Have your partner lay down with their legs fully outstretched. Now lie down perpendicular to their left hip. “Grab” their left ankle, hooking it with your left foot, and pull that leg towards you. At the same time, push against their left hip with your right foot. Try to really work your right foot into that left hip, giving it a good massage and releasing the inner thigh along the way. Then switch sides. Find a video here.
Sit at the edge of a couch. Have your partner sit on the floor right in front of the couch with their legs in a loose pretzel position. Now pull their arms up and around your head, resting their hands on the nape of your neck, where they should intertwine their fingers. Finally, the critical part: place your feet atop each their thighs, grab them by the underbelly of their biceps and lean back against the couch. Find a video here.
There are endless examples online for releasing a partner’s back. We’ve landed on the one that we consider the most realistic (least acrobatic). Have your partner sit down facing away from you, then drape a shower towel around their neck, looping either end through their underarms. Sitting down behind them, hold onto either end of the towel like it’s the reins to a horse. As you pull on these “reins,” push your feet into the very middle of your partner’s back. Find a video here.
A fantastic and simple way to release tension that tends to naturally build up in the neck…which is exacerbated these days by the amount of time we’re all spending looking down at screens. Have your partner lay face down with their head in a pillow. Stand above them, facing them, and work your fingers into the area right where the neck meets their hairline. Find a video here.