Fill the Large Fomentek Bag 1/3 full with warm water (see instructions). Place the Large Fomentek Bag near one end of the massage table with the fill spout facing down. Have the client lay supine with just enough of the Fomentek bag sticking out above the shoulders to reach to the top of the client’s ears, thereby supporting the skull with the rounded edge of the Fomentek Bag. The therapist then stands beside the table and inserts the hand closest to the head of the table into the upper corner of the Fomentek bag with the palm up.

As the therapist’s hand and arm enter the bag, the client’s body rises slightly due to the increased volume. As the therapist’s arm enters the bag, the therapist may use the other hand to gently support the client’s head. This skin contact and slight pressure reassures the client and gives the client “permission” to relax the neck muscles. The next step is for the therapist to push his/her arm deep into the Fomentek bag. Now the therapist, gently at first, explores the client’s back with the fingertips, feeling for areas of greater density or “knots” as they are sometimes called. After briefly pausing at each position, the therapist relaxes his/her hand and moves to another position of the back and repeats the frictioning procedure several times along the back and upper shoulders.

With the client supine – on a large Fomentek bag which is vertically aligned with the table as mentioned above, the therapist stands at the head of the table. The therapist, standing at the head of the treatment table with palms up, pushes both hands into the two top corners of the Fomentek bag as far as possible, pushing both hands toward the lumbar region. The motion should be smooth and steady. When the fingertips reach the small of the back, the therapist cups the hands for a couple of seconds allowing the fingertips to come into contact with the back through the Fomentek bag. The hands are then withdrawn about one inch and cupped again gaining contact with the client’s back muscles. The maneuver is repeated.

This sequence of cupping-relaxing-withdrawing-cupping-relaxing-withdrawing continues until the therapist’s fingertips have reached the upper thoracic or lower cervical region. The technique should be repeated several times as necessary until the spine articulates freely. If the therapist chooses to “strip” the muscles upward in a continuous move, it is recommended that a few drops of massage oil be put into the Fomentek bag every third filling. Oil serves to lubricate the walls of the bag which slide against each other when employing this technique.