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Women's Health

HEALTH & BEAUTY

Women's Health Self-Massage:
A 15 Minute Regime for Health & Beauty

(Psst! Men can do this, too!)
by Honora Lee Wolfe

It is said that the glow of beauty on the outside is a reflection of health on the inside. A few minutes spent every morning or evening to relax and balance our internal organs, improve blood flow, and rectify the flow of qi in our bodies can help a woman achieve and maintain her best, inside and out.

Self-massage is one of the most pleasant ways to take care of yourself and it is a discipline that need take relatively little time to complete. Better yet, if a discipline is pleasant, we are more likely to persevere with its practice.

In Chinese medicine it is believed that massage over any area of the body will improve the flow of blood and body fluids in that area as well as relax and rectify the flow of qi.

Since many diseases are at least partially due to inadequate, stagnated, or improper flow of qi, blood, and/or body fluids, it makes sense that any practice which helps maintain the proper flow of these substances will help maintain the health of the tissues or areas being massaged.

Furthermore, for a anyone to practice any type of self-massage requires them to stop, relax, and take a few minutes of time for herself. This "down time" is a rare commodity for most busy people and that alone can make a positive difference in anyone's health.

Below is described one self-massage protocol that anyone can do in 10-15 minutes. It is a group of ten simple movements that can be learned by anyone and can make a difference in their health. This is any easy way to start or end your day.

I practice this in the morning to help get me going, but a bedtime regimen could promote sound sleep, an absolute pre-requisite for both health and beauty! Remember to keep breathing and stay relaxed while doing this massage.

1. Lying on your back on your bed or a mat on the floor, lift your legs up perpendicular to the floor and hold them there for a minute or so. Then gently shake your legs 25 times. Stop, take a breath and repeat. Then do the same thing with your arms. Upon finishing shaking your arms, shake just your hands in the same way.
   
   
Explanation: Reversing the normal direction of the limbs helps the heart by using gravity to promote venous return and improved lymphatic drainage. The shaking assists with this process.


2. Remaining on your back, stretch your wrists by using one hand to pull the opposite hand as far back as it can go. Then press down on the same hand, stretching it forward as far as it will go. Only press to the point of gentle tension and hold for two or three breaths. Repeat on the other side.
   
   Explanation: These movements open the wrist joints and keep them flexible, allowing for maximum flow of qi and blood through the wrists, forearms, and hands.
   
   
3. Rub your abdomen in gentle clockwise circles (starting at the upper right, across to the left and down, across to the right and up). Use the entire hand and keep a gentle, firm pressure. Repeat up to 50 times, covering the entire abdominal area.
   
   Explanation: The abdominal cavity contains most of the viscera and bowels in the body. Regular massage of this area can improve the functioning of the stomach, spleen, liver, gallbladder, and small and large intestines. Additionally, according to Chinese medical theory, half of all the acupuncture channels in the body, traverse the abdomen. Each of those channels have an affect on other body parts all over the body. Thus, abdominal massage alone can have a tremendous positive impact on overall health as well as the health of the viscera below the surface of the skin.
   
   
4. Press your ear lobes gently between your thumb and forefinger. Rub circularly, moving slowly up the ear until you have rubbed the entire outer ear from top to bottom and your ears feel warm.
   
   Explanation: In many systems of medicine, the ear is what is known as an homunculus (a little person). Thus, massaging the ears is like and indirect massage for the entire body.
   
   
5. Press slowly along the eyebrow from inner to outer edge. Breathe slow and relax your eyes while you do this movement. Repeat several times. Then do gentle circle on the temples with the tips of fingers.
   
   Explanation: This technique is used in Chinese medicine to both treat and prevent headaches and insomnia. Massage here opens and relaxes the flow of the qi in the yang channels which begin around the eyes.
   
   
6. Click your teeth together (gently!!) 30-50 times. Now relax your jaw and take a deep breath.
   
   
Explanation: In Chinese medicine, the teeth are considered to be the surplus of the kidneys. Also the mouth is where the major channel which runs up the center front of the body and up the spine in the back of the body meet. By clicking the teeth, the flow of qi and interchange between these two channels is stimulated. Also the vibrations of the clicking teeth stimulate the brain.


7. Sit up. Press in tiny circles along the base of your skull from the center outward, repeat two or three times. Then do the same thing down each side of neck just to the side of the spine and slightly out onto the shoulders.
   
   Explanation: This area is the "bottleneck" for yang (warm, active) qi moving up and down from the head and body. It is often the site of tension and pain when that movement is impeded due to stress or injury. The free flow of qi and blood to and from the head is what keeps our hair nourished and our memory sharp.
   
   
8. Bring your hands down so that the back of the palms rest on your low back, just above your hip bones. Use the back of the hand to rub in circles in toward the spine and down over the top of the buttocks, out toward the sides and up over the kidney area. Repeat this 30 times. Don't forget to breathe!
   
   Explanation: The kidneys are considered the major viscera in charge of growth, maturation, and aging. This movement is designed to promote longevity by enhancing the health of the kidneys.
   
   
9. Rest your right ankle on your left knee. Place the palm of your right hand on your right knee and the palm of your left hand on the sole of your left foot. Make matching circles over the sole of the foot and the knee. Repeat 30- 50 times.
   
   Explanation: By rubbing the feet with the hands we are connecting the qi between the upper and lower aspects of the body. Also, the feet contain an homunculus similarly to the ear so that rubbing the feet strengthens the entire body. Also, both the knees and the feet are areas related to the kidneys and by massaging these areas we further strengthen our kidneys.



10. Finally, stretch your arms above your head, arching your shoulders slightly back. Take a deep breath and then relax.

That's it, you're done. You have just helped to nourish and balance almost every tissue, organ and bowel, and most of the acupuncture channels in your body. And when the inside is in balance, the outside cannot help but reflect it!

If you would like more information about self-massage, see Chinese Self-massage: The Easy Way to Health by Dr. Fan Ya-li, published by Blue Poppy Press, a Prevention Book Club Selection

If you would like more information about women's health in general, see Better Breast Health Naturally with Chinese Medicine and Managing Menopause Naturally with Chinese Medicine by Honora Lee Wolfe, and Curing PMS Naturally with Chinese Medicine by Bob Flaws, also published by Blue Poppy Press.

Your path to radiant health...
from motherhood to menopause.

Lorraine Harris's Asheville acupuncture clinic is conveniently located in South Asheville.  Ms. Harris is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist and Nationally Board Certified Practitioner of Chinese Medicine. She is the only Mei Zen-trained cosmetic acupuncturist in Western North Carolina (WNC).