Massage & Exercises Combined / A permanent physical culture course for men, women and children; health-giving, vitalizing, prophylactic, beautifying; a new system of the characteristic essentials of gymnastic and Indian Yogis concentration exercises combined with scientific massage movements; with 86 illustrations and deep breathing exercises

by Albrecht Jensen

THE COMBINED MASSAGE EXERCISE No. 13

Massaging with each hand simultaneously upward over each opposite thigh, hip, lower side of body and inward and upward over nipples or breasts and upper chest and stroking down each side of the lower back and buttocks; at the same time, bending and raising the upper body.

Detailed Description

Position.—Standing erect, heels about eight inches apart, and feet nearly parallel, legs and feet kept stationary, knees straight.

Exercise No. 13.

Fig. 13 A. Fig. 13 B.

Fig. 13 C. Fig. 13 D.

Fig. 13 E. Fig. 13 F.

Fig. 13 G. Fig. 13 H.

Without bending the knees, bend the upper body forward and cross the right forearm over the left, or the left over the right, placing the right hand transversely over the front of the left thigh, just above the knee; the fingers of the hand are kept close together and pointing to or around the other side of the thigh. Place the left hand in the same way and at the corresponding place on the right thigh (Fig. 13 A).

Stroke thus upward over the front of each thigh with both hands simultaneously, continuing from there, in the same way upward over hips and lower sides of the body (Fig. 13 B and C), and inward and upward over the nipples or breasts and upper chest, where the hands cross each other and continue outward to their respective sides underneath the armpits (Fig. 13 D, E and F).

Then, barely moving the arms, turn the hands from there around on each side of the back, and without here clutching the hands stroke now with the backs of the hands and fingers, downward over each side of the lower back and buttocks (Fig. 13 G and H).

The upper body is, of course, raised while the hands are stroking upward over thighs and hips and bent slightly backward while stroking inward and upward over the chest.

This exercise done five times will take about fifteen seconds.

Note. When stroking and pressing upward over the front part of the thigh, let the raising movement of the trunk draw the arms and hands up as far as the motion permits.

Combined with Deep Breathing

A special deep breathing exercise may be added in the following way:

Fill the lungs with air through the nose, while stroking from thighs up over sides and chest.

Retain this air in the lungs, while the hands are stroking down the back.

Exhale this air through the mouth, while bending the upper body forward in order to stroke upward over the thighs again.

Analysis and Effects of the Combined Massage Exercise No. 13

This exercise is combined in such a manner that there is obtained the movements of the arms and the bending of the trunk forward and backward, together with massage of the front of the thighs, the hips, the lower sides, the chest and breasts, the lower back and buttocks.

The movements of the body, arms and hands in applying the massage movements, exercise the muscles and nerves of the arms, the shoulders, the chest, the back, the abdomen and the hips. They also influence the abdominal organs and the heart. The nerves of the legs are stretched.

The massage influences the muscles, vessels and nerves of the front of the thighs, the hips, the lower sides, the breasts, the chest and the lower back. It also influences the heart and the kidneys.