Healing Powers of Self-Massage

I love to give my feet a good rub, when I can't sleep. It draws my awareness down into my body and away from the likely spinning thoughts in my head. It also feels rejuvenating in a way that often (if not always) helps me relax and drop back to sleep .

Despite its benefits, self-massage is not generally part of our daily routines in the Western world. More often, massage is seen as an indulgence, associated with spas and treating ourselves. Alternatively, we may use it to fix a physical issue.

Meanwhile, in other cultures self-massage is an integral part of healing modalities and daily self-care - the Ayurvedic practice of Abhyanga comes to mind, as does the Gua Cha traditional Chinese massage technique used for facial or full-body treatments, or the Raakau bodywork technique of the Maori people involving a wooden stick. And there are many more.

Inspired by this, I always encourage every one coming for a massage treatment to also gently work on their own body, wherever places of tension can be easily reached. It can be surprising how much strain and stress we hold in our limbs, without necessarily noticing this. 

And, it's also motivating to see how bringing awareness to tight areas through compassionate touch can help us relax.

If you don't already, perhaps you'll feel inspired to give it a go?

Your body will be around a lot longer, than that expensive handbag. Invest in yourself...

~ Anonymous

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