do wanna talk to you a little bit
about some of the things that have hurt my hands
because I used to use my thumb's for everything.
So that's the reason I incorporate some tools now,
and I incorporate even my elbow,
you know, your elbow can be also a tool that you use,
and it helps to really relieve a lot of the pain
from my hands so that is my number one tool.
(upbeat music)
So there's a lot of tools out there.
I don't really use a lot of these,
but they are out there you know,
this is another good one that you can use you know,
this one's not too bad actually,
I just never got used to using this one too much,
but this one's also really good like even for the neck,
you know, some are made out of stone.
This was very uncomfortable for me because it's too big
I just could never get used to this one.
This is ice so for somebody that has you know,
like this area here that's really red you know,
a very specific work where you need to really works
in a small area with the ice,
so this is frozen and it can numb the area
so can let you go back in and work a little bit later
you know work it in a little bit more.
So this can numb the area and bring down the inflammation.
Remember ice brings down inflammation.
This is another one that used to be my favorite.
However, this one for me really hurt my thumb
because I have really short thumbs.
So it's sat right on the carpal metacarpal joint,
and eventually with all the pushing it really started
you know, damaging and hurting my thumb more than saving it.
So the reason I'm showing you all this is 'cause
it might really work for you,
it might be a good fit for you.
So find out out of all the tools
that we have here you know, all the array of tools here
which one is the best for you to use,
the one for you to feel comfortable,
and incorporate into your massage,
and the reason that we use tools is to enhance our massage
and to help us out a little bit.
I still am a firm believer that our hands you know,
obviously we have nerve endings and we can feel
however, I think with practice we really get
to feel the body and even through a tool we can feel
where the client needs a little bit of extra work.
So remember to do your nerve ending strokes
to reach closure with your client,
and I hope this video really helps you to figure out
what tools you would like to incorporate
and enhance your practice
and save your hands at the same time.
Stay tuned for our next video,
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Till the next time create a good day.
(light music)