Relieve Stress with Self Massage

If you feel tense or sore, massage therapy can really help you feel better. This is a practice that involves pressing and rubbing your skin and underlying muscles. Massage therapy has many mental and physical benefits, including relaxation and pain relief.

To reap the rewards of massage therapy, you don’t always have to see a massage therapist at a spa or health club. You may not be aware that you can experience the same benefits at home or work by doing a self-massage.

During self-massage, you use your hands to manipulate your muscles. Try taking a few minutes to massage yourself at your working desk or home after a long hectic day. You can use scented lotion, aromatic oil, and deep breaths to enhance relaxation.

If you’d like to try self-massage to relieve stress, it’s helpful to know about certain techniques to help you get the most out of it. 

A combination of strokes works well to relieve muscle tension. You can try soft and gentle chops with the edge of your hands, tapping with fingers, or cupped palms. Use fingertips to exert pressure on the muscle knots and then knead across the muscle with long, light, and gliding strokes. You can apply these techniques to any part of the body that easily falls within your reach.

For short sessions, try focusing more on your head, neck, and shoulder.

Knead the muscles of your neck and shoulders. Make a fist and drum lightly up and down your neck’s back and sides. Now, use thumbs to make circles around the base of your skull. Use fingertips to massage the rest of your scalp. Then use the tapping motion on your scalp, moving from front to the back and sides.

For your face, make circles with your fingertips or thumbs. Pay attention to your forehead, jaw muscles, and temples. For your nose, use middle fingers to massage the bridge and go outwards over your eyebrows and then to temples.

At last, close your eyes. Cover your face with cupped hands and take long breaths.