Effleurage

• Effleurage is a fancy term, (from French) for gliding. Effleurer in French means to to touch very lightly, to brush. Despite of the name, the effleurage is not necessarily a brush like stroke.
• Effleurage consists of superficial glides over the skin without attempting to move the muscle beneath. The pressure applied has to be even. The effleurage is used more than any other technique and it begins and ends each session.
• It can be performed on any part of the body.
• It can be used as a bridge between different other moves and it accustoms the patient to the touch of the therapist.
• Allows the practitioner to familiarize with the condition of the patient's muscles
• Increases circulation to the skin and superficial muscles and relaxes the patient.
• Effleurage is an easy to learn technique and it comes almost natural to most of us.
• Gliding is employed in almost all of the Massage Modalities because of its great relaxation potential and its versatility.

Effleurage Types

Depending on the direction of the moves, w can distinguish several types of gliding.
We can also distinguish, depending on the amount of pressure employed on the skin, superficial effleurage and deep effleurage.

Straight Effleurage

Glide your hands over your patient's skin starting from lumbar area up to the neck. Fingers point forward towards the patient's neck and head. We are pushing the blood towards the hearth.

Bilateral Effleurage

Position one hand on each side of the spine and start on the lower back. Go towards the upper back, to the shoulders. While returning to the lower back go along the sides of the back. Remember, this is a light pressure movement.

Alternating Hand (Shingles)

Start with one of your hands to the side of the spine at the lower back. Move one hand forward 6 inches and then follow it with the other hand and then with the other one until you reach the shoulders. Do this several times and make sure you cover the whole surface of the back or limb. While the pressure is light the speed of the movement is rather fast compared to the bilateral effleurage.

Backward alternating (Shingles)

It is similar to shingles effleurage but performed backwards, with fingers pointed towards the lumbar area. Note that the movement is performed with a light pressure so it would maximize the relaxation effect. The backward shingles can be classified as a "nerve stroke" as well because of the very light pressure. It is a deeply relaxing stroke.
The following video shows how to perform a backward alternating hand massage effleurage.

Deep Effleurage

Deep Effleurage is not as deep as in friction for instance. The practitioner employs a light to medium pressure to skin. It can be performed on any part of the body. It will be more difficult to execute Deep Effleurage on hairy body parts such as the skull area, so it is advised to be avoided in these areas. The increased pressure reaches the fascia and brings the benefits of a deeper massage such as friction, and other benefits such as blood and lymph circulation, relaxation, etc…
All of the deep effleurage moves need a massage lubricant such as massage oil or lotion. If you don't use lubrican or you don't use enough the skin irritates and your client will have a discomfort sensation.

Superficial Effleurage

Superficial Effleurage consist in a very shallow movement over the patient's body with the intention to create relaxation and to stimulate the nervous system. It is a relatively easy to perform move and it can be used on any part of the body. (Head Massage, Back Massage, Limbs Massage etc...)
While most of the gliding types require the use of a lubricant, the lighter effleurage moves such as the shingles can be done either without lubricant, or with a generous amount of it.

Note that the superficial effleurage is not the same technique as Massage Stroking although they are quite similar. Check the Nerve Stroking Massage Technique to see what the differences are.