MotherTouch: Massage & Acupressure for Pregnancy, Birth, and Motherhood: Fact or Fiction? The Dangers of Ankle Massage During Pregnancy

MotherTouch: Massage & Acupressure for Pregnancy, Birth, and Motherhood: Fact or Fiction? The Dangers of Ankle Massage During Pregnancy

Craft Projects for Massage Therapy - Part 6

Tool Belt Apron

A great idea to keep your oils and lotions within easy reach while protecting your clothes from oil stains with this tool belt apron. If you're anything like me, whilst the Massage Oil Holster is great, I still find that I end up with oil all over my clothes, this tool belt apron is a great option.

Pockets can be used to hold massage oils, pens, receipt books or even for use with Hot Stones: Warm up your hands prior to or during the massage by dropping a few into the roomy pockets.

Tool Belt Apron Materials

Suitable fabric for the apron, this blog used cotton, but I am thinking maybe a more hard wearing fabric such as twill might be better.

Twill tape

Cotton thread

Full instructions to make up the Tool belt Apron can be found here

Craft Projects for Massage Therapy - Part 5

Rice Filled Hot & Cold Packs

Heated rice bags simply placed on anywhere your client feels the pain whilst helping to relax their mind and body is a great way to to start of your massage. The rice bag will mold to the area and soothe the area.

Hot rice bags are great for sore aching muscles, fibromyalgia and for lower back pain jobs. They are also useful to warm up the bottom of the bed, so that your feet will stay warm on cold nights. Putting a hot rice bag on arthritis aches is a wonderful idea for fast pain relief.

The rice release a moist heat that helps to aide circulation and pain relief to sore muscles and joints. As the bag cools down, the heat becomes more dry and penetrating, and your own body temperature will keep the bag activated for a fair amount of time.

Cold rice bags are great for relief from migraine and recent muscular injuries, simply place a bag in the freezer and use when required.

How to make your own Rice Bag

Fabric rectangle, 25 x 12 inches
2 pieces of wide ribbon, 10 inches long each
Rice…….(I didn’t count but I’m thinking around 8-10 cups)
Thread, sewing machine, scissors, etc

Full instructions can be found here

Craft Projects for Massage Therapy - Part 4

Lavender Eye Pillow

Eyes often hold lots of stress, fatigue and tiredness. The simple act of resting your eyes, by turning your awareness inwards invites your mind and body to follow. A lavender eye pillow is an easy and effective way to relax and enjoy the wonderful benefits of lavender aromatherapy. 

Simply place the eye pillow over your clients eyes, the soft gentle pressure of the eye pillow gently releases tension in and around their eyes, whilst they inhale and begin to relax and enjoy the calming benefits of lavender. Lavender is also a great aid for headache relief.

A great tip it to place the lavender eye pillow before treatment in the freezer, which is especially nice to help reduce puffiness from allergies.

To make this eye pillow you will need:

Two pieces of organic cotton, silk or even a warm velvet

4″ x 8″ is a good size, slightly larger than a cheque book

Weight (when filled) around 1/2 lb or 230 grams is ideal

Fill with linseeds (they are lighter, gentler and softer than rice)

Full instructions on how to make the Lavender Eye Pillow here

Craft Projects for Massage Therapy - Part 3

Soft Cloth Face Cradle Covers

Make your own reusable face-cradle covers from cloth is far better than using paper face-cradle covers, which are then thrown away after each use and far more eco friendly to the environment.

Things you will need:

Sheet of butchers paper

2 yards of fabric, cotton or fleece

Sewing pins.

Choose a fabric. Fleece is a good option because it wicks away moisture, is soft and easy to work.  Polar fleece is soft and is made from wool and recycled plastic bottles, so it is a good use of recycled materials. Organic cotton is very soft; both are washable.

Read more: How to Make Your Own Face Cradle Cover 

If you are not that creative, you can purchase handmade face cloths from this Etsy site

Craft Projects for Massage Therapy - Part 2

Holster for Massage Oils

Another great creative project for your Massage Therapy business.

Does your massage oil when massaging always seem to be too far away or in the way? The massage oil needs to always be close at hand so you can apply more to your client easily without interrupting the flow of the massage and breaking contact.

Making your own holster can add that uniqueness to your business whilst saving you some pennies too.

Read more: How to Make a Holster for Massage Oils  or if you prefer you can purchase some ready made handmade pouches from Hipholster on Etsy, who ship to the UK too

Craft Projects for Massage Therapy - Part 1

Bolster Cushions

We are all looking for a little uniqueness to add to our professional services, whilst looking for ways to save money. I found these great creative projects whilst surfing online, that can be added to your Massage Therapy business, that will enhance your practice by adding that finishing touch.

Bolster cushions are a great addition when massaging. Bolster cushions can provide extra comfort for your client on the massage table. They help support the natural curvature of the body and encourage deeper relaxation. The more relaxed your client is, the more beneficial the massage will be.

Here are some tips for using bolster cushions in the face up massage (supine), face down massage (prone), and side-lying massage positions.

Face Up Massage (Supine)
Place a massage bolster under the knees. Using a bolsterto elevate the head and neck is helpful for clients with asthma, allergies, or congestion in the chest or sinuses. Adjust the bolsters as needed.

Face Down Massage (Prone)
Place a massage bolster pillow under the ankles. You can also slide a bolster under the hips or just above the chest area with the arms resting on the forward arm shelf. Find a position that works for your client.

Side-lying Massage
With your client lying on one side, slightly bend the top leg at the knee and rest it on top of a full massage bolster. Keep the bottom leg fairly straight in a relaxed position and aligned with the rest of the body. Give your partner a pillow to hug for arm support, and slide a pillow or bolster under the neck.

Always ask your comfort level of your clients when positioning the massage bolsters.

Making Your Own  Bolster Massage Cushions

Materials

2 pretty and matching fabrics
Pillow filling
Matching ribbon 1/4" wide

Patterns and Cutting

You will need three rectangles to make this bolster pillow. One for the body and the two for the sides. Use a different fabric for each one.

Decide how long and wide your pillow will be. Add 1/2" to each measurement for seam allowances and trace a rectangle. This will be the body of the pillow.

Make the side rectangles using the measurements of the body

Sew it Love it, claim to say that this bolster can be made in half hour or less, full instructions here