Unfortunately, due to cost or time available, we are not always able to receive relief from a trained massage therapist during a session. However, learning to reconnect with your body by yourself can be a profound practice. By understanding and learning the basics of massage touch, you can undertake different methods yourself and benefit from opportunities of natural relief that massage provides.

Qi Gong Tapping is a form of self-massage is commonly used by many Qi Gong and Tai Chi practitioners while warming up before their meditative practices. This can be adopted as a method to energise yourself first thing in the morning or perhaps before a physical workout. Start by forming your hands into a loose fist so that you can firmly tap your body from head to toe along the meridian pathways. The first step is to tap along your arms both inside and oustside. Then tap your torso down the front of your chest, continuing down to the front of your thighs. Repeat the tapping on the inside, outside, and back of your legs to cover the entire lower body. Finally, tap along your neck and behind your back to cover the remaining areas. This practice can be repeated several times, until your feel your body warm up from the increased blood flow. Remember, one of the benefits of massage is to facilitate the increase in blood flow.

Abdominal self-massage is best used after meals to improve digestion or by women during their menstrual cycle. To perform abdominal massage, place one hand over the other as they lay above your naval. You need to breathe deeply and at the same time move your hands in a clock-wise direction around your belly. The clock-wise direction is synchronous with the digestive pathway of your colon. Repeat this motion for several minutes focusing your mind on your hands and breathe to warm your abdomen and improve circulation.

Reflexology is a system of treatment where specific points on the hands and feet are used to improve the health and functioning of the entire body. You can benefit from this practice even without a through understanding of reflexology charts. Use some basic massage oil or hand lotion to gently rub all of your fingers and toes. Continue to rub your palms and the soles of your feet, including the back of your hand and tops of your feet. Pay attention to any tender spots you find so that you can focus more on these areas. You will soon discover which places feel the best and which ones need more attention. A daily practice of hand and foot massage can relieve the tension you accumulate in these areas from working and walking around all day.

An overall ear massage can greatly benefit our health. With the use of your thumb and index finger you need to rub the outer edge of the ear, which is also called the helix. Follow the helix down the ear until you reach your earlobe. Pull gently on your earlobe several times. Move above your ear lobe and begin to massage each of the remaining areas of your ear. The tragus, which is located just above your earlobe, is very helpful to activate the mind and relieve headaches.

In order to ensure full benefit of self massage, it is important to understand and practice the movement of the hands by familiarising yourself with the different therapies that massage offers and adopt them into your own self massage regime.