Health and Fitness Oasis

If you’ve had one of those hectic weekends of shopping, working out or being on your feet all day, nothing makes you feel better or relieves stress and pain better than a relaxing foot massage in the privacy and comfort of your own home.

Knowing how to do a foot massage can come in handy in a number of ways. It can be an all natural stress reliever that you can give as a gift to yourself or to a loved one. A relaxing foot massage can also help you sleep better, feel rejuvenated and be ready for another hectic day.

The foot has 12 different muscles that are designed to support the weight of the body and provide a movable platform on almost any surface. Your foot is designed to carry the full weight of your body whether you are walking on in the solid ground, or rocks or a tightrope. Having a foot massage can help you to relax, improve blood flow to the feet and relieve any tight or cramping muscles after a full day on your feet.

There are a few techniques that will make the process go smoothly and helpl you to get relaxed and more energetic. Begin by removing all clothing from the feet and soak them in warm water for about 10 minutes. You might want to add drops of your favorite oil or bath salts to the water. This helps to aid in your relaxation!

You can massage your own foot by crossing your legs or a partners foot while they are relaxed on a bed, with their feet up on a chair or with a foot cradled in your lap. In any case, a good massage will take about 10 – 15 minutes per foot so you should be comfortable before you start.

Before starting any massage make sure your feet are completely dry. Apply a moderate amount of cream or your favorite oils to help glide over the skin more easily and avoid any discomfort. Mineral oil won’t be absorbed into the skin and will wipe off cleanly.

Begin at the top of the foot between the cords at the instep. Move in the direction of toe to ankle to move fluids toward the heart and not away. Continue from the top of the foot to the sole of the foot using gentle pressure and then increasing it to a point where it is challenging.

Using your thumb make circular motions with your thumb and fingers over the sole of the foot, using the most pressure over the heel or ball of the foot. Start at the toes and work your way back to the heels – again, toward the heart. Don’t forget the sides of the foot!

Once you are done massaging the sole of the foot move to the ankle. Rotate the foot, first at the ankle and then near the ball of the foot. Repeat the motions in each direction about 5 times.

Now go back to the sole of the foot and, beginning with the big toe, roll toes between your fingers and slide the fingers down the toe toward the foot. Do each toe individually. End by massaging gently over the sole and instep.

Wipe of any excess cream or lotion with a soft towel. At this point you can also use a foot lotion especially one that is infused with peppermint or lavendar that will invigorate the muscles in the foot that you just massaged.

To feel invigorated and relaxed at the same time, give foot reflexology a try. This medical practice assumes that there are nerves in the base of the foot which control organs and bodily systems. A good foot massage may also have many other health benefits that are more than just relaxation and muscle tension relief.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under Health Tips, massage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.