Here’s a simple, gentle neck massage video I’d like to share with you.  I found it on YouTube and chose it solely because of the massage technique. The reasons that I like this video are because:

1.  It involves massage and touch is a wonderful tool for pain relief.

2.  The therapist in the video (Athena Jezik) uses massage in a gentle, soothing, thoughtful way.  She doesn’t pull on the neck.  She allows it to move.  She doesn’t push on the neck but she gently assists it through its normal range of motion.

Some therapists stretch and push and try to shove the ear into the shoulder.  Yikes!  Necks don’t naturally move in that direction (ear to shoulder.)  But the neck bones are designed to smoothly glide and slide over each other in certain directions.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Athena has been practicing massage techniques for over 20 years. She has a lot of training and experience.

2. She is working on a healthy neck. Sometimes necks have changes in the bones which would prevent this type of movement. Each neck is different.

3. If you are doing this neck massage for someone and you feel a pulse under your fingers, let go.

4. Always respect the feedback that you get from the person you are giving massage to. If they say, “Stop” or “Too deep,” you must stop or lighten your pressure. If someone is doing neck massage for you, it is up to you to tell them if the pressure is too much, too deep, presses on nerves (you can tell!) or feels inappropriate.

5. A professional massage of the neck usually would include draping or covering for the rest of the body. Only the body part being worked on is normally exposed.  That’s the only complaint I have about this video.

Click the link strip below to watch the YouTube video to see simple neck massage.