1. Positioning: Have your partner lie down on his or her back with one leg bent (foot flat on the floor, knee pointing up) and the other leg straight, relaxing on the floor. Go ahead and sit on the foot of the bent leg (you can put a pillow over the foot if you want) and hold the knee stable with one of your hands. Let your partner know that you will hold on to the knee so they can relax the bent leg without feeling like it’s going to fall to one side.

2. Keep one of your hands supporting the knee at all times. With the other hand reach around to the calf muscles, grab on to a big hunk and start squeezing and releasing. Work at a nice, steady rhythm, squeezing and releasing, working your way from the back of the knee all the way down to the ankle. (Make sure you’re not pinching the skin, but rather compressing big chunks of muscle. Pinching doesn’t feel good – compression does!)

3. Be thorough – get the whole back side of the lower leg. Even though the calf muscles really only go half way down the lower leg, continue all the way to the ankles to include the Achilles tendon area. It needs the work, too.

4. Spend about thirty seconds massaging the lower leg. Then, supporting the underside of the knee with one hand, straighten the leg, putting it down on the floor. Repeat on the other leg.

5. After one minute, you’re done! Now switch places with your partner so that you get a chance to receive. Have your partner massage your calf muscles in the same fashion. The best way to learn how to give a great massage is to know what one feels like, so receiving is a must.

If you have a massage-related question that you’d like me to answer on the intent blog, send me an email at massage@chopra.com.

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