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In most cases, when I initially see clients, they’re either in stress mode and need relaxation
massage. Stress is cummulative and impact your entire life
(read more about stress).
While other clients come to me in pain and need focused attention on their pain patterns and
addressing problem areas. In both cases, my goal is help them improve their overall quality of life.
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The following are some of the most frequent exercises I present to clients in the form of
self-massage and self-help techniques in order to help them relax, as well as to continue the
therapeutic work performed during the massage.
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Even though I’ve not seen you as a client, you may still benefit from one or more of the following
suggestions. A little self-care will go a long way. If you proactively address a potential problem
area before it becomes a problem, it probably won’t become a problem.
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If you are a current client, some of these suggestions may sound familiar as I've probably offered
them to you. Still, you might want to continue reading in order to refresh your memory, thus
spurring you on to include them more regularly in your daily schedule.
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General Self-Care
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Perhaps one of the most important thing you could do is to drink water. Most people do not drink
nearly enough. For more information on the importance of drinking water,
read this.
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Breathe from the Diaphragm
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Breathing from the diaphragm is the natural way to breathe. We breathe from the diaphragm while
we're asleep. Once we wake up and carry on with our day, most people tend to breathe from the
chest. Breathing from the chest requires more effort from muscles, tendons, ligaments, and even
bones thereby creating more stress and strain on the chest, shoulders, and back. Chest breathing
also equates to shallow breathing.
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Stand Up and Sit Up Straight
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Posture is very important in maintaining the proper alignment of muscles to bones. For example,
don’t always place your weight on one foot and when sitting, don’t cross your legs/knees; rather,
keep your feet firmly on floor. Another thing to avoid is crossing your arms across your chest.
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Walk it Off
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You’ve got so much work to do in a limited amount of time. But taking a moment to simply walk
around the office is great for bringing back circulation into stressed and tired muscles, as well
as giving yourself a metal recharge.
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Get a Massage
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Yeah, I know. A lot of people only get a massage when they want to pamper themselves. They feel it's
an extravagance. Massage isn't pampering; rather, it's a way of living smarter. Clients I see on a
regular basis once or twice a month know the
benefits
of massage. Whether it's for relaxation or maintanence of problem areas, they understand how
their bodies relate to stress and strain, mentally and physically, and know how massage has and will
continue to help them.
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Scalp
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Open your hands and place them on your head so that finger pads are resting somewhat firmly on
your scalp. Gently rub into your scalp. Next, with your finger pads still splayed out, slowly drag
your hands down the sides of your head, to the brow line, and to the back of the head to the base
of the skull.
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Eyes
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First, remove your glasses or contact lenses. Close your eyes. Place the balls of your palms over
eyes and gently press into them. Take a deep breath, exhale. Over the next couple of breaths,
gently massage your closed eyes in a circular motion with the fleshy part of your palms.
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Jaws
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Place the pads of your fingers just above your cheek bones and about 1/2 inch from your ears.
Slowly drag your finger pads o the base of your jaw. Repeat as necessary so that all areas of your
jaws are addressed. Next, using your finger pads, gently rub your jaws in a circular motion. If you
find a sensitive area, gently press your finger pads into the area to warm the tissue and reduce
the pain.
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Base of the Head (back)
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Using your finger pads, locate the boney ridge where the skull meets the neck. Place the sides of
your thumbs on either side and slightly lower so that the sides of your thumbs are resting in sort
of pocket of tissue. With your eyes closed, take a deep breath and gently press. Keep pressing for
a couple breaths. Next, gently massage these areas for a bit. Finally, slowly drag your thumbs to
the sides of your neck for about an inch or so. Repeat the drag a few times.
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Neck
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With your fingers closed, reach your hands behind your neck and place the pads of your fingers on
the back of your neck with the little finger resting on the ridge at the base of the skull. Your
finger pads should feel as if they are resting in a slight valley. Take a deep breath, exhale.
Gently press in for a few breaths, if it’s painful, decrease the pressure. Next, gently rub
fingers pads in a circular and up and down motions. Next, using the same gentle pressure, drag
your finger pads away from your spine for about an 1 1/2 inches. Repeat a few times.
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Shoulder
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Throughout the day, roll your shoulders forward a few times and then back a few times. Also, lift
your shoulders and then allow them fall back again.
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Upper Back
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Using the open palm of one hand, place your finger pads at roughly the upper part of your shoulder
blade on the other side of the body. Take a deep breath, release. Slowly and gently pull your
finger pads through the tissues of your upper back and through to your collar bone. Repeat a
few times. Repeat for the other side.
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Forearm
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With your forearm resting atop a firm, solid surface (or against your body), gently grasp your
forearm with the palm of your hand. Maintain a solid and gentle grip, slowly move your hand so
that the tissue of the forearm is being moved. This may include circular motions and a ‘pulling’
your tissue away from the elbow. Next, again with a gentle grip, knead and squeeze the muscles in
your upper forearm. Once the tissues are generally warm, place your finger pads along the muscles
in your forearm and gently rub up and down and in a circular motion. Next, keeping a firm pressure
on the muscles, slowly open and close your fist. Gently rub the muscles that will contract and
release. Next, with a clenched fist of the forearm you’re working, very slowly rotate you fist
from side to side. Carry these same steps down the length of your forearm to the wrist. Repeat for
the other forearm.
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Wrist
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First, using the thumb pad, gently press into the skin at the base of the wrist on the underside
of the forearm and drag your thrum about an inch or so. Do this for the width of the wrist.
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Mid Back
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Take two new tennis balls and place them inside a sock (athletic socks work best). Tie the end of
the sock off. Place the sock/tennis balls against the wall at the height of your shoulder blades.
Back up so that the tennis balls are situated as equally as possible between the spine and the
inner part of your shoulder bade. Gently rub this area in an up and down motion against the tennis
balls. If there is any pain, ease off on the pressure. Repeat for the other side. Be sure to stay
clear of your spine. This may be somewhat cumbersome, but stick with it.
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Lower Back
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Using the tennis balls again, this time change the orientation so that they are on either side of
the spine. Again, it’s very important to stay off of the spine. Beginning at the height of about
an inch below your last rib, slowly work your lower back up and down the tennis balls. If/when you
find a tight spot, rest the spot on the ball for a couple of breaths. With practice, you may also
perform micro movements to work a specific area. Make sure you perform the same movements on the
other side.
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Feet
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Sitting down with your shoes off, place a tennis ball on the floor within easy reach of your feet.
Place the sole of one foot on the tennis ball; and, using gentle to moderate pressure, roll your
entire foot over the tennis ball. Work all the areas of your foot. If you find a sensitive or
painful spot, decrease the pressure. Do this rolling around for about 3-5 minutes. Repeat for the
other foot.
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