Massage Tips & Techniques: Simple Tricks That Work Surprisingly Well

In today’s competitive and expensive world, one thing that you get for free is Stress. It is a silent disease which can have physical and mental consequences. Everybody needs a little ‘me-time’ to reduce the stress and recharge to stay ahead of the game! Studies have proven that massage can act as a bonus to physiological and psychological relaxation and to your surprise, even 10 minutes can be magical! Massage is always related to professional treatment of relaxation, however, a gentle stroke on your back or shoulders in a day can be a great way to boost the relaxation and reduce stress. This post contains some of the simple massage tricks and techniques that can do wonders to your body!

 Play of hands – Massaging doesn’t mean pressing the points hard. It should be soft and gentle press to relieve the tension in muscles. Pressing them hard might lead to internal swelling and bruises. One should use thumbs to apply moderate pressure to massage the points. Thumbs do wonder in foot massage. Therapists suggest gradually lightening the pressure while massaging any area of the body. It’s better to start with the big muscles (spine, back, thighs) and then move to smaller ones i.e., neck, arms, legs, calves, feet etc.

·        Choose a flat surface – Massage table or any high table is ideal spot for giving and taking massages. You can even try it on a floor if any high surface is not available. It is accessible from all sides unlike bed which makes it difficult to move around. The spine should be straight while massaging and the soft surface of the bed doesn’t adjust this position of the spine making it worse. If nothing works you can sit reverse on a chair i.e., your front touching the back of the chair. It also saves the receiver from facing the giver which is kind of required to focus on job in hand.

Use oil – Oil is a necessary ingredient for massaging the body. You can use coconut, mustard, olive or almond oil, one of which is easily available at home. Oil is required to reduce the friction and allow hands to glide easily over the skin. This doesn’t mean that you put too much oil, you just need it in little quantity. If you are massaging a hairy person, you might need more oil but still lesser than you think. Excessive oil can make more way for slipping and less for pressing. You can heat the oil for more relaxation and also add few drops of oils like tea tree, lavender for healing element.

·        Same technique for hands & feet – For massaging hands and feet you can follow the same technique. It starts from rubbing the fingers from base to tip and then pulling them towards you i.e., in direction opposite to the base. Next you press the points on the palm by rubbing your thumb in circular motion. This same series can be applied on feet where toes are pulled first and arch of the foot can be massaged like palms. This technique can also be applied on your lower back.

·        Hot water dip for foot massage – Foot massage is a great way to deal with mental wellbeing, it is also known by the name of reflexology. You can take warm water in a bucket, put bath salt into it (you can also put kitchen salt as alternate) and dip your feet for at least 15-20 minutes. Post 15-20 minutes, dab your feet with towel and massage the arch of your feet with your thumb. Hot water releases the muscle tension and make your skin tender making it easier to massage. This technique would provide you with ample care and soft touch specially if you had a long and tiring walk/run.

 Set the mood right – Don’t forget to set the mood right while massaging. It would add wonders to your overall experience. The spot that you choose should be clean, warm, and comfortable. You can play some relaxing music, dim the lights, and spread some aroma around. Be in happy state so that your mind can relax and rejuvenate. Do everything that you can to make it your ‘me-time’. You can use massaging as a technique to spend some private and soothing time with your partner. We have also seen couples adapting it to their daily lifestyle while watching their favorite show!

Our bodies and mind crave for relaxation and healing and adopting massage in daily lifestyle can fix those cricks in the neck and back which happen very often.