Good looking, short book on Swedish Massage techniques. I especially enjoyed the self-massage instructions. This book would benefit someone looking for detailed, beautiful drawings on the basics of a massage.

3 Stars

I requested <i>Press Here! Massage for Beginners</i> by Rachel Beider merely out of curiosity. As I'm sure many others in relationships have done at some point in their lives, I've definitely taken some time out to massage my boyfriend's shoulders and back before after a hard day and I thought it might be cool to see if I could learn a few techniques that could help me do a better job but also prevent my wrists from getting tired so quickly. The idea of massage has always been at least vaguely interesting, just on the account of being able to include it in my relationship (whether I'm getting or giving one).

Something I think this book did well was that it described the techniques adequately and accompanied it all with useful illustrations to really get the process conveyed to the readers. The bit about stretching prior to massage was something I had never once considered prior to reading the book and I definitely think it can be useful to be aware of. There were some aspects that I really had no interest in, particularly that of the oils and lotions, though I suppose that its a key facet of massage for some.

All in all, I think the book is useful to an extent, though not everything was useful to me in particular. I'm not incredibly interested in massage and I definitely feel that this is a book more for people who are interested in it as opposed to someone just mildly curious about a few pieces.

<i>I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </i>

This book is a very well illustrated overview of massage. I would recommend it to those interested in beginning partner massage. I think its a bit too low level for more serious work

Press Here! Massage for Beginners is a great introduction to massage. Filled with illustrations that thoroughly show how to effectively massage both others and self, the book shows massage skills and methods for all sections of the body: back, neck, shoulders, head, legs, hands, and feet, with extra pages for specific issues that may need special treatment by massage such as sinus headaches or arthritis. I would definitely recommend as a resource for anyone interested in massage.

Very informative book for those who have no idea how to give a massage. The instructions are clear. The pictures show the different parts of the body, and how to work them, and what might trigger pain.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4928" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screen-Shot-2019-01-26-at-9.30.09-PM.png" alt="" width="1584" height="1037" />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4929" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screen-Shot-2019-01-26-at-9.27.24-PM.png" alt="" width="1602" height="1045" />

There is even a section on how to give self massage. The other sections are on how to plan the session, and what strokes to use. How to stretch before working on someone, what places and where to work each section of the body, from shoulders to back, to neck to arms, feet, Head and Scalp. There is a section on how to treat headaches, and sinus congestion.

Elbows and hands can be used, and those techniques are also shown. The only technique that I use that isn't in there, is when I massage with my feet, but I doubt that that is as common.

Highly recommend this book for the beginning massuse. If you already know how to massage, the way I do, you might pick up some technique advice.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Very informative, and I learned a lot in a relatively short time. Very beautiful layout and figures, but some old fashion fonts are not all clear and a little distracting. The chapter called "treatment plans" is especially good, showing massage is not only for muscular problems.

Press Here! Massage for Beginners is a very instructive and informative book on massage. Showing routines and self massage it’s very helpful.

Review to be posted at all sources mentioned on my profile in a few days.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

How could I resist this book? I love massaging my fiance when he has had a tense day at work (or a tense week), and I could always use some new tips and ideas to make the massage even better. This one sounded right up my alley and not only that I also like the illustrations.

The book is split up in various sections. We start with Planning Your Session, following by Self-care (very important), then it is time for the massages, we head over to Treatment plans, and then there is also a very fun section on how to do massaging for yourself. I was definitely eager about that one.

The first part dives right in the different strokes, and boy I didn't even know these strokes I used had proper names. Dang, nice! Not that I will probably remember them, but maybe something will stick. Sorry, I can remember how to do the moves, but the names will evade me.
The first section was very interesting to me, I knew about trigger points already but it was still interesting to see them pop up again. I also learned some new tips, like using a rice bag and heat that to warm up the body/muscles. All very interesting!

The self-care section is very short, but I did like that it was added. Not sure if I will be doing stretches before massaging my fiance, but who knows. Maybe I will. At least I can do those hand/wrist/arm stretches.

Next up is massaging and there are all sorts of them mentioned. From shoulders to arms to legs, at times I got a bit bored with the descriptions and instead started focusing on the illustrations more.

The treatment plans were different than I had expected. What I had expected was treatment plans for massages in the long run, but instead this is about when you have an headache or constipation, that kind of thing and how to treat that.

The selfmassage section was very interesting, I knew a few of the tricks there but I also learned tons of new ones! Yay!

At the end is a glossary with all the terms and what they mean. Thanks for adding that one!

At most massages are also warning when NOT to use this massage. For instance several are warned against if you are pregnant.

All in all, a book I would highly recommend if you are looking to do massages or want to know more about how to do them, what pressure points do, where to look and how to feel certain things.

There are so many great tips and techniques shown in this book for a safe and proper massage. I especially appreciate the input of massage for women and self massage.