Petrissage is an excellent stroke that gets the blood circulating deep in the muscle. It's a kneading stroke that a lot of non-massage therapist use when they massage. If you ask someone to massage your shoulders for you they will usually use this stroke.
It works best on large meaty muscles. Place both hands down on the muscle you want to massage with your fingers close together and your thumb extended. The space between your two hands should make a triangle. With one hand, bring the thumb towards the fingers, like your closing your hand. It's a pinching action but you want to pinch or grab the muscle with your palm more than your finger. Your fingers get worn out the quickest, and you need to use them as little as possible. Now let your thumb and forefingers slide off the muscle and as the first hand releases perform the same pinching action with your other hand. Alternate doing this motion with both hands.
Make sure you stay relaxed when doing petrissage and don't overuse it. The kneading action is a great way to loosen tired muscles, but the repetitive motion of doing the stroke can cause injury in your hands if you do it too much. You can be the judge of how much is too much. Make sure you always pay attention to how you feel when you give a massage.
Here is a good video explaining how it's done.
Instructions for Beginners : Swedish Massge -- powered by ExpertVillage.com
Do you want to learn more Massage Techniques? You can find out more about how give an effect massage at www.learn-massage-online.com.
