Elective: Torso Techniques

Essential Torso Techniques, taught by the inimitable Larissa Cisaruk, is a 16-hour workshop covering a variety of massage techniques for the torso, with particular focus on the chest, abdomen, and buttocks -- those areas of the body on which the client may be hesitant to receive massage and/or the therapist may be uncomfortable working. These often neglected areas of the body need at least as much attention as any other, if not more.

Please note that although we spent equal portions of class time on the chest, abs, glutes, and back, as well as tying it all together into a flowing practice, and although I could write oodles about each of the sixteen class-hours, my focus for this entry will be on the chest, for soon-to-be obvious reasons.

I was the demo for the pecs/chest massage! Aren't I lucky? (Okay, I volunteered. Loudly). The photo above, which I nabbed off the web, does not represent the chest techniques that we learned in this class. The female client will have one towel draped across her chest to cover the breasts, and the other towel covers her from the waist down, leaving the upper abs exposed. This allows the massage therapist to access the center of the chest by reaching under the towel, working near and around but not touching or exposing the breast.

At one point, as our instructor stroked my chest muscles outward from the center (sternum), I felt my chest cavity open and rise as if now capable of deeper breathing. To my surprise and delight, I felt the same sensation in my closed eyes, as if my eyes expanded.

Have you ever cleaned out a closet or some part of your home and felt that you were making room for something else, making room in your life for whatever comes next? My chest massage in this class left me with the distinct sensation that I'd been opened up from the inside, that I was and am ready for more, for whatever comes next, which is the constant unfolding of this moment.


Larissa Cisaruk is one of the finest instructors I've encountered at IMI. Without a doubt, my future success as a massage therapist will have stemmed in large part from the techniques learned and the attitude and confidence developed in this class. Thank you, Larissa.