Preparation for self-massage

Lock the door.
Throw out the key.

Start standing.
Begin to move — hips, thighs, arms — in small, unhurried circles.
 
Change direction when it feels right,
as if something is gently pulling you from either side.

Let the chest soften.
Let the ribs and pelvis follow at their own rhythm.

Not performing movement.
Just finding it.

Notice how each part of you carries a different tempo, a different groove.

Just enough ease to release the weight of the day.

Nothing forced. Just attention.

A long, soft sigh.
 
A light drumming of your own skin.
 
Then a shake — enough to let the voice move through you.

Let the next step find you.

When another body is involved
Something is already there.

Begin the same way — moving, softening, finding your own rhythm.
 
Then move closer to each other.

Sit back-to-back.
Not quite touching yet.
Feel the other there — warmth, breath, the shift in air.

When you’re ready, let your backs find each other.
 
Press into the skin as if you’re trying to breathe through it.
 
Let more of the body make contact through each movement, gradually, without rushing.

Let it build on its own.
No need to guide it.

With that particular person,
under your particular hands.