A Four Part Series - Part One

The juice is worth the squeeze

It is humanly instinctive to immediately touch, rub or hold where it hurts in our body. This very primitive impulse is our body’s intelligence, demanding action from our healing hands to lean in and take this initial action further. If we listen to our body, we can focus our attention on the tactile faculty of touch and use our hands as effective allies on our ongoing quest to restore comfort and ease. This is where the art and science of self-massage comes in. Our hands provide a wealth of sensory information, from texture and temperature to pressure and vibration and our internal compass of interoception or body awareness gets an upgrade.

Just when you’re thinking: “Oh no not another health hack to extend my already lengthy, daily health regime!” The meritorious practice of regular and intentional self-massage will bring about tangible results, appreciably boosting our vitality to justify its inclusion in our healthy habit toolbox. Self-massage accrues benefits accumulatively, so when we make it a routine, overtime we will start to enjoy the profound impacts on various aspects of our physical, emotional and energetic well being. We can be really discerning about the quality of massage oils that we use and choose excellent, plant based oils because they are being absorbed intimately through our dermis to the deepest cellular level. 

Where is the dream massager?

How often do we crave a really good massage? It is not so easy to find available skilled and caring hands that sensitively knead, rub and pummel our flesh to release tension or ease nagging aches. Where is the ideal massage therapist? The one who is perceptive to our needs, adroitly seeking out sore spots and instinctively knowing when to apply pressure and when to go lightly? If we do find this “dream massager” we have hit the jackpot, however more often than not the perfectly competent therapist whom we want, eludes us and we settle for the less optimal but available one. 

Interestingly it is not always about technique and anatomical knowledge that defines a good massager. It is often the kind, compassionate and intuitive practitioners with an uncanny ability to unravel knots in the soft tissue. They adeptly relax muscle, fascia, tendons and ligaments that release nerves and deeper connective tissues. A good massager holistically clears congestion or stress in the nervous system and balances the body's energy so that afterwards, we feel fantastically light and literally float out the door. Indeed an exemplary body massage can be a gateway to comprehensive renewal, not just a quick fix of relaxation.

We are our own massagers

Nobody quite knows our body like we do. No one is more qualified than our own sweet self who recognises exactly the kind of bodywork that is needed, precisely where it hurts and how long and deep we can press. Of course there are places on our back that are out of our reach, which is when we can swap massages with our partner or friends. What works in our favour is that self-massage is readily available, requires no appointment and little effort on our part. What’s more, it doesn’t cost anything and can be done anywhere at anytime and is the sensible way to enjoy massage benefits in between the fewer times of having professional treatments. So why aren’t we doing it? The advantages of regular self-massage are numerous and significant to help prevent injury, pain and tension build up in the muscle fibres and for de-stressing and relaxing the mind and body. Self-massage can be a daily ritual to honour and express our love for the vessel that accommodates our soul. 

Our body is a map

We should not, underestimate the healing power of manipulating our own accessible body parts including the nerve plexuses, lymph gateways etc., to effectively increase blood and lymph circulation to bring immediate and long term relief. Our fingers can trace meridian lines and press acupressure spots to investigate health concerns in a deeper more integrated way. The body indeed stores trauma and stress in a way that can be thought of as a map or "body memory." The body "maps" all stressful experience as a physical reminder by storing it in its muscle memory, which results in tight muscles and painful areas. 

Finding Issues in the Tissues

Stress and trauma can rewire our brain's neural connections, influencing our thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Chronic stress can disrupt hormone regulation, leading to issues like adrenal fatigue or thyroid dysfunction. Energetic imbalances, trauma and stress can affect the body's energy flow, leading to blockages or imbalances in the body's subtle energy systems (e.g., chakras, meridians). By acknowledging and addressing these stored patterns, with loving self-massage we can begin to release the trauma, stress and emotional blockages promoting healing and balance in the body and mind. Remember, the body has an incredible capacity for resilience and healing and by working with our own hands and healing intention we can work with the body's "map" of trauma and stress to unlock new pathways to wellness and wholeness. 

Get granular with the face

There are many good reasons to massage the face and we can do it our self. Using our own fingers, we can get really granular with massaging the small facial muscles with exactitude. It is surprising how much tension we hold in our face. Face massage relaxes not only our facial muscles, but it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and increases our feel-good neurotransmitters (serotonin, endorphins) to reduce overall tension and promote calmness in the body and mind. Importantly, face massage can help clear sinus congestion and pressure, opening the nasal passages to reduce sinus headaches and pain. It can release tension in the temples to reduce headaches and relax the jaw to relieve TMJ discomfort. Targeted massage relaxes masseter and temporalis muscles, which in turn reduces teeth clenching and grinding. Massaging the area around the eyes relaxes orbital muscles that reduce tension and alleviate eyestrain and fatigue to improve vision clarity.

Massaging the face every day is a superb beauty therapy, as it relaxes taut tight facial muscles that tend to set in certain deleterious ways. Face massages increases blood flow and oxygenation to nourish the skin and promote healthy facial function, helping to remove toxins and excess fluids, reducing puffiness and dark circles. It can enhance collagen and elastin production to improve skin elasticity and firmness that improves skin texture and leaves our skin looking and feeling radiant and healthy. This is when we can bring out the really fine and exclusive facial oils to work on the face in a detailed and effective way while nourishing the delicate skin. Of course this will elevate our mood when we include exquisite essential oils that have an affinity with the skin and with their anti- inflammatory, anti-aging and antioxidant properties. We can use rose, frankincense, sandalwood, helichrysum, chamomile or carrot seed oils carried in a high grade, lubricating base of jojoba, kendi and/or caycay oil. Tinderbox’s Everlasting Face Nectar is a fabulous option for facial massage. 

Don’t forget the scalp 

Let's not overlook a good self-massage of the scalp with special hair-friendly oils to nourish the scalp, which is especially helpful for disorders like dry, flaky dandruff and some cases of alopecia. Massage supports a healthy scalp environment that balances scalp pH and removes dead skin cells. Vigorous scalp massage stimulates hair follicles enhancing oxygenation and nutrient delivery to be a truly revitalising conditioning treatment that promotes beautiful, bountiful hair. 

Scalp massage also stimulates nerves in the scalp, promoting communication between the brain and body to release endorphins, the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators. Massaging the scalp releases trigger points, relieving tension in the neck and shoulder muscles, alleviating pain; it influences the craniosacral system, promoting relaxation and balance. It can beneficially influence hormone regulation, particularly with regards to stress hormones like cortisol. Let us not forget how effective it can be for easing headache and migraine symptoms as well as bringing fresh blood flow and energy to our brain enhancing clarity and focus. Self-massage can rewire our brain's neural pathways, improving cognitive function and memory.

Aromatherapy and self-massage go hand in hand

It makes perfect sense to use the amazing health-giving essential oils to increase the healing efficacy of our self-massage and elevate the experience into one of aromatic delight and pleasure. Essential oils cleverly penetrate into our deeper bodily systems to exert their pain quelling, anti-inflammatory and cleansing virtues. We can choose the exact oils to suit the specific areas where we massage, such as the feet, ears, face or breast and tailor our blend to the therapeutic action we require. That may be stimulating, increasing blood flow and clearing stagnancy, or it may be calming and antispasmodic, helping our body’s fibres to let go of their rigidity. It might be necessary to employ nourishing, skin rejuvenating carrier oils in which to put our active essential oils to address dry or distressed skin. If we do self-massage before bed, then we will surely use more sedative tranquilising essential oils to ensure a sound sleep. Overtime we will notice more than just increased relaxation, reduced pain and muscular soreness but the longer-term benefits of enhanced energy and alertness, decreased blood pressure and heart rate and enhanced immunological function.

Stay tuned for part two...

Relevant Tinderbox Products: Everlasting Face Nectar, Herbal Hair Oil, All massage oils and creams, Pure Essential Oils