Self-Massage
A complete 15-minutes-a-day massage system for health and healing
Jacqueline Young
For Sarah
Table of Contents
3 The neck, shoulders and arms
3 Common questions and experiences
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