How to Massage Each Aching Area | Simple Techniques on a Quality Self-Massage
Even though it may sound a bit strange to hear the words self-massage, it’s not also unusual. People are used to liken a massage with the commercial picture of lying face-down while someone else rubs their back, but the truth is more and more people turn to this individual type of massage for various reasons.
These reasons may imply a lack of time to go to a professional, lack of money to pay one and oftentimes the embarrassment of letting themselves touched by strangers. You are free to choose whichever method you like best and you’re more comfortable with and in this article I will present to you a few simple techniques of self-massage and tips on how to best enjoy it, whenever you feel like you need one good massage.
A daily massage can do wonders for your body and spirit; it can give you energy for the rest of the day or it can help you relax at the end of your working hours. And a regular massage, done at least once a week for a longer period of time can indeed improve the quality of your life. You will feel more relaxed, more stress-free and more anxious to live your life. Without the pain and the tension that a simple massage can remove, it will be easier even to make better judgment calls.
Ever since I was a child I had very chubby fingers and my palms were always sweaty so I was very in demand at that time to massage the members of my family. That habit turned over the years into a bit of a fascination on how massages really work, what they really do and the many types of massage that can benefit certain areas and others not.
It is indeed better when other hands rub your skin and muscles but a self-massage is just as useful and effective. It’s mostly the technique that makes a massage good or bad so experience is not required this time. The purpose of a massage is to relieve tension and improve the blood circulation in your body.
The benefits of a self-massage:
- It will always target the right problem areas.
- You will never be reluctant to massage any part of your body.
- Will relieve a lot of pain, that’s been there for ages.
- You’ll get more relief than from a therapist.
- It’ll save you from spending enormous amounts of money on medication.
- You don’t need to depend on anyone but yourself.
- It’s cheap, easy and available non-stop.
Basic tools for an effective individual type of massage:
- Fingers
- Tennis ball
- Oil
- Large towel
Before struggling too much to understand why the tennis ball and the towel, they’re for those areas where you can’t properly reach them with your hands.
Anything can be self-massaged, from ear lobes to toes, so let’s see how exactly you can do it as effortlessly as possible.
The Warm Up
You can take a hot bath and dry your skin with a warm towel to relax the muscles or you can gently rub your skin with warm oil (warm it between your hands) until the skin heats up.
The Upper Body
The neck and shoulders are really simple to reach and massage. You’ll need to use your fingers and move in small circles from the base of your skull towards the shoulders. Whenever you find a knot, stop for a few more seconds and massage it in small circles until you feel it doesn’t hurt anymore.
You can use your finger tips to massage the scalp and then from the ears gently move them towards the chin, at the same time, until your fingers meet. You can close this session by stretching out in a self-hug.
It is time you use the tennis ball for the massage of the back. Press the ball up against a wall and then rub each part of your back on it. Move back and forth to get rid of the pressure and pain in your back.
You can also use the large towel rolled up and place it on the floor. Then place yourself on it, with your face up and start moving up and down in a very slow manner. Allow yourself to feel the rolled towel go over all vertebrae and stop for as long as needed, when you find an aching knot. The tension will go away and you’ll be able to move on with the massage.
Arms and Legs
Use your left hand to massage the right arm and vice versa. Use long strokes to go from the wrist to the shoulder and continue so until you feel the arm all warmed up. You will have to alternate the long strokes with short circles until you feel your arm relaxed.
The hands are also very sensitive and a massage there will feel incredibly well, trust me. Squeeze gently the palm of your hand with the fingers from the opposite hand and use small circles to cover the whole area. Then softly squeeze each finger and use your index finger to go through the spaces between your fingers as well. You can even insist there because it’s definitely worth it.
For your feet you will use the same motion, small circles and a gentle massage of each toe and the space between them. Gentle pushes of the sole with your finger tips and a slightly harder squeeze of the heels along with soft up and down strokes of the ankle will dissipate the tension for sure.
For the legs you can squeeze the muscles with one hand or massage them with your fists. It also works if you make gentle chops all along the leg. The move resembles a lot with hitting the drums and it’s good for getting rid of muscle cramps and soreness.
Aesthetic Massage
The aesthetic massage is used especially by women who want to have their body toned and a clean complexion. The skin is the organ that ages before our eyes and through massage we can improve the blood circulation that maintains the skin elastic and fresh, thus forcing the aging process happen slower.
No wonder this type of massage is used so often in beauty salons or at home by each woman.
In a facial massage you can use the tip of your fingers to gently massage the muscles around the mouth and those responsible for the frowning. Gently massage the cheeks till the chin, around the mouth, temples and forehead with friction and then smooth motions.
For the health of the scalp and vitality of the hair are also required strong frictions and then gentle motions with the tip of the fingers. You should insist on the superior area of the head where the baldness manifests itself frequently and which can be prevented through the stimulation of extra blood flow to the scalp.
Now, do you have a few minutes for rest and relaxation? As you will see after giving the self-massage a try, it only takes a few good squeezes and rubs and all the tension that built throughout the day will be gone.
Get creative and massage each area of your body! On a long term it can only improve your health and life.
© 2015 Laura
