5. * Now make both hands into fists. Starting at the middle of the chest just below the collar-bone, slide the knuckles of both fists outwards across the chest and then down the sides of the torso to the table. Press lightly.
Follow the ribs. Try, if you can, to let individual knuckles glide between individual ribs. Do successive horizontal strips in this fashion until you have covered the entire rib cage. Stop short of the stomach. Remember to go lightly: hard pressure will make this stroke feel terrible. If your friend is a woman, when you get to the central portion of the rib cage do just the two inches or so of ribs between the breasts.
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6. * This stroke is called pulling, and it is done along the sides of the torso.
Move around to one side of the table and reach across to the opposite side of your friend’s torso. With your fingers pointing straight down pull each hand alternately straight up from the table. With each stroke begin pulling with one hand just before the other is about to finish so that there is no break between strokes. Start on the side of the pelvis just above the thigh and work your way slowly up to the arm pit and then back again, moving a little less than the width of one of your hands with each stroke.
Once up the side and then down again is enough. Cross to the other side of the table and repeat on your friend’s other side.
7. * Move now to the stomach. Walk around to your friend’s right side if you aren’t there already, making sure to keep one hand in contact as you move. The various organs in the stomach area will be less constricted – and hence what you do on the stomach will feel better – if your friend has his knees in the air while you are working directly on the stomach.
There are two ways of going about this. The first is simply to place your friend’s legs in the right position and then let him balance there himself; by sliding his foot back and forth a little you will quickly find a natural point at which the legs almost balance themselves.