All about massage
Compiled by Laure de Lattre, Les Nouvelles Esthétiques, France

 
 
Today it’s hard to imagine a beauty institute/salon and definitely a spa that would not have any massages on offer. But which type of massage should one offer? What training should one have? Are there any hard and fast rules for giving a good massage? Should one absolutely stick to the massage protocol? Does the ideal massage exist? Here are the answers from three French massage experts.
 

The experts

Sophie Meyer has been a physiotherapist, masseuse, beauty therapist, consultant and international training instructor for cosmetic companies, spas, thalasso-therapy centres’ and beauty institutes for the past ten years. She is also working for Paris’ Education Department as a teacher. For the last two years she has been re-training all the beauty therapist teachers working for the Ministry of National Education in massage. She is also a journalist for Les Nouvelles Esthetiques France, and regularly writes articles on all types of manual therapy. Last but not least, she has also authored two books on massages.
 
Claire Davrainville heads up training in a method called “Fascia-esthétique¨” and has been an instructor in myofascial therapy and sensorial gymnastics for more than 15 years. “Fascia-esthétique¨” is a manual therapy that enables you to give body and face treatments. The aim is to contact the internal movement that animates your client’s body; it’s a form of energy. By placing your hands on your client, you contact this internal movement and energy, and you restore it where it is restricted. Your hands do not glide over the skin; instead, you change your hands-on positions during the treatment. “Fascia-esthétique¨” is extremely relaxing, restores the body’s vitality at a deep level and has an effect on all the fluids in the body.

Gil Amsallem, certainly not needing any introduction to the South African market after having taught the Bamboo Massage Course in June 2007, has been a physiotherapist for twenty four years, and has been training others for the last fifteen years. He has created his own massage technique that is known worldwide. He manages a spa in Paris, is the creator of massages for the Parisian day spa “La Bulle Kenzo” by Kenzo perfumes, and has also developed treatments for the Carita range. He has worked on the latest anti-cellulite range for Vichy and on personalised weight loss treatments. He teaches at the Marbeuf International School of Beauty Therapy in Paris while also developing massage techniques and moves for technical and professional diplomas in France. He has worked with more than eighty thalasso-therapy centres, beauty institutes and spas... and the list goes on!

At the moment, massages are highly sought after, will this tendency continue?

Gil Amsallem: Massage is really growing and will continue to do so well beyond the trends and fashion phenomena. The relation to touch is fundamental in life. We need to be touched to live well. Massage is a direct technique with immediate effect. That is to say that before and after being touched, your client is not the same. By simply working with your hands, no matter what massage technique you use, you change the nerve impulse and re-harmonise the energetic equilibrium. Manual therapies and massage in general, will have to grow in order to offer the well-being, pleasure, vitality and comfort that people are looking for more and more.

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Does the massage training in the various schools live up to the current demand?

Sophie Meyer: Not always. In France, and I understand this is also the case in South Africa, beauty therapy students learn about massage far too late in their training! Body massage is simply touched on and the major types of massage are not always taught. I’ve trained beauty therapists who already have their diplomas and some of them didn’t even know the basic moves! Many beauty institutes would like to offer a number of body massages like Shiatsu, Ayurvedic or Thai massage but these are not taught in the courses. The students must not count on their course alone, but must also get training elsewhere. I therefore encourage students to get additional training and even go overseas.

However, be careful as to how you choose your additional training - it is simply not possible to learn Shiatsu on a two day course. As you may know, in Asia, four years are required to learn how to do a Shiatsu massage properly! However of course, for use in beauty institutes, the full four years are not necessary, but you definitely need more training than two days!

What constitutes good massage training?

Laure de Lattre: Many have seen this lack of massage training as an opportunity. The result being that massage training has sprung up everywhere and spa therapists train alongside physios and the man in the street. However, all these people are meant to learn the same technique! So how does one distinguish whether the training is really helpful for spa therapists?

Gil Amsallem: The grounds for good training are a good instructor. As instructors, we are there to teach and pass on a profession. A quality instructor is one who has a lot of experience and who of course has diplomas, i.e. they have been through the recognised professional channels. One doesn’t become an instructor overnight! Not only does one have to want to pass the information and the technique on to others, one also has to have the necessary experience, the teaching skills and things have to be well thought over. As a rule, a good instructor generally has at least eight to ten years of experience. One can only start thinking about teaching once one has the necessary professional experience! When you are enquiring about the various courses and schools, don’t hesitate to ask for additional information about the instructors, their strong points and their experience and background. Don’t sign up unless you have been given information on the instructors.

Sophie Meyer: A good school is one that has researched their material and compiled structured and comprehensive courses, that meet the industry needs.

After finishing your training with the school, don’t hesitate to do other courses that will help you progress professionally and to reach the main goal of being able to create a massage adapted specifically to your client.

It’s the role of the instructors that run the various courses you do, to identify your strong points and to orientate you towards various types of massage. For example, you may have more of a gift for a relaxing massage than for a stimulating massage. It’s up to you, with the guidance of your instructors, to select the path that suits you the best in massage.

Is there a minimum duration that should be respected in order to fully master a technique?

Gil Amsallem: As a rule, trainings are done over a period of one to three days, sometimes five. After two days, you should be able to grasp the main points. That’s a start. To learn Shiatsu, four to five years are necessary and you can’t expect that after two days’ training, you’ll have fully integrated the technique. It’s not possible. A technique like that requires that you fully understand anatomy, physiology, that you understand the body and the body’s energy systems and that you have experience as well. However, two days is a good start. After that, one has to continue one’s professional training. One has never finished learning! If I take myself as an example, I’ve been learning continually for the past twenty-five years. With each course you do, you gain experience - so why not start with a two-day course? But remember; don’t think that you’re a Shiatsuki after two days of training!
 

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Claire Davrainville: There are extremely complex massages, like Shiatsu, that require extensive training. But other massages are a lot less complex. Introductory courses can be very helpful in order to identify the technique that suits you the best. Once you have done that, you can then take it further and into a real learning process and become skilled in that technique. When you find a technique you like, you are then able to become fully involved.

A course where one trains alongside physios and the man in the street is not necessarily a bad thing when the instructor is able to adapt their teaching within the group. A good instructor should be in tune with their students and be able to adapt to each particular individual. When several different types of students are present in a course, the problem does not lie with the quality of the instruction, but rather with the level of professionalism of the instructor. That is of utmost importance.

Can one be gifted for all types of massage?

Gil Amsallem: No one can be a specialist in everything! It’s not possible. Your personal affinities will guide you to your way of going about things and towards certain techniques in particular. Having said that, it’s good to be versatile. Versatility is regarded as important and is even highly sought after. A specialist can only be specialised in one area. However, one can also try to do everything by being good in all techniques. Some of you are excellent all-rounders. In beauty institutes, spas or even in thalasso-therapy centres, the staff have to be able to do the range of treatments on offer and thus be able to go from a relaxing massage to a stimulating one and then on to Lymphatic Drainage. That is what I mean by being versatile.

Claire Davrainville: I am hyper-specialised, so I know what I’m talking about, even more so since I train a number of spa therapists. It could really be advantageous for you to be hyper-specialised, as your clients would then come to you especially for a particular treatment. I may be biased, but why not offer excellence in a specialised treatment? The upside is that such a treatment will draw a different clientele.

Gil Amsallem: Specialisation is important. If your client wants a good Reflexology or myofascial treatment, it is important that they go to someone specialised in it. Specialisation is important but its just specialisation - it is really important to be able to master all the more general treatments as well.

Sophie Meyer: Given the current market, the ideal would be to master all the various techniques! However, as a spa therapist, it is also very gratifying to go deeper into a technique that perfectly represents who you are and work hard at it.

Does the ideal massage exist?

Gil Amsallem: Ideally, one needs to give a personalised massage that has an effect. Your client expects sensations and a result from a massage. Without necessarily being fully aware of the effects of a massage, your client expects results that will of course be beneficial.

Sophie Meyer: The ideal massage is, without a doubt, a “haute couture” one - one that is perfectly tailor-made to the needs and wishes of your client. The aim is to give each client a unique experience.

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Should one follow the massage protocol to the letter or can one adapt it and to what extent?

Gil Amsallem: There are of course rules, but following the same protocol and giving the same response with all your clients simply does not make sense, it’s impossible. Each case is a case apart. Each of your clients has their own story, sensitivity, problems and qualities and you have to adapt to them. No massage should resemble another and one could even say it should not be the same on the same person from one time to the next! You’re not going give the same massage to a client at nine in the morning as you will at six in the evening, simply because daily life and stresses change the person’s physiology and body. You have to be able to adapt in order to give the most appropriate treatment. Take, for example a client who comes to you twice a week for eight to ten sessions, it is simply not thinkable to give them the same treatment every time! Adapt your work, be daring and take initiatives and adapt to the situation at hand. You’ll find that certain aspects of the treatment will not be repeated the following time because you don’t feel its right or because your client’s state has changed. Be constantly aware of your client’s energy and follow that. Remember that energy changes - its just movement and it’s up to you to follow it...

Should one follow one’s intuition or rather question the client clearly about their wishes?

Gil Amsallem: Ask your client questions at the beginning of each session to find out more about what they’re looking for and how they’re feeling; what their general state is like at that moment. It’s important to get your client’s opinion about the massage they’re about to receive so you can best adapt the session accordingly. This initial discussion should last about two to three minutes - just enough time to assess things before beginning the massage and so as to harmonise it to your client as best as possible. As a result, sometimes you’ll start the treatment in the middle of your client’s back, another at their feet or with their neck and shoulders. The key word is to adapt the treatment!

Sophie Meyer: Before getting to that stage, one needs to know all the basics! Before giving a symphony, and before becoming a conductor and adapting your massage according to the needs and wishes of your client, it is essential to first master the various music notes and to learn the basics - that’s really the most important!

Claire Davrainville: Adapt to your client and learn how to decode what their needs are. Don’t let yourself be influenced by what they tell you. Listen to what they say but also listen to what their body is telling you - it’s not always the same thing... There is sometimes an extremely large gap between the way in which your client sees themselves through what they tell you and what their body actually tells you during the massage. You should be able to react immediately to the messages your client’s body is sending you. And it’s in this way you’ll be able to give a massage that is completely tailor-made.

Gil Amsallem: Having said that, certain highly technical massage protocols, like Lymphatic Drainage, should not leave any space for creative freedom. It’s a very rigorous massage and has to be done a certain way. The technique is integral to the massage itself - there are rules and a particular order to be followed, one does not go back and forth just for the sake of going back and forth - there is a physiological principal behind it all. There are traditions, and if one deviates from the codified traditional massage, one is no longer giving the traditional massage itself, but rather an adaptation thereof. Both therefore exist, and that’s why it’s important to specify that the relevant massage is inspired from another massage and that it’s an adaptation.

How do you therefore sell this “adaptation”? If your client has had the same massage elsewhere, how will they experience it when they come to you?

Gil Amsallem: In any case, no massage is identical, simply because everyone’s hands and personality are unique. Even if an instructor trains you using a very tight framework and a rigorous protocol, at the end of the day, the massage will be interpreted in a different way by every one of you. One can nevertheless respect the way it should be done, while knowing that an adaptation will be different. The important thing is that your client recognises the main features. Go and have a Shiatsu massage or Lymphatic Drainage anywhere and you’ll recognise the traditional moves and the effects will also be the same. However, emotional states will release in very different ways according to each individual. You could give an identical massage with a rigorous protocol and have just as many different reactions as there are clients who come to your for a massage. Everything’s different every time.

Claire Davrainville: Everything is different, and thankfully! When one massages, there is synchronicity between you and your client. And just like any person we meet, there are differing responses. If I talk to Sophie or to Gil, I won’t get the same answers and that is just what it’s all about…

 
 

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