greetings friends I’m Jen hilman thanks so much for joining me today as I guide you through some simple massage techniques for relieving pressure and tension in the low back and hips so if you are working with someone who’s dealing with chronic sciatic problems or just chronic low back pain these are going to be some excellent massage techniques to help alleviate that tension right away so go ahead and like this video leave your comments below and don’t forget to subscribe to the new channel so to begin I like to start with just some gentle compression and stretching along the spine just start to open things up and loosen up any tension that’s on the surface of things so standing at the head of your partner can start by placing your hands just right across the tops of the shoulders leaning in your body weight and giving a gentle pressure here then making my way down the back I’ll take one step down I’m kind of coming to that space right behind the heart waning in making my way further down we start to come into the low back so you may start to notice if there’s any areas of tension that you can feel from here then placing my hands all the way at the base of the spine kind of coming into that space right above the sacrum I’m using the heels of my hands and just leaning my way in kind of pressing in a direction towards her heels so getting a sense of lengthening through the low back in the whole spine you can take this into a subtle full spinal stretch by placing one hand flat against the sacrum still giving it that downward pressure then bringing the other hand to hook in just below the occipital Ridge so I’ve got my thumb on one side my index finger on the other side giving a nice gentle hold I start to pull the skull away from the sacrum as I press the sacrum down so just gently lengthening the whole spine so this can be very subtle but your partner will feel it and it’s nice and deep it feels very very relaxing and good then after giving them that nice full length spine stretch you’re gonna come all the way up and this is where we can start to apply some oil to the skin to lubricate and start to move into some of those deeper techniques so I like to use a CBD topical cream it is excellent for relieving pain it not only works to relieve pain in the moment but when you continuously apply CBD it works to actually heal and repair our muscle tissue so it’s very healing and therapeutic in the long term as well as alleviating your pain in the immediate so I highly recommend CBD to be applied topically to the body I prefer to use the Cana chrism by desert stone tools some of the highest quality that I have found and it makes a tremendous difference when you know working with that CBD it’s not all created equal and if you guys follow me you know I won’t settle for anything less than the best so warming the CBD oil in my hands I’m gonna glide this oil across her skin and down into the low back since this is our area of focus I’m going to make sure that I adequately spread the CBD all over the area and the low back and across the tops of the hips here you can use CBD very liberally and especially this Kona chrism it blends very well into the skin it’s very hydrating and nourishing for the skin so you don’t have do you think twice about you know applying a little more it’s really really so good for the skin so feel free to use an ample amount so after I’ve warmed up the back and applied that CVD all over I’m gonna come along to one side whichever side I’m gonna work and this is where we will begin now I like to start with just a little work with my forearms here you can apply a little bit of the oil onto your forearms as well just to make sure that your skin is also lubricated and then I’ll come in applying my forearm right into the QL the quadratus lumborum and that is right in the area between the bottom of the rib cage and the top of the hip bone so once you lean in here you can really slowly glide your forearm across that tight muscle be mindful of where the point of your elbow is going because that’s gonna be very sharp and very acute the pressure that you can apply with that pointy part of your elbow so I really try to focus more on working with the flat part of my forearm it’s a little bit more gentle tool than the actual point of the elbow so again you can come in leaning forward applying that flat part of your forearm and just bear in mind that if you do come across any places that feel very tight where you want to apply more and specific pressure you can start to bend into the elbow gently and that will start to give you a little bit deeper and more specific pressure so you have some options there then after using my forearm to massage that QL I like to use my hands to just do some gentle meeting here in the massage world we call this petrissage so that is that sense of kneading and this is where you’ll really start to palpate and feel where the muscles are tight and if you’ve been watching any of my other videos then you know this is how I like to start to get a sense of where the particular knots or trouble spots might be and then I’ll come in with more specific pressure targeting those areas that are very tight so you can use the thumbs here or sometimes the low back can be really really tight your thumbs are not quite strong enough to fully penetrate those superficial muscles that’s when you might come in and start to use the elbow a little bit more right but just be mindful when you are using that elbow you don’t want to use a crazy amount of pressure you can always start light and work deeper and deeper taking your time to get there then after I’ve done some good work into the low back I also want to give some attention to this area across the top of the hips I like to use the flat parts of my knuckles here to start to make some circles around the outer hip so I’m coming along just like the edge of the sacrum and basically tracing the line across the top of the hip and this is again an area that you might start to feel some knots or some tight places and you can take your time there if you do come across any particular areas that you want to work I still like to use that flat parts of the knuckles I feel like you can get a strong firm pressure there without getting too cific because the glutes and the tops of the hips is another area that can be very very sensitive and very tender so you want to start slow and work your way in that is always my advice you know it’s like when you’re seasoning your food you can always add a little more but you can’t take any away it’s the same idea you know you can always work a little bit deeper but you don’t want to just go in abruptly when your partner’s not ready to receive that so after I’ve worked one side of the low back I like to do a little stretch so I’m just bringing the heel of my hand across the top of the hip and to the top of the shoulder just giving that nice long lengthening stretch and then we can prepare to move to the second side so starting with our forearm work we’re coming in using primarily the flat part of your forearm leaning in your body weight being gentle with your elbow it’s also helpful if your hand can be in a relaxed state because it softens the muscles around your forearm you can try this pass a couple of different times I like to work in groups of three but you certainly don’t have to you can trust your intuition trust your instinct or how many times you want to work this stretch and after you’ve done that work with your forearm you can start to knead into the muscle and this is where I really use my hands to help me determine where is it the most tight what needs the most attention where are the tight spots hiding and so for Veronica here I’m noticing a lot kind of along the side of that back muscle so I’m coming in with my thumbs to gently apply that pressure into the low back if you notice any places that are especially tight or if your partner’s body is just really tight you can come in with the forearm and start to use the elbow to work into those more specific points but only if you feel like that’s needed or if it’s going to be beneficial and I like to work along the top of the hip using the flat part of my knuckles tracing that line from the edge of the sacrum down to the outer hip and this is another area just to remind you to be very mindful about the amount of pressure that you’re using and this is a very large muscle group that we’re starting to tap into so you may notice knots or tight spots in any number of places so it’s a really important to take your time slow down feel what you feel and if you come across any places that are particularly Holden you can use a little more pressure there giving it a little more attention getting that more specific pressure and again I like to still use the flat parts of my knuckles I feel like it gives me enough pressure without being too invasive so you can take as much time as you need to work those tight spots into the top of the hip and to the low back and once you feel complete we can take that long side stretch bringing heel of the hand to the top of the hip and a hand to the top of the shoulder and just stretching it out from there and you can come all the way back to the top of their head and I like to finish with a long stroke all the way from the top of the shoulders all the way down so that even though we’ve spent a majority of our time focusing on the low back and the top of the hips there’s still a sense of completion of fullness working the whole back so here I’m just alternating the heels of my hands across the top of the sacrum there are a lot of muscular attachments that come in and attach right here on the sacrum so this is an area that feels really good to massage some of those tendons and ligaments that are attaching they’re moving to my knuckles one more time I’m just going to make about three or four good circles around the top of the hips not using too much pressure here my main focus is just relaxation and then you can glide your hands all the way back up to the shoulders and if you want to you can even take this stroke all the way up and neck into the base of the skull now before I end a massage I always like to take a moment of stillness either placing your hands on your partner’s head or maybe a hand at the low back where you just worked and give yourself a moment to ground and to feel a sense of gratitude and appreciation for this person and for the chance to share this work and I thank you for allowing me to be your guide don’t forget to favorite this video and trade with your partner so that you can receive this wonderful massage experience as well special thanks to my friend Veronica for being my gracious massage model today you can learn more about Veronica at her Instagram account is Veronica rock star do it you can also visit her website vitamin dance calm thanks so much for joining me today I hope you have a wonderful afternoon and I’ll see

you next time namaste