The Beauty And Delight Of A Foot Massage

A foot massage is one of the most delightful things that you
will ever experience.

You may have has an exquisite back massage at some point during
your life; however, until you have experienced a superior a foot
massage then you simply do not know what you are missing. Your
feet carry you everywhere you want to go. The stress and strain
that is applied to your feet on a daily basis is unbelievable.
Your feet deserve the extra pampering you can provide, so the
next time that you decide a back massage is just the thing you
need, think about getting a foot massage instead.

With the feet, it is easy to get a massage. You can either
give your self a soothing foot massage or you can ask your
friend or lover to do it for you. A foot massage can also be
turned into a sensual event if it is something you are enjoying
with your partner. Begin by thoroughly cleaning your feet. A
warm soak in Epsom salts, peppermint oil or lavender is the
perfect way to get started.

Then dry your feet thoroughly making sure to spend the extra
time to dry between each toe. As soon as your feet are dry
select a scented foot oil to apply to your feet. Support the
foot you are working on with one hand, pour a small amount of
oil into your other hand and gently begin to massage the oil
into your foot. Of course, this is a lot more fun if your
partner will provide this foot treat for you.

Using your thumbs, begin on the top of the foot at the toes and
use slow, firm, and stroking motions to move upwards towards the
ankle. This movement is a little bit like using your thumbs to
knead bread. Remember to vary the pressure that you use as it
provides a more enjoyable experience and helps to get the blood
flow circulating.

Once you reach the ankles, then retrace your steps back to your
toes. Again, using very slow, stroking motions you as are
working to provide the delectable foot massage. Pressure
applied to the toes should be less than that which is applied to
the ankle. Use this same slow action from the toes to the ankle
and back again making several passes.

Next, with your hand in a cupped position, gently sit the heel
of your foot in your hand. With your free hand holding the top
of your foot gently rotate your foot slowly from side to side,
then begin to rotate your float clockwise and counterclockwise
using slow and deliberate movements.

Repeat these motions several times in order to relax your feet
and ankle joints. Remember to use slow and gentle movements so
that you do not put additional strain on your joints. It would
be awful to end up injuring yourself while trying to enjoy the
something as simple as a foot massage.

When you finish rotating the foot be sure to pamper the soles
of your feet. The soles of your feet take a real pounding and
so the extra attention you can provide will reap big rewards.
Beginning at the base of the toes and working towards the heel
of the foot use a kneading and stroking motion to provide relief
for the soles of the feet.

Taking the time to enjoy a gentle foot massage or to exchange
one with your partner is a thing of beauty. It can provide a
great deal of stress reduction, it can improve circulation and
blood flow to your feet and it can help you to genuinely relax
after a long day at work. Your feet have a tough job and after
all they deserve a bit of pampering too. A foot massage is
something that you really should not live another day without
experiencing. Enjoy!

About The Author: For more important information on foot pain
be sure to visit http://www.sore-foot-remedies.com where you
will find advice and tips on common foot pain causes such as
plantar fasciitis, foot corns, and other articles that you can
view at http://www.sore-foot-remedies.com

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Massage for Sleep

Massage can be very effective for helping babies sleep
deeper and for longer periods of time - which can translate
into you being able to sleep longer as well. Sometimes all
night!

Not only does massage help your baby to release stress
which builds daily from new experiences, it allows your
baby to relax.

Here are some tips so you can start using infant massage
right now:

• Keep baby warm and cover areas you will not be massaging.
You can massage over clothing (without oil).

• Before you begin, talk in a calm voice and smile at her.
This will help stimulate her senses and make her feel more
comfortable. Relax and take your time.

• Always ask out loud "Would you like your bedtime massage
now?" Wait for baby's answer and respond appropriately.

• Warm your hands by rubbing them together. This will help
her to recognize this cue as "massage time".

• Allow baby to move to different positions if she chooses
to.

• Continue massage only as long as you and baby are
enjoying it

At bedtime, you want to focus on using relaxing strokes.
Relaxing strokes are those which move away from the heart.
Being careful not to over stimulate at bedtime is best, so
using only a few strokes can work wonders.

Start by placing your warmed hands gently around the top of
baby's leg at the hip, cupping her leg, gently stroke
downward towards her foot. Do not put any pressure on
baby's knee or ankle. Then stroke the bottom of her foot
and gently hug each little toe. Next kiss her feet, babies
love this! Repeat on the opposite leg.

Go ahead and move on to her arms. Repeat the same soothing
strokes. While doing massage, continue to make eye contact
and check in with her. If you like singing or telling
stories, go for it. Whatever makes you both feel relaxed
is great!

If she is still enjoying her massage, continue. If not,
feel free to let her be the boss. Babies are really good
at letting us know when they've had enough.

Now, move on to her back. Stroke her back, starting at the
shoulders, over bum and down the legs, showing extra care
not to put any pressure on her spine. Continue stroking
her back a few times.

Now, give her a hug and kiss goodnight.

The first time you give your baby a massage, she may only
like to have a few minutes. This is perfectly normal.
Make sure you check in with the boss, your baby, and soon
you will be experiencing more restful nights!

About the Author:

Looking for expert advice, tips and tools to help improve
your child's health? Find answers to all your questions
about infant massage instruction training, massage for
children and pediatric massage therapy at
http://www.liddlekidz.com . Infant Massage Instructor
Trainer, Tina Allen, founder of leading children's health
and nurturing touch organization Liddle Kidz™, shares over
ten years of expertise working with children and families.

Health Benefits Of Massages Therapy

The last three decades have seen a huge resurgence in the
popularity of massages therapy, and its healing effects on the
body. No longer considered something tawdry, the people of
America are embracing massages therapy and its various forms, to
help them live their day to day lives without pain. Fifty
percent of all people who visit registered massage therapists
are men, and the most common reason for anyone to visit a
massage therapist is for relief from stress.

Our lives in the 21st century are deemed to be the most
stressful in all of history. We work longer hours than ever
before, endure long commutes to and from work, and then sit in
often cramped offices for most of the day. Coupled with this are
the effects of our western extravagant lifestyles, it is no
wonder that so many of us in the United States live in permanent
fight or flight mode. This is why various massages therapy
techniques can be beneficial to people's health to get relief
from all the stresses.

The United States Department of Health studies on stress and
the effects it has on the human body are startling. Unless we
learn to relax, stress can and will kill us, and is certainly
the biggest factor in heart attacks and strokes. When we spend
too long in fight or flight mode, our bodies trigger a release
of endorphins that help us fight a stressful situation. When
that situation is concluded, our bodies show signs of
exhaustion, and then we become stressed again due to our lack of
energy.

When we are stressed we begin to breathe small shallow breaths.
The result of shallow breathing is not enough air getting to our
tissues and muscles. When this occurs we begin to feel tension
in our necks, calve muscles, our backs may seem to seize up, and
our stomachs begin to ache. While making continued efforts to
reduce the stress in our day to day lives by changing our
circumstances is terribly important, having a massages therapy
can be an immediate way to improve circulation while healing
sore muscles.

The most common and widely practiced form of massage given by a
registered massage therapist is Swedish massage. This gentle
massage is most commonly used for stress related ailments such
as a stiff neck, aching back, and to relieve physical pain from
emotional problems. Health related studies have proved that when
we are traumatized our hearts really do hurt and we can
experience genuine heart ache characterized by pains in the
chest.

Swedish massage performed by a Massage Therapist is
characterized by five deep strokes across our chests. A
therapist begins by placing their hands just under our first
ribs and applying gentle pressure with the fingertips, they
sweep the skin from our ribs in a downwards movement to our
waist. This technique is done five times on the chest, before
turning to the neck and doing five smaller strokes from the nape
to the top of the spinal column, and is then repeated on the
back.

If any knots are found in the muscles while Swedish massage is
being performed a massage therapist will apply hard pressure
with their fingertips to release the knots. This sometimes
painful practice is referred to as deep tissue massage and is
often used in conjunction with Swedish massage, to help the flow
of blood properly circulate through the tissues and muscles to
reduce stress and promote relaxation.

About The Author: Zach Thompson is a Glyconutrients
Representative. His clients range from actresses to pro
athletes. You can get a free Glyconutrients consultation by
visiting http://www.nutritionalreview.com.

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Massage & Massage Therapy: The Fountain of Youth.

The traditional view of the fountain of youth is wrapped up
in the mystical notion of ancient secrets and rites being
passed down through generations of Tibetan monks living a
life of blissful solitude somewhere high up in the
Himalayas… Unfortunately, this romantic notion has been
hijacked by some very persuasive advertising from cosmetic
companies who'd have us believe that they've discovered the
secrets of the fountain of youth, and that the fast track
to looking young and youthful is only ever a pill or a
potion away.

Don't get me wrong, I fork out far too much money on
lotions and potions myself, so I'm not immune to the power
of a good anti wrinkle cream sales pitch. (I'm not sure
about the pills though!)

Where I part company with the lotions and potions
fraternity though, is that I believe the fountain of youth
really does exist, I just happen to have a more abstract
view of it.

Certainly lotions and potions have a role to play in terms
of moisturising and cleansing, but I'm afraid I can't quite
believe that they have age-reversing properties.

It really is one of life's great truths that beauty lies
within. And the person who appreciates that fact is already
on to a winner. If you think you're beautiful then you are.
Having this level of acceptance comes from having a good
appreciation of who you are and offers a glimpse at your
level of self-esteem.

Unfortunately having high self-esteem is not the norm for
the vast majority of us, which leads to quick and
comforting fixes such as the aforementioned lotions,
potions and pills.

If I really had to offer my own opinion, I'd suggest that
the fountain of youth is flowing within us all. Our
thoughts lay the foundations of our own self worth and in
case you didn't know it, you can control them. Weed out the
negatives and encourage the positives. Eat healthy foods,
take regular exercise and look in the mirror and tell
yourself you're beautiful.

Go a step further and give yourself a helping hand. Give
yourself a massage. Start with a facial and when your
confidence improves, go for a full massage. Massage
enhances the skin condition by improving the function of
the sebaceous and sweat glands, which keep the skin
lubricated, clean, and cool. (and young looking!) In
addition, by giving yourself a massage, you will be
igniting and releasing naturally occurring wonder drugs
called endorphins which induce a wonderful state of
euphoria. There are few other therapies that produce such
positive and potentially life changing results as massage
and massage therapy. Results can be dramatic or subtle,
visible or invisible but always beneficial. Your mind and
body will feel invigorated and if you do this often enough,
your self-esteem and wellbeing will skyrocket.

If there is such a thing as the fountain of youth, then for
me, a healthy balanced diet, taking regular exercise and
simply liking yourself, amount to drinking from that very
fountain. (told you I had an abstract view) Good luck on
your quest.

To your continued, outstanding health.

P.S. Don't be afraid to slap on some so called age-reducing
lotion or potion and don't beat yourself up either, after
all, you're only human.

About the Author:

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The Benefits of Swedish Massage Therapy

While some people think of fancy salons and spas when they hear the name Swedish Massage Therapy, it is simply a method of massage that is readily available even in the office of a chiropractor. There are many benefits associated with a Swedish massage, and we will explore some of them here.

The Swedish massage is one of the most common forms of massage in the USA and is quite the standard. It is also known as a therapeutic type massage and is an overall method that helps the whole body.

So what is a Swedish massage exactly? Simply - a set and variety of techniques or methods that help to achieve relaxation of the muscles and to help achieve a better and increased rate of circulation.

The main use or purpose of a Swedish massage is:
- Helps to release toxins from the body's muscles
- Help to increase oxygen flow

How is this massage method applied? Basically the Swedish massage utilizes techniques that apply stokes with pressure expressly applied in the direction as the blood would flow as it returns to a person's heart. The pressure is applied to bones and muscles with various types of techniques. These techniques are:
- Shaking motions
- Tapping
- Friction
- Effleurage
- Vibration
- Kneading
- Long strokes

Each of these methods or techniques of the massage has a stroke that can offer benefits in different ways. And these can be further defined as 5 main strokes such as:
- Gliding which is called Effleurage
- Rubbing which is called Friction
- Kneading which is called Petrissage
- Pounding which is called Tapotement
- Shaking which is called Vibration

First the therapist would attempt to concentrate on relaxation which would utilize gliding the palms, fingertips, or thumbs. This would be the Effleurage stroke. Further they would use kneading with the fingers, thumbs, or hands and this would be the Petrissage stroke. Along with this, the therapist would use lotions and or oils to help the technique. The process usually involves a body massage covering the whole body that ranges from between 1 hour to 1.5 hours.

With the Effleurage stroke, the ultimate goal is to find the muscles that are tense and this provides an individual time to get comfortable as they lie face down and are massaged from the neck all the way down the back to the end of the spinal column.

While with the Petrissage stroke, the therapist is striving for the achievement of a deeper relaxation and works to Warm-Up the person body for more intense massage. This technique will involve the muscles being moved or lifted away and upward from the bones. This will help to figure out how much or how deep the pressure applied will need to be. This will possibly lead to other massage strokes that will allow for various benefits. The many and various benefits of utilizing Swedish therapy are:
- Lowers blood pressure
- Increases circulation
- The mind and the body will relax
- Helps with digestion
- Can help to relieve colic
- Helps clear up congested lungs by breaking up mucus
- Helps to stimulate a slower breathing pattern
- Improves muscle flexibility
- Helps to improve the strength of the muscles
- Helps to ease tension and stiffness within the muscles

There are many more benefits to this form of massage with relaxation being a major player in this therapy. Furthermore a person can achieve better overall well being and health if they start receiving a Swedish massage program.

Scott Meyers is a staff writer for http://www.ItsEntirelyNatural.com, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site.