Professional massage is very costly therefore be your own masseur. Massage helps to remove surplus fat from the body, improves the efficiency of the organs of the body, develops and tones up the muscular tissues, beautifies the skin and preserves its suppleness. Constant and regular massage will give your body a chance to free itself from toxic matter, restore you to normal weight and it will increase your circulation leaving your body feeling alive and invigorated.
Massage should either be done early in the morning when you have finished your morning ablutions or in the night before retiring. It should usually last for 20 to 35 minutes. You will have to massage at least ten different parts of your body, each area should be massaged for at least 2 to 5 minutes. End each massage by taking an alternatively hot and cold shower and then rub yourself with a coarse towel.
The basic movements of self-massage are stroking, kneading, wringing, pinching, rolling and clapping. Stroking: Apply oil to the area to be massaged. The movement consists in running your hands very lightly over the part of the body you wish to massage. This soothes the skin and calms and relaxes the nerves. The hands should be easy and relaxed and you just stroke up the limb towards the heart.
Kneading: Pretend that you are kneading dough, pick up the flesh and squeeze it. Use the whole hand, holding the fingers loosely together, and press the fat with the palm of your hands; now pick up the flesh and press. It is like pinching, but it is a much larger movement.
Pinching: It is done in the same way as kneading but here only the thumb and the fore-fingers are used.
Wringing: Imagine you are wringing out water from a sponge. With both your hands pick up the fat and squeeze and twist it.
Rolling: With your hands facing each other pick up about an inch of flesh, With pressure from your thumb, press and roll over the surface. This is specially good for breaking down excessive fat. Clapping and slapping: Slap yourself with flat hands, cupped hands the edge of hands with the fingers held loose, the back of the hands and even with your fists infact anyway you can, and the more the variety the better. It is a rhythmic fast bouncy movement which stimulates the flow of blood to the skin. Avoid doing it on any area where you have broken veins. Before commencing your massage, use talcum powder if you have an oily skin and use any perfumed oil you like if you very dry skin.
MASSAGING ARMS: First movement: Skim over the upper surface of the forearm with the hand quite flat. Work from the first joints of the fingers up to the elbow, stroking and kneading the muscles as you go. Second movement: For the under surface of the forearm, stroke and knead from the wrist to the elbow. Third movement: For the upper surface of the arm, stroke and knead the biceps from elbow to the shoulder holding the thumb and fingers loosely underneath. When you move up the shoulder the thumb should be under the armpit. Fourth movement: For the under surface of the arm, repeat the above movements, going from the elbow to the armpit.
MASSAGING THE LEGS: Stroke the upper surface of the foot upto the ankles. The ankles: They can easily become too thick therefore, knead and squeeze them between your fingers. From ankle to knee: Stroke and knead the front of the leg. For the back of the leg do the same. Do patting movements on the inside of the leg. The knee: Here the fat is apt to accumulate. Therefore do squeezing, rolling and pinching followed with an energetic kneading. End with a light stroking. The thighs: First of all do the stroking, kneading and then rolling followed by pinching, squeezing, patting and clapping. End with a light stroking.
MASSAGING THE SHOULDERS: Knead the shoulders in all directions from the arm to the collar bone.
MASSAGING THE NAPE OF THE NECK: Using the fingertips do firm rotary pressure movements around the shoulder blade and then in, towards the spine and up the neck towards the scalp. Stroke firmly around the base of the neck.
MASSAGING THE BACK: Be Your Own Beautician Do deep rotary movements starting from the base of the spine and going as high as you can. Do the rotations on either side of the spine using your fingertips and resting your whole hand on the spine.
MASSAGING THE HIPS: Stroke in semi-circles going upwards from thighs to the hips Knead and wring every area of the bottom and hips that you can reach.
ABDOMINAL MASSAGE: (1). Start with stroking. The movement should be made in a clockwise direction starting from the right hip bone. (2). Continue with stroking with both the hands flat on your abdomen. (3). Relax the abdominal muscles and knead them. (4). Finish with clapping movements followed by light stroking. All self-massage should be done in the direction of the heart. For instance, when you massage the arms or legs go from the extremities towards the trunk. If you are pregnant or suffering from infectious diseases, feverish conditions, serious heart complaint or any other physical defect, do not do self massage. It should ideally be done by people in perfect health, otherwise indulge in it only if the doctor advises.
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