Head Massage is one of the best and easiest natural ways to maintain a good health. Head massage does not require privacy, and we can keep all the clothes on during the massage. The best thing about it is that you can give yourself a head massage anytime and anywhere.
What Is Self Head Massage?
Head Massage is one of the best and easiest natural ways to maintain a good health. Head massage does not require privacy, and we can keep all the clothes on during the massage. The best thing about it is that you can give yourself a head massage anytime and anywhere. You can do it at your workplace to maintain your focus, at home after a long exhausting day, before an exam to help you reduce the stress, or just to fix a neck pain.
Benefits of Self Head Massage
Head massage is a great remedy for the following conditions: stress, anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, unbalanced emotions, dizziness, depression, muscle cramps and stiffness, backache and migraines. It is also reported to have helped for conditions such as: lazy liver, stomach-aches, tooth aches, and other. In conjunction with the use of massage oils it is an excellent method for treating skin and hair problems. It is an exceptional tool against stress and all affections caused by the modern life style.
The best thing about it is that you can do yourself a head massage anytime and anywhere.
HoMedics Neck Massager
HoMedics NMS-350 Shiatsu Neck Massager
- Great vibration massage for deep muscle acction
- Infrared lamps based heat – you can choose just massage or massage and heat
- Integrated control easy to use
- One-touch button for heat
- It is great for melting neck knots and improving blood circulation
- By massaging the neck area it also improves the blood flow to the brain
- Helps with head aches, migrenes, and tension
The Basic Techniques of Self Head Massage
Before you start
In order to enjoy your self-massage you need to have warm hands, so before starting warm up your hands; wash them with warm water if needed. With your hands dry, rub them together very quickly; this warms them even more and builds up energy in your palms. Relax and free your mind from all the quotidian problems and stress. Now you are ready to start.
Begin with a neck stretching
Place your hands on the trapezius muscle, where the neck joins with the shoulders. While lightly pressing with your fingertips on the trapezius, start with a side stretching, left – and right. The stretching has to be done in a slow motion and the extension should be in the limits of comfort. Do this a few times on each side. Keeping your hands on the shoulders, continue with stretching forward – backward in the same slow motion. Continue the stretching with alternative rotations; one rotation clockwise the next one counterclockwise. For rotations, the move should be as slow as possible. Repeat the rotations several times. The focus is not only on the neck’s muscles, but also on the front neck, where stretching will activate the glands and lymph nodes.
Shoulder squeezing
Place your left hand on your right shoulder and squeeze the muscle between your palm and your fingers. Continue by squeezing the trapezius muscle, the deltoid and cover all the shoulder area. Repeat this move with your right hand on the left shoulder. Ideally, you should do this directly on the skin.
Neck squeezing
Place your hand on your back neck and gently squeeze it.
Do not grasp between your thumb and your palm, you rather use only the palm to apply the squeeze. You can use any of the hands. Use moderate force as the neck is a sensitive area. This technique helps the neck muscles to relax and improves the blood circulation in brain.
Eyebrows friction
Starting from between your eyebrows, (foramen caecum), rub with both of your middle fingers along the eyebrows, distal, towards the sphenoid bone.
When you reach the sphenoid bone, near the frontozygomatic suture, search for a small cavity and do a small circle fingertip friction. Alternatively this can be done with the thumb. This is an excellent tool against headaches and fatigue.
Ear Massage
Ear massage will help reduce the stress, increase digestion, and improve body temperature adjustment.
Pull the ear backward with light force. Squeeze the ear between thumb and index applying a light pressure. Pull the earlobe downward with light force and release. This stimulates all the energetic points on the ear. This is very similar to auriculotherapy.
Friction behind ears
Place the thumbs on the bone behind your ears. Applying a moderate pressure, (strong effleurage), move your thumbs downwards to the neck until you meet the shoulders. This feels great and helps the release of endorphins. Ideally, you should use some lubricant with this move, (massage oil, or lotion).
Head Massager – Head Massage in the Comfort of Your Home
Pure Therapy PT200 Head & Eye Massager
- The massager has four air pressure settings to customize the massage experience and get a maximum relaxation. Precise temple nodes will push on specific acupressure points to relieve headaches and tension.
- Four vibration settings for deep massage and to provide relief from aches and strain.
- Heat compression feature to enhance your massage and relieve tension.
- The methods inspired from the Chinese acupressure techniques stimulate pressure points and improve circulation
Self Head Massage – Spiritual Techniques
Marma points – the spiritual link
Some of the Indian head massage techniques are based on the theory that the human body contains energetic centers named marma. Ayurveda identifies 107 marma points distributed on the entire body surface. Marma are receptive vital energy points, their role being as gateways between the physical the mental and the spiritual levels.
Marma is a concept very similar to the Chinese acupuncture point. However, the two are different in one aspect: While the Chinese acupuncture points are unrelated to any anatomical feature, marmas are in contrast, placed on anatomic landmarks on the body. This landmarks are junctions of tendons, muscles, blood vessels, bones and ligaments. The junctions, according to Ayurveda, are also places where the three vital elements, Vata, Pitta and Kapha meet. By controlling the marma points we can obtain effects on all three levels: body, mind and spirit.
Extrapolating, we can influence our energetic body by manipulating marma. Extending the theory we can say that any kind of massage will activate marmas. There is certainly a distinction between the different types of body rubs and a massage that focuses on marma. For any of the usual bodywork techniques, marma balancing and activation is just a secondary benefit.
Marmas can be controlled on the physical level by specific massage manipulations meant to increase the body awareness of the specific location. They can also be stimulated or relaxed by manipulating the energetic body. When we are healthy the marma points are particularly receptive to any external stimuli. Cold, heat, wind, makes them trigger body responses to keep the body in balance. If we point a finger or the palm to a marma, with the intent to interact, the marma will pick up “the message”, and an interaction will be established. Think about mudras in Yoga, and many religious gestures such as the blessing, or crossing oneself. They all have the same basis, the stimulation of marma points. This is also the basis of the healing touch technique.
Self Head Massage – Advanced Techniques
Healing Touch
Pass your fingers gently through your hair against the direction of hair growth and go all the way to neck. Do this from the neck to the front of the head. When you reach the top of the head where the hair forms a swirl there should be a maximum of the sensation.
Regain your Mental Focus
Do you feel like you can’t get together to finish a difficult task? Or you can’t concentrate because of constant outside perturbation?
Try this miraculous exercise: place the thumb and index near eyebrows on each side of the nose. Look for a small foramen, (frontal notch), on each side. Close your eyes and start to massage in a circular motion with light pressure. Massage for one minute. If you have energy manipulation skills you can only place your fingers for a few seconds, without doing any movement and you will observe immediate results. This is combined with a certain way of respiration.
Headache and anti-fatigue relief
Lean your elbows on a table or your desk, placing your index fingertip on the extremity of the temple where it joints with the forehead just above the end of your eyebrows ends.
Make small circular fingertip frictions applying little pressure. The first couple of times you massage this could cause you nausea but only if you have digestion problems or if you are tired. This is only temporary and after the third session you shouldn’t have any more problems.
Headache and toothache relief
When you have neuralgia you take an anti-neuralgic pill, (an analgesic and anti-inflammatory). It helps a lot, but you only treat the effect. It allows you to continue your activities and it’s great, but the cause can remain a few days or weeks after it first started. I propose you a routine that pushes your body to fight neuralgia so that you can cut your dose of analgesics.
With your elbows leaned on a table, or your office desk, place your thumbs on the jaw articulation. There should be a small hole in the bone configuration. Describe small circles with your thumbs. The side affected by neuralgia, (most of the times only one side is affected), should be slightly painful. Massage these points with a pressure that keeps the pain at a comfortable level. Do not over do it, and make sure is not too painful. Descend on the jaw towards the chin about a third. There should be another painful spot. Massage this spot, on both of the sides, by applying massage friction in the direction of the jaw articulation.
Move to the clavicle and grab it between your index and thumb, beginning distal, (on the side close to the shoulder). Applying moderate pressure, glide the fingers along the whole clavicle towards manubrium, (the middle of the chest). Do the same on the other side. Some people find it easier and more effective to use index and middle finger for this technique. Ideally this technique is performed with lubricant as it can irritate, if performed on dry skin.
Simple Techniques to Stimulate Marma Points
Crown Marma Stimulation
You can do this technique while leaning on your office chair, during a short break, or on your coach while watching your favorite TV show, or even while reading a word document at work. Interlace your fingers and position them on top of your head where your hair forms a swirl. Your arms will be held by your knuckles, so you don’t need a lot of force to maintain the position. You are now stimulating the Adhipati marma.
The Summit Marma Activation Technique
One hand is positioned at a few inches distance from the top of the head and the other one a few inches above the other hand. The hands are not touching nor they touch the head or the hair. Start making circles with your hands above your head. This will activate the Simanta marma.
A Reiki Technique
Another powerful, simple procedure, which is found in other energy medicines as well, is to place your hands on your front neck. Position your hands on your neck, with the heel of the palm on the front neck and the fingers pointing towards the back. This activates Manya and Nila marmas, a great stimulation for the liver and digestive system and a great immunity booster.
Activate Ajna Chakra, (Sthapani marma)
Perform very light effleurage, (nerve-stroke), on the eyebrows. Start with two, or three fingers – thumb and index – (or thumb, index and middle finger). Hold the fingers together on your “third eye”, the central spot between your eyebrows – This is Sthapani marma. Using your right hand, the thumb goes on the right and the index go on the left. When the effleurage motion is finished hold your hand for a few seconds with your fingers spread. This is a great exercise for improving the concentration.
Breathing is Your Gate to Heaven
We all know that breathing is an unconscious act, a natural reflex that doesn’t require a mental effort from our part, in other words we don’t need to think about it so we can do it, as with eating or drinking. This is great, it keeps us alive, but adjusting this regular breathing can help us control our body and mind, and make them function better. I call this energy breathing.
Energy breathing is not an reflex act, it does require a mental effort, and it can be mastered through training. However, energy breathing could become a conditioned reflex if practiced long enough. At that point you would do it without thinking, when your body, or your mind needs it.
Energy breathing is not very different from your regular respiration, it implies mostly a quality change. This change is done initially through a rational process, until the technique is mastered. When you breathe in energy, you fill with air your lungs, and at the same time, you fill with Prana, (energy), your Nadis, (energy channels). The energy breathing is more of a mental exercise and the process of inspiration and expiration are used only as a rational support to facilitate the Prana exchange.
As your first step for exercising Prana manipulation choose a Chakra or a marma for your exercise. For instance choose Ajna chakra, the chakra between your eyebrows. Imagine that you inspire through that point. Inhale slightly longer than you do in your usual breathing process. Make a brief apnea before exhaling and then exhale, using the same time as for inhalation and imagine that the air is going out through the same spot. If you feel as breathing a more dense air, you have done the technique correctly. It is OK if you don’t feel it at first, it takes time to get it right. Many times you need the guidance of someone who’s done it before.