Elements of Touch

Slow Down & Feel

Massage is more than a series of pushes, pulls, and squeezes; it is an exploration of the infinite details of existence. It offers us the opportunity to dive into life, celebrate every exquisite sensation, and cherish each second.

In every second, there is a snapshot of infinite beauty and awe. No matter how closely we look at something, there is always more to see. When we apply this philosophy to touch, we can dial in and truly be present in the moment.

To accomplish this, you must slow down. Give yourself a moment to process the intricate data your brain is receiving. Moving too quickly blurs the information and mutes the sensation. Moving slowly gives you enough time to notice details that would otherwise be invisible.

Palception

• Touch Palception: The therapist’s heightened sensory awareness and perception during active palpation or massage. It encompasses the nuanced feedback from varying pressures, tissue textures, angles, and movements felt through the hands, combined with conscious attunement to how these actions influence the client’s sensory experience and therapeutic outcomes.

To improve your ability to feel and explore during a massage, you must develop your mind-body awareness and somatic vocabulary. Thankfully, this type of learning can be a lot of fun and can be done anytime you are awake.

There are a handful of ways to improve your palception, but the primary methods are to:

• Imagine what you think something would feel like, then describe it.
• Directly interact with it, then describe it.  

For Example,

• If we slid our hand over silk, it would feel smooth, silky, soft, and luxuriously slippery. A freshly waxed car would feel sleek and polished, and a velvet cloth would be soft and plush. A windowpane would be hard, cold, and perfectly even.
• Running our hand over sandpaper would feel coarse, harsh, and abrasive. Moving wet sand between our fingers would feel gritty, and with enough focus, we could feel the individual grainy particles. Holding a rock, we might feel the uneven, rugged, and jagged surfaces. A wool sweater against our bare skin may feel scratchy, and the sharp protrusions of tree bark might feel rough.
• Tickling a down feather against our cheek could feel fluffy, light, and airy.

After describing how it feels to you, imagine how it would feel to someone else. This builds a neuropathway in your mind that trains your brain to imagine how your touch may feel to someone else.

Elements of Touch

Five Elements of Massage

Point, Shape, Pressure, Line, and Movement

Every detail of a massage may be observed, analyzed, developed, and explored to improve its quality.

The goal of a massage is to provide the greatest possible comfort, joy, and peace. When we take the time to dial in on the most subtle details of how we offer touch, it enhances the experience of those who receive our care.

Point

Point is the fundamental building block of touch, serving as our point of contact with the body. Nearly every area of the hand can serve as a point of contact, generating its own unique sensation.

There are three sub-categories of a point: focal, presence, and secondary points.

• Focal: The focal point is the primary area you are applying pressure to. 
• Presence: The presence point is any area of your body that is touching the client, whether on purpose or by accident.
  • Purposeful touches may include maintaining contact when performing necessary tasks or moving their arms when draping.
  • Accidental touches are when any area of your body touches someone unintentionally or absentmindedly.
• Secondary: Secondary points are areas you touch a client during a technique that are not the primary focus. For example, when using petrissage on the trapezius, the focal point may be your thumb and index finger. While the thumb and index finger are the primary digits used in the technique, other fingers are still involved. Any other finger touching them can create secondary sensations that may cause discomfort.  When we are aware of our secondary points, it increases the enjoyment of every technique used.

Shape

The element of shape is defined by the size and form of a point. The sensation generated by a technique will change depending on whether it uses a finger, knuckle, elbow, tool, or another surface as the point.

There are two subcategories of shape: size and form.

• Size: refers to the surface area of a point, ranging from sharp to blunt and from big to small.
• Form: The physical configuration of a point. An object shaped like a blob feels different from a cube, an open or closed hand, or the sides of basalt stone.

If the point were the tip of a paintbrush, the shape would be determined by its size and angle. When painting, the brush can significantly alter the appearance of a project when completed. In a massage, it transforms how it is felt.

In addition to the feel, the size of a technique’s point may influence the perceived pressure of your touch. Applying kinetic force to a small or sharp point will feel like stronger pressure.

An example of a sharp point could be the end of a finger or a scraping tool. 

Smaller and sharper points may also be used for detail work. This is exceptionally useful during scalp massage, as the scalp tends to become overstimulated or numb with repetitive techniques. This sensory phenomenon is called the PAP (Pleasure-Annoyance-Pain) Threshold.

While the tip of your finger may be a tiny space, adjusting the point and angle at which the kinetic force is applied through your fingertip can create numerous unique sensations. For example, applying pressure through the soft palmar surface of the distal phalanx will feel different from applying pressure through the bony edge of the fingertip.