monomer/program_peace · Datasets at Hugging Face

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length of partially cooked pasta or a slender worm under the skin Most professional masseuses
describe muscles with multiple trigger points as having a crunchy or spongy quality
Muscles with trigger points are also easy to identify because they are tender to the touch
In contrast healthy muscles dont elicit a pain response under pressure Tenderness should be
your operative diagnostic criterion Concentrate your efforts on any tender mass you find
Apply pressure dig and release Use your knuckle fingertip the heel of your palm or elbow to
get in as deep as possible to break down the scar tissue and fibrous adhesions The tip side or
first knuckle of the thumb can be particularly useful You want to compress tender muscles all
over your body
You can use a tool to avoid straining your hands or to apply pressure more easily to hard
toreach areas Pictured below are the implements that use to perform compression on
myself You can find an eyebolt in any hardware store and the other tools can be found easily
online if not at your local sporting goods store Aside from my own hands the Index Knobber
shown at the far right of the picture below is my tool of choice
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Illustration Tools for compression A Thera Cane B Backknobber C Baseballs attached with drilled holes
and metal screws D Spiked massage ball E Foam therapy ball F Softballs G Squash ball H Tennis ball Yoga
Therapy Balls in sack J Three sizes of eyebolts x x x K Knobble L Jacknobber
M Index Knobber You can also place tools on the floor such as a hard water bottle rolling pin racquetball
barbell pipe or wooden dowel and push your body into them
The benefits of compression have to do with muscles need for microbreaks which we have
discussed previously The muscles that feel tender when subjected to deep compression have not
had the breaks they need to remain healthy Compression gives them a muchneeded respite
reestablishing blood flow and permitting full regeneration The muscle may feel warm afterward
as fresh blood rushes to areas that are normally neglected To send fresh blood into an area you
first need to squeeze existing blood out by performing something called ischemic compression
It is helpful to visualize the effects As you massage imagine that you are pressing into
pale pink tissue that has lost most of its blood supply Envision the muscle turning white as you
compress it and the remaining blood is squeezed out Then as you release imagine fresh red
blood flooding into the area Imagine that this redness dissipates in a few seconds but that the
muscle stays more brightly colored than it was before Of course all of that is quite literally
happening Compression creates the cellular events necessary to express the genes required to
build new blood vessels This renewed blood supply brings the muscle back to life Below is an
overview of the steps involved in the Program Peace compression routine
Compression Protocol
Breathe Use the tenets of diaphragmatic breathing throughout your massage practice
This will help ensure that your muscles remain relaxed even during discomfort If
compression becomes particularly painful take a deep breath in then breathe out
slowly through pursed lips to extend your exhalation
Pressure Find a muscle that is tender when compressed Press firmly on the muscle
with the tip of a finger knuckle or tool for between five and seconds On most areas
of the body you can apply between five and pounds of pressure To gauge this
imagine a dumbbell of a given weight resting on top Use less pressure on more painful
or delicate areas Release reposition centimeters or millimeters away and repeat
Movement Some practitioners recommend sliding a finger thumb or tool down the
length of the muscle They use deep firm strokes that move in the direction of the
muscle fibers Others recommend stroking across the muscle repeatedly like strumming
a guitar string Try to develop skill at both Either way you want to pin the skin down
and slide it over the muscle rather than slide your fingers over the skin You can also
simply press into an area of tenderness rather than stroke it If can find a taught
Chapter Release Tense Muscle with Massage
sore band of muscle will often nestle my knuckle in on one side of it and press
rhythmically for minutes at a time
Intensity On a scale of one to ten aim for a tolerable pain level of six or seven
Light massage at a pain level of two or three can also be beneficial but will take much
longer to have an effect At a six or a seven the pain you feel should be mixed with
pleasure It should hurt good but should not be enough to make you squirm brace
or breathe shallowly
Attention Once you release the muscle pay attention to how its level of bracing has
diminished You may feel insecure or exposed now that you are no longer bracing
Note the automatic tendency to either resume bracing or breathe shallowly Resist both
urges continuing to breathe deeply while keeping the area relaxed This will encourage
the muscle to reset to a lower level of tone
Follow up The next day if the muscle is bruised or hurts when contracted it is a sign
that you pushed too hard However if it is slightly sore to the touch then you made
substantial progress This soreness should disappear with just a few minutes of
additional massage After the soreness subsides wait a few hours for it to come back
and compress it again with the same degree of force Repeat this process until the
muscle no longer hurts to compress Depending on the muscles size and the severity of
the tension this could take days weeks or months
Percuss Your Tender Tense Muscles
The steady consistent pressure of compression therapy can be complemented by percussive
massage Percussive here means hitting or striking Many professional masseuses
routinely use slapping beating and pummeling which are all examples of percussive massage
This approach is similar to the tapotement technique in Swedish massage and certain shiatsu
regimens It was documented to have been used in ancient Japan when children massaged their
elders after long days bending over in the rice fields Because the childrens fingers were not
strong enough to perform a kneading motion they balled up their hands and struck the sore
muscles with their fists The Japanese term mago no te was used to describe this type of
massage which translates to grandchilds hands The protocol below details a related method
that Ill refer to as percussion
Percussion Protocol
Use a knuckle fist palm heel baseball or softball to repeatedly strike dormant
achy muscle For even deeper muscle work use a tool like the Index Knobber to strike
Use force and speed similar to what would be appropriate for conventional
clappingapplause Strike the muscle firmly and repetitively like a sewing machine or a
woodpecker Strike at a rate of roughly three to five times per second rising one to
three inches above the skin between strikes
Concentrate this pummeling action on a tender area of muscle just an inch or two in
diameter for to seconds
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
percuss my neck shoulders back arms legs knees and ankles firmly all over with
objects ranging from baseballs to knucklesized tools weekly recommend percussing your
entire body with a hard implement If you dont have any of the tools below dont hesitate to
start just using your knuckles or palm heel Using percussion is one of the fastest and least
painful ways to erode trigger points and reanimate dormant muscle
Ts
Sy
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SiS Oe

length of partially cooked pasta or a slender worm under the skin Most professional masseuses

describe muscles with multiple trigger points as having a crunchy or spongy quality

Muscles with trigger points are also easy to identify because they are tender to the touch

In contrast healthy muscles dont elicit a pain response under pressure Tenderness should be

your operative diagnostic criterion Concentrate your efforts on any tender mass you find

Apply pressure dig and release Use your knuckle fingertip the heel of your palm or elbow to

get in as deep as possible to break down the scar tissue and fibrous adhesions The tip side or

first knuckle of the thumb can be particularly useful You want to compress tender muscles all

over your body

You can use a tool to avoid straining your hands or to apply pressure more easily to hard

toreach areas Pictured below are the implements that use to perform compression on

myself You can find an eyebolt in any hardware store and the other tools can be found easily

online if not at your local sporting goods store Aside from my own hands the Index Knobber

shown at the far right of the picture below is my tool of choice

PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body

Illustration Tools for compression A Thera Cane B Backknobber C Baseballs attached with drilled holes

and metal screws D Spiked massage ball E Foam therapy ball F Softballs G Squash ball H Tennis ball Yoga

Therapy Balls in sack J Three sizes of eyebolts x x x K Knobble L Jacknobber

M Index Knobber You can also place tools on the floor such as a hard water bottle rolling pin racquetball

barbell pipe or wooden dowel and push your body into them

The benefits of compression have to do with muscles need for microbreaks which we have

discussed previously The muscles that feel tender when subjected to deep compression have not

had the breaks they need to remain healthy Compression gives them a muchneeded respite

reestablishing blood flow and permitting full regeneration The muscle may feel warm afterward

as fresh blood rushes to areas that are normally neglected To send fresh blood into an area you

first need to squeeze existing blood out by performing something called ischemic compression

It is helpful to visualize the effects As you massage imagine that you are pressing into

pale pink tissue that has lost most of its blood supply Envision the muscle turning white as you

compress it and the remaining blood is squeezed out Then as you release imagine fresh red

blood flooding into the area Imagine that this redness dissipates in a few seconds but that the

muscle stays more brightly colored than it was before Of course all of that is quite literally

happening Compression creates the cellular events necessary to express the genes required to

build new blood vessels This renewed blood supply brings the muscle back to life Below is an

overview of the steps involved in the Program Peace compression routine

Compression Protocol

Breathe Use the tenets of diaphragmatic breathing throughout your massage practice

This will help ensure that your muscles remain relaxed even during discomfort If

compression becomes particularly painful take a deep breath in then breathe out

slowly through pursed lips to extend your exhalation

Pressure Find a muscle that is tender when compressed Press firmly on the muscle

with the tip of a finger knuckle or tool for between five and seconds On most areas

of the body you can apply between five and pounds of pressure To gauge this

imagine a dumbbell of a given weight resting on top Use less pressure on more painful

or delicate areas Release reposition centimeters or millimeters away and repeat

Movement Some practitioners recommend sliding a finger thumb or tool down the

length of the muscle They use deep firm strokes that move in the direction of the

muscle fibers Others recommend stroking across the muscle repeatedly like strumming

a guitar string Try to develop skill at both Either way you want to pin the skin down

and slide it over the muscle rather than slide your fingers over the skin You can also

simply press into an area of tenderness rather than stroke it If can find a taught

Chapter Release Tense Muscle with Massage

sore band of muscle will often nestle my knuckle in on one side of it and press

rhythmically for minutes at a time

Intensity On a scale of one to ten aim for a tolerable pain level of six or seven

Light massage at a pain level of two or three can also be beneficial but will take much

longer to have an effect At a six or a seven the pain you feel should be mixed with

pleasure It should hurt good but should not be enough to make you squirm brace

or breathe shallowly

Attention Once you release the muscle pay attention to how its level of bracing has

diminished You may feel insecure or exposed now that you are no longer bracing

Note the automatic tendency to either resume bracing or breathe shallowly Resist both

urges continuing to breathe deeply while keeping the area relaxed This will encourage

the muscle to reset to a lower level of tone

Follow up The next day if the muscle is bruised or hurts when contracted it is a sign

that you pushed too hard However if it is slightly sore to the touch then you made

substantial progress This soreness should disappear with just a few minutes of

additional massage After the soreness subsides wait a few hours for it to come back

and compress it again with the same degree of force Repeat this process until the

muscle no longer hurts to compress Depending on the muscles size and the severity of

the tension this could take days weeks or months

Percuss Your Tender Tense Muscles

The steady consistent pressure of compression therapy can be complemented by percussive

massage Percussive here means hitting or striking Many professional masseuses

routinely use slapping beating and pummeling which are all examples of percussive massage

This approach is similar to the tapotement technique in Swedish massage and certain shiatsu

regimens It was documented to have been used in ancient Japan when children massaged their

elders after long days bending over in the rice fields Because the childrens fingers were not

strong enough to perform a kneading motion they balled up their hands and struck the sore

muscles with their fists The Japanese term mago no te was used to describe this type of

massage which translates to grandchilds hands The protocol below details a related method

that Ill refer to as percussion

Percussion Protocol

Use a knuckle fist palm heel baseball or softball to repeatedly strike dormant

achy muscle For even deeper muscle work use a tool like the Index Knobber to strike

Use force and speed similar to what would be appropriate for conventional

clappingapplause Strike the muscle firmly and repetitively like a sewing machine or a

woodpecker Strike at a rate of roughly three to five times per second rising one to

three inches above the skin between strikes

Concentrate this pummeling action on a tender area of muscle just an inch or two in

diameter for to seconds

PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body

percuss my neck shoulders back arms legs knees and ankles firmly all over with

objects ranging from baseballs to knucklesized tools weekly recommend percussing your

entire body with a hard implement If you dont have any of the tools below dont hesitate to

start just using your knuckles or palm heel Using percussion is one of the fastest and least

painful ways to erode trigger points and reanimate dormant muscle

Ts

Sy

e

SiS Oe