RELAXATION TRAINING FOR WAYWARD NERVES: THE MUSCLES OF THE HEAD AND NECK – HEAD, NECK AND SHOULDER MASSAGE
You will need a partner for this and you will also need to allow him/her to help you; just sit there like a sack of potatoes and if you feel a little discomfort just try to bear it; it is an indication of how much you need those muscles moved.
Instructions for the helper
Areas of tension feel harder and resist the pressure of your fingers, so just work away in these areas and you will feel the muscles becoming less tight. Your fingers are bringing more blood to the area and allowing waste products to be taken away. Don’t be too concerned about technique, if your thoughts are gentle towards your partner and you desire to help him/her you cannot do any harm; just follow these simple rules and let your fingers take over.
• Don’t massage over broken skin or varicose veins.
• Don’t massage the front of the neck.
• Don’t poke hard into muscles that feel hot and swollen.
• Do relax when you are massaging.
• Do allow your partner to do the same for you.
• Do remember to do shoulder exercises every day.
Be as relaxed as you can; let your breath out as you drop your shoulders; balance your partner’s head, make sure his/her back is straight but slack, press her/his shoulders gently down.
J Support the forehead with one hand and move the muscles of the scalp just as if you were washing the hair with the other.
2 Continue to support the forehead and massage quite firmly at the base of the skull using the thumb and fingers to make small circular movements.
3 Now move onto the back of the neck using the thumb and index finger on either side of the neck bones; again using a circular movement.
4 Place your hands over the shoulders and use the thumb or heel of the hand to knead the muscles in a circular motion. Ask if there are any places needing extra attention.
5 Put one arm across the top of your partner’s chest and encourage them to relax forward onto it. With the other hand continue massaging down the side of (but not on) the bones of the spine. Work in a similar fashion around the shoulder blade. Use the other arm and repeat for other side of spine.
6 Stand in front of your partner, pick up the wrist and shake the hand letting it flop (don’t do this if there is pain in the joint); and ask them to imagine a wet sweater on the washing line. You will feel the arm become heavier when they think ‘heavy’. Give the hand a little shake then do the other hand and arm.
7 Stand behind your partner, support her/his head against your chest and stroke the brow with both first fingers from the centre outwards.
8 Finish off by stroking lightly and rapidly from the head down the back and then down the arms and hands.
Sometimes people are quite sleepy after a head and neck massage. Your partner might need a short rest before helping you.
For the very tense person, it is a great help if they can have a massage daily. The therapeutic value of massage is becoming more recognized in this country. Aromatherapy – massaging with the essential oils of plants – has been proved to have a beneficial effect on the nervous system.
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