• Find a stable, hard surface in your home and have your loved one lay down with their face towards the floor. You don’t necessarily need a professional massage table—any sturdy surface will do.

• Be sure to lay down towels, blankets and other types of soft material to increase your loved one’s comfort during the massage.

• Begin by rubbing a bit of massage oil into your hands. Start out by lightly spreading the oil evenly across the back. Make a figure eight motion to make sure that you’re covering the entire area. Gradually increase the amount of pressure that you’re applying as you continue with the back rub.

• Move into your next gliding stroke by firmly moving up the back, to the shoulder and down the back again. Use your body weight to create additional pressure. Do so in a nice, fluid motion without removing your hands from your patient’s back.

• If you want to go deeper with each gliding stroke, use your knuckles. Be careful not to press on bony structures like the spine or shoulder blades too hard, however.

• Apply more pressure to the muscles along each side of the spine.

• Because the shoulders are one area of the body where a large amount of tension is held, be sure to apply pressure to that area, as well. Grab the upper shoulder muscle and apply varying amounts of pressure, depending on the comfort level of the person in question.

• Finish up the massage by returning to the initial figure eight stroke.

Source:  Carrington College