Here we have Jamison, who's just had his bath. This is the best time to do a baby massage, either this or before the child goes to bed. Don't do it after a meal lest we upset his tummy. We'll start by demonstrating some basic moves. Let's roll Jamison on his tummy. We will begin with the push massage which is a straight, basic stroke. I'll use a bit of powder to show you how easy it is to use with the basic stroke. A straight stroke is simply pushing the thumbs straight up. Use a light touch; never use a heavy touch on the baby. This is a straight push movement. You can also use little circular motions with the same light touch. Alternate between the straight push and the circular push. We can also do a divergent movement which means to push away in different directions. We can do a divergent move on top of the head going this way, thumbs moving away from each other. Those are the three push movements: the straight push, the circular push, and the divergent push.
Now we'll do a kneading massage. We use our thumb with a slightly heavier stroke, kneading our way up. We can use our other fingers to do a kneading massage. We may reinforce the fingers to do a kneading massage. This can be a stroke massage or a circular massage. We can do it in a clockwise or counterclockwise movement.
The next movement is a fascia movement where we latch on to the skin and move the skin and the tissues beneath the skin with what we call the fascia. This is a good movement to make with the whole hand. With the whole hand or several fingers, we latch onto the skin and move. Again, we can move in a straight up-and-down movement or a circular, clockwise or counterclockwise movement. Notice my fingers are not moving across the skin at all; it's latching on and moving the skin.
If you want to create a stimulus, you can use a heavier stroke. We dig in with the point of the knuckle and work on a specific point. This is a heavier motion, done either clockwise or counterclockwise.
Now we'll do a rub massage, which is a gentle stroke using both hands. This is good for large areas of the body, particularly the abdominal area. We always do a circular movement in this area. You can use just the pads of the fingers.
Next we'll do a grasp massage. We'll turn the baby around and pick up the skin. It's like rolling the skin. We're picking and grasping and rolling the skin. We need a bit more powder. This is used for parts of the body where the skin is fairly loose. We can work into the shoulders. We are picking up the skin with the fingers while the thumb remains in place. We are picking up the muscular tissue.
Now we will do a press technique where we use the pads of the fingers (or the whole hand) and press the skin down. Apply a little pressure. Use both hands, one on either side of the body. We're not digging in at all. We can press with both hands on the back. Always try to hold on to the baby with one hand and work with the other. If you can manage to hold the baby while working with both hands, that's fine. That completes our basic massage techniques.
With meridians, we have the yin meridians that run up the body, and the yang meridians that run down the body. The yin runs up inside the legs and up the front of the body and inside the arms, and the yang comes down on the outside of the arms and down the back of the body and legs. That's how the meridians basically run. The meridians are a bit like subway lines. You have lines and stations (acupressure points) along the meridians. These are points where energy accumulates or blockages occur. By doing baby massage, or shiatsu, we can release the blockages in the meridians and help keep the body balanced and in good health. These passages called meridians link all the internal organs and they are fairly close to the skin so they are accessible with these pressure treatments. There are 361 acupressure points along these meridians and we can work on them individually or, in the case of this video, do a basic massage treatment that will cover all the meridians. By doing a massage treatment on the baby, we can take the energy through these meridians and acupressure points, the baby will be healthy and balanced. If there are any problems, you'll pick them up before they develop into any sickness. Even in times of sickness, you can massage the baby with good effect.
Different forms of massage have different effects on the body. The slow, light rub is a relaxing-type massage. The heavier movements and rapid rubs tend to have a more stimulating effect. Here are four things we need to remember when doing a massage treatment: the force of the rub, the technique we use, and the rate and duration of the treatment. For most babies, ten minutes to half-an-hour is quite adequate once a day. Some people like to massage their babies three times a day. It all depends on how much time you have with your baby.
