Give yourself an Indian Head Massage

Feeling a little stressed and not quite at your best? I've worked out a short routine for you to give yourself a massage at any time - I would say anywhere, but if you did it on the bus the other passengers may think you a little odd! 

Choose somewhere private and warm where you can concentrate on yourself. Sit on any normal chair with your feet on the ground - take off your shoes if that makes you feel comfy. All you need is your hands, no oils, no towels. If you can dim the lights and have a candle burning, that's fine - depends on where you are!

Sit, shoulders back, eyes closed, hands loosely in your lap and just concentrate for a few seconds on your breath, breathing through your nose - imagine with each out breath that your worries are being breathed out and with each in breath you are taking in fresh clean energy as well as air. Then imagine that any tension is leaving your body - you have time to yourself for a few minutes - as it says in the ad 'You're worth it'. Imagine feeling warmth surround your body and relax the muscles in your face, you are already feeling the benefit of the relaxation and the tension is disappearing from your body.

 

• Using both hands, gently push your fingers through your hair and on to your scalp, gently rubbing your head with your fingers, using whatever pressure that feels good to you - do this all over your head 2 or 3 times.

• Next, take handfuls of your hair and very gently and slowly tug your hair - this will ease tension from your scalp.

• Go on to rub and squeeze your temples using the heels of your hands with your fingertips pointing up and on your head. Make slow circular movements.

• Move on to the back of your neck - if you have long hair hold it up out of the way with one hand and use the other to squeeze and roll the muscles in the back of your neck working from the top down - do this several times and then repeat with the other hand.

• Placing both hands on your head and both the thumbs at the base of your skull, work your thumb in little circles along the boney ridge that is called the occipital ridge. Use the pressure that suits you. You may want just to exert a little pressure with your thumbs along this ridge - do what feels best for you.

• Shoulders next: place one hand on the opposite shoulder and gently squeeze the muscle from the base of your neck out to the top of your shoulder then down the arm to your elbow, repeat on the same arm twice more then swap to the other side. Next, use your palm to gently stroke down or move in gentle largeish circles in the same area to sooth the the muscles. It wouldn't be unusual to feel quite a bit of 'sweet pain' on the arms - apply the pressure that is best for you.

• Finish the self massage by rubbing your hands through your hair from the front of your head to the base of your neck, pushing your hair back - you can also gently stroke your face at this point as well. Do this a couple of times and then relax.

As a final add on to this you could do some neck stretches - the way I do this is to imagine that I am drawing the biggest circles I can in the air with my nose as the focus and make this rotation 3 times and in opposite directions - I always feel my neck crunching! only extend the neck as far as you feel is comfortable.

Take a few seconds to breath and bring yourself back to where you are, opening your eyes when you are ready.

Hope that you're now relaxed and energised!

And if you really can't be bothered doing it for yourself - come to me and I'll do it for you!