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Self massage is easy to perform and you can do it whenever you feel the need for
relaxation. It can be performed on the face and scalp, legs, hands, shoulders,
abdomen etc. but on each and every part pressure is applied in a different way.
For massaging the face and scalp you need to stroke the entire face, starting
from the forehead to the temples, under the cheekbones, nose, ears, mouth, jaw line
etc. Gentle strokes are applied around the eyes and eyebrows with circular
strokes at the temples slowly moving on to the scalp. The ears are massaged by
gently pulling them. The scalp can be massaged by combing your fingers through
the hair from the roots to the ends. Gentle pressure can be applied while
working all over the head.
Then coming down to your neck, massage the
shoulders by starting
from the base of the neck pressing along the top
of the shoulders. After reaching the bony part
of your shoulder, slide your hand back to the
base of the neck, and repeat. Keep working round the base of the skull.
Squeeze the shoulders with light movements. Try to relax and work on the areas
where you feel the pressure of tensed nerves.
Then comes the hands that are the most used part
of our body and needs utmost care. By squeezing the hand firmly, stroke it firmly
from the wrist to the shoulder. Keep stroking on the different parts of
the hand. Move to the shoulders and keep kneading covering the elbows and the
forearm. Squeeze and gently stretch each finger. Work up each furrows from the
knuckle to the wrist and keep stroking the hands smoothly. Apply gentle pressure
while working on the palm and keep stroking the wrist. Stroke up and down the whole arm
several times before massaging the other arm.
Moving on to your back, the best way to massage
is to lie on your back and fold your legs, then by clasping your knees gentle rocking
is to be done both backward and forward. The you can smoothen your hands gently
on the abdominal area, over the hips and the thighs in a long, slow movement. Massage your hips and
buttocks by squeezing and releasing the
muscles firmly and
slowly, working from the
top of the thigh over
the buttock. Work on the entire
upper leg by kneading
the muscles. Start stroking right from the knee up to the
thigh with both hands to
soothe the leg.
The kneecap does a lot of
work in enabling free movement of the lower part of our legs, hence it
needs to be massaged daily using firm circular pressure around it. The
thigh and the calf muscles can be kneaded working on all the areas with
alternate hands. Then finally while massaging your legs, sit down and
stroke the leg one at a time with both hands from ankle to thigh. Repeat
several times stroking each and every part of the leg.
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