HeartButt Week 9 - Advanced FasciaBlaster Techniques
There are definitely times it’s amazing to have a partner help you with a FasciaBlaster session, whether it’s for areas that are harder to reach yourself or times you want to just relax and enjoy. For the Heart Butt Challenge, it’s particularly helpful to have a partner reach that glute/hammy tie-in! Before you ask a friend or loved one to get that close and personal, let’s talk about how to bring them into our Blasting fold gently.
How to Get a FasciaBlasting Partner
1. Choose Someone You Trust
Think about someone like a sibling, a close friend, or significant other. Helping each other with body care is AMAZING, especially when it’s with someone where you mutually care about each other’s well being.
2. Treat Them First
We want to show them how wonderful it feels to care for your connective tissue! I like to demonstrate on an area that feels good to just about everyone on the planet...the traps. Start with a tool that isn’t intimidating - my favorite here is the FaceBlaster! Another great option if your partner isn’t wearing a shirt that really lets you access the traps is the upper arm.
3. Educate Little by Little
You can explain PMR (Prep - Massage - Refine) as you switch between the tools. Tell them you’re starting with a small-clawed tool, and you can say out loud what you’re seeing, i.e. as the area begins turning red. “Now that I can see the area turning red, I’m going to use a large-clawed massage tool to go deeper into the tissue.” This is the same process you use on yourself, but if you’ve been at it awhile you might need to remember what a rabbit hole it can feel like to someone new.
If your goal is to get hamstring (or even booty!) help in the near future, remember to make it enjoyable! After massaging with a large-clawed tool, you can explain to them that we refine with a Nugget tip. Start with the thicker, more blunt tip to crayon lightly (yes, move it as you would coloring with a crayon), and keep asking what feels good to your partner! Use your best judgment whether they’re ready to try the poke and wiggle technique (where you press the Nugget tip and wiggle it slightly without moving or gliding across the surface). Remember, making it good for them will get their interest and also help teach them how to be a good partner when it’s your turn!
4. Ask for Your Turn
For their first time as the one doing the Blasting, choose an area that they’re comfortable with and reassure your partner that it’s really much simpler than it might seem. Up and down or side to side. Beyond that, you don’t really need to give much instruction. A partner may intuitively find areas where your body needs attention that you might be skimming over. For example, I spend way more time on my upper hamstrings than the lower area near the knees, but my sweet BlasterSister noticed the texture felt different near my knees and spent more time there. I needed it!
You’d be surprised how people start noticing what the tissue feels like beneath the surface and start asking questions! A great way to explain it is to compare it to a piece of wood and they’re simply sanding it. Asking things kindly is key here! You might want more pressure than you used with your partner, so simply say, “I like how it feels to go deeper there.” DON’T CRITICIZE! And, be sure to thank them!
5. Follow Up
Our goal is a long-term Blasting Partner. We want to make sure our friend or loved one leaves feeling empowered rather than confused. Ask what they thought, ask how they’re feeling the next day. Shared body care can certainly be a bonding experience, especially if we support those we care about emotionally as well as physically!
6. Bring It to Heart Butt
When your partner is comfortable, first send them the Heart Butt Challenge blog! You can make it fun by offering to FasciaBlast each other and then do the exercises together!
Enjoy!
You can view the full live feed about partner blasting (or send the video to your partner) here: https://www.facebook.com/AshleyBlackGuru/videos/300323124148751/