Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Give An Acupressure Back Massage Sitting Down







Acupressure has been used for centuries throughout Asia for relaxation, health and meditation purposes. It is based on the prospect of shifting energy around the body by applying pressure to different points. This is meant to heal aches and symptoms that are not even near the pressure points that were touched in the first place. There are different conclusions to Western doctors as to why this works, but one of the main explanations is that the pressure on certain nerves shoot around the body and help relieve nerves in other places. These massages can be given sitting, standing or laying down.


Instructions


1. Sit on a flat surface, such as a wooden chair or floor. If you are giving the massage to yourself, make sure that you can reach many points on your body and that is is comfortable for your to bend and twist. If the massage is being given to someone else, make sure that you can reach them easily from your sitting position.


2. Relive back pain by massaging all four of your fingers curled upward into the back crease of the knee. Rub back and forth on the back of the knee onto your fingers. Do this for around two minutes, three times a day--it will help relieve pain and tension in the back muscles. This helps the energy circulate in the body constantly.


3. Use pressure points at different parts of the back to create a massage effect. Start at the lower back on either side of the spine, applying pressure with your thumbs and rub in a circular motion.


4. Work your thumbs upwards an inch, still on either side of the spine. Rub each point in circular motions for a full minute before moving onto the next point yet another inch directly above.


5. Move your thumbs once you reach the top of the spin to the starting point of the shoulder blades, and work in the same circular motion until you reach the outer point of the shoulder blades. Continue the same time (one full minute) for each massage point area.


6. Work your way down to the angle where the side of the back turns into the ribcage. Work your thumbs straight down this angle so that you are not rubbing the ribs, but the muscle mass directly before the sharply curving bone. Work in 1-inch increments down the side of the body, rubbing in the circular motion for a full minute each time. This covers the outer frame of the back and should relieve muscle tension and aches.

Tags: your thumbs, circular motion, full minute, Work your, applying pressure