Self Massage: The complete 15-minute-a-day massage programme
Self Massage is simple and effective self-care programme which can easily be incorporated into your daily routine.Just 15 minutes a day will prepare your body and mind for any stresses and strains ahead. This book will show you how to:Increase vitality• Relieve tiredness• Aid relaxation• Build up good health• Relieve common ailments• Ease neck and back painFully illustrated with photos and line drawings – this is a clear step-by-step guide to self-massage.
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Self-Massage
A complete 15-minutes-a-day massage system for health and healing
Jacqueline Young
For Sarah
The art of massage has been with us since ancient times. It can be used for relaxation and pleasure, or therapeutically in the treatment of aches, pain and injuries.
In the Orient, self-massage techniques have traditionally been handed down in families, and sometimes even taught in schools, for the relief of tension and the promotion of health.
There are many techniques of massage, and some take several years and much practice to master. Yet each have simple movements which can easily be learnt and used to good effect on one’s own body.
By learning how to massage yourself you can:
build up good health and prevent disease
aid relaxation
promote healing of minor ailments and imbalances
increase self-awareness
Anyone can learn self-massage and, with practice, you can vitalize the whole body in a 15 minute top-to-toe routine. Alternatively, just a few minutes can be spent massaging whichever part of the body requires attention: for example, massaging the neck and shoulders to relieve a stiff neck or headache.
With this massage you will have a self-health system literally at your fingertips! It can be used anytime, anywhere, and no special equipment or oils are needed. It is not even necessary to remove clothing as the techniques are designed to be performed through light clothing as easily as on the skin itself.
Once you feel confident of the movements they can easily be adapted for use on others. So, by learning self-massage, friends and family can benefit too!
With self-massage, because you are working on yourself, you can practise whenever you have a free moment rather than having to find someone to practise on. This means that you can quickly build up confidence in your touch and develop mastery of the techniques.
With experience you will learn to detect subtle changes in the body which can be a valuable tool in monitoring your health and determining the body’s needs. Regular practice will ensure relief from tiredness and tension and will leave you feeling vibrant and well.
This simple self-massage system is based on a combination of Japanese and Chinese massage therapies, together with acupressure techniques. The system works not only on releasing muscular tension, but also on stimulating the energetic system of the body, known in acupuncture as the meridian system.
The meridians
According to oriental medical theory, a network of channels covers the entire body and links with each of the internal organs. These channels, or meridians, are located just below the surface of the skin. They are not visible to the naked eye but can be measured electrically. They are said to conduct a current through the body which is termed ‘Qi’ in Chinese and ‘Ki’ in Japanese, and is generally translated as ‘vital energy’. The balanced supply of this vital energy throughout the body is said to be essential for health. There are twelve main meridians; they function in pairs and run on both sides of the body. There are also eight extraordinary meridians, two of which are important in the self-massage system.
The twelve main meridians
Lung – Large Intestine
Stomach – Spleen
Heart – Small Intestine
Urinary Bladder – Kidney
Pericardium – Triple Heater
Gall Bladder – Liver
Two extraordinary meridians
Conception Vessel – Governor Vessel
Most of the meridians correspond to actual physical organs, but others relate to specific functions of the body. The Triple Heater meridian relates to circulation and the distribution of fluids around the body, as well as to the health of the sexual organs. The pericardium is a membrane around the heart and the Pericardium meridian relates to heart and circulatory function in the body. The Conception and Governor Vessel meridians serve to supply and unite the energy within the other twelve meridians.
Acupoints
Along each meridian line there are points known as acupoints. These can be stimulated in order to influence the flow of vital energy in the meridian. In this massage system, fingertip pressure on the acupoints is used to clear blockages and maintain a balanced flow of energy throughout the body. Acupoints on each of the twelve main meridians are massaged on both sides of the body.
