The Art of Self-Massage (Part II)

As promised, I will continue outlining the ways to give self-massage on different parts of the body. Last week, I wrote about giving self-massage to your head, shoulders, and feet. This week I will write about self-massage for your hands and torso. I will end with some general guidelines for self-massage.


For your hands:

- Stroke the back of one hand with the other, gliding up to the wrist and back down toward the fingertips. Use your fingertips (exclude your thumb) and focus on one side (left or right) of the back of your hand going up, another going down.

- Apply pressure circularly to the joints of each finger.

- Then, grab each finger at its base with the fingertips of the other hand, pulling it gently while having your hand slide from the base of the finger off the fingertip.

- Stroke the gaps of the wrist bone and between the tendons of each finger.

- Place the back of your hand against a table and, using your thumb, use circular motions to massage your palm and wrist.

- Finally, placing one hand in your lap, push the palm of one hand with the heel of the other. Gently glide back and forth from the fingers to the wrist.



For your torso (stomach pains)

- Stroke around your abdomen (don’t actually press on it) in a clockwise motion. Have one hand follow the other in a circle around the abdomen.

- Next knead your abdomen lightly with all your fingers (including your thumbs).

- Roll onto your side and do a similar kneading action on your hips and bottom.

Wake yourself up from your massages by standing up and hitting your hips and butt vigorously with loosely clenched fists. Avoid hurting yourself by immediately pulling your fist up after striking.



Repeat these steps for as much, or as little, time you want or can sacrifice. A minute or so for each step should begin to provide relief. If it doesn’t, or if you want more, repeat the process over for another minute or so, then move on to the next step.

Of course, there are also many self-massage products that can do the stoking, gliding and kneading for you, if interested. Use your hands – or a gadget – to wake yourself up, put your self to sleep, or get you through the day. It is that easy to enjoy the benefits of massage.