10/02/2022
Scalenes group are some of my favourite muscles ♡
Take a deep breath in.
Nod your head "yes".
Turn your head to both sides and see if youre being watched.
Tilt your head to the side and wonder, what do these actions have in common?
☆ Scalenes ☆
Once upon a time during a massage school assignment to receive a professional massage and write a report, i received deep tissue work on my neck for the first time ever. These delicate muscles had never been touched, and they had been supporting me stressing and staring at a computer in an office for 12 years prior. The therapist was firm and fast. I winced, squirmed, held my breath, and because i had not yet found My Voice, i disassociated in the table, reliving a scene of being violently choked. to this day, i don't know if it was a buried memory or something else. The only comment my therapist had to say on the topic was "OOOOOOH SCALENES!" We hadn't even covered the neck in Anatomy, so this was my first time hearing that word. Ill never forget it.
I vowed that day to learn all about the scalenes. every attachment site and action. There had to be a gentler way to touch this sensitive part of the body.
When we covered Neck in Deep Tissue practical class, the technique involved a light squeeze and turn. Still i felt hesitant that i would cause a client to have an experience like my own.
During one of our last massage exchanges at with my dear friend and classmate .mentality we explored our way into a smooth modification one of the earliest swedish techniques we learned. A soft and slow slide under the neck in supine, pulling back and applying just enough deep tissue pressure with fingertips, all while calmly stablizing the shoulder girdle like a supportive friend.
Since beginning practicing as a MT, I'm so grateful that the clients finding me are asking for relief with that neck and upper shoulder tension I was so familiar with. So delighted after our session when clients rotate their neck with suprised smiles and say, "that didn't hurt at all!" (cont.)
