Wellbeing experiment #2 - Self-applied massage

Learn the oldest and most fundamental approach to self-healing

Welcome to week 2 of the Wellbeing Experiments.

I’ve been wanting to try this approach, self-applied massage, for many years, ever since I bought Doctor of Oriental Medicine Roger Jahnke’s book called The Healer Within.

He covers four traditional Chinese techniques for self-healing — gentle movement, self-applied massage, breathing practices, and deep relaxation and meditation practices.

Over the course of this year I’d like to try all four approaches using the methods that he advocates, but the approach that I’m most intrigued to try right now is self-applied massage given his claim that hands-on healing is one of the oldest approaches to health and wellbeing in the history of humankind and for thousands of years has been a primary healing modality in both eastern and western cultures.

Hands-on massage as a healing modality is included in many current systems and approaches, including reflexology, acupressure, polarity, trigger-point therapy, connective tissue manipulation, pressure-point therapy, zone therapy, and, of course, medical and sports massage.

As Dr. Jahnke explains, there are two simple approaches to self-massage. One is using pressure and friction on points in the hands, feet, and ears that are reflexes to other ‘distant’ parts of the body. In other words, such points are energetically connected to other parts of the body and massaging them can act on, and provide healing to, those other distant parts.

The second approach is bringing about localized healing to a specific area of the body by kneading, stroking, tapping, and holding that area, and by giving special attention to areas of pain, tenderness, or dysfunction.

The massage techniques this week will involve both reflexes and localized healing.

This week’s approach

Self-applied massage to release the body’s own medicine for healing and wellbeing

Purported benefits

The benefits of massage applied by one’s self or others can be subtle or dramatic and can reportedly encompass a wide range of desired health and wellbeing outcomes — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual:

• reduce, eliminate, and prevent tension, soreness, and pain

• improve circulation of oxygen and nutrition

• improve lymph system movement and drainage of metabolic waste products

• energize, coordinate, balance, and improve organ function

• improve metabolism

• increase the body’s healing resources

• enhance or improve eyesight

• tighten and energize the skin

• reduce symptoms of metabolic disorders (e.g., diabetes, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, obesity)

• improve general overall health

• regain vitality

• clear the mind and think more clearly

• sustain high energy

• achieve deep relaxation

• attain tranquility

• enhance sleep.

Sounds great to me!

What to do

The best way to do this is to follow along as Dr. Jahnke demonstrates.

Fortunately for us, he has a number of self-applied massage videos on his YouTube channel, TheTaiChiWay2.

I plan to do all of the massage techniques below — hand, foot, neck, abdominal, and face — but you may wish to do just one or a combination of these depending on available time and where you feel you have the greatest need.

Dr. Jahnke recommends using self-applied massage in conjunction with deep breathing, gentle movement, and meditation — the other three techniques in his book — to reap the greatest benefit.

Hand massage

The first self-applied massage technique he covers in the book is hand massage.

The hand pressure points — the parts of the hands as they are energetically connected to the rest of the body — are as follows:

Dr. Jahnke emphasizes that it’s not important to know these pressure points.

What is important is to do a thorough massage of one’s hands. He takes us through that process in this video:

In case the video doesn’t play, here are his instructions from the book:

• massage your hands all over (top, bottom, sides) with firm thumb pressure

• notice where you have areas of soreness or tenderness

• return to each of those areas and knead firmly with your thumbs for a few minutes

• massage the fingers outward to the fingertips

• using the thumb and forefinger, press on both sides of the nail bed.

He also stresses that you can do this anytime, anywhere.

Foot massage

I also intend to do a foot massage every day, especially to have a localized effect on my feet, but also to apply pressure on reflex points (below) related to other parts of the body.

No video for foot massage seems to be available on his YouTube channel. In the book he recommends doing the following:

• apply pressure over the entire bottom of the foot

• apply pressure over the top of the foot and the ankle area as well

• note areas of particular tenderness as these are the reflexes that need special attention for healing

• return to work on each of those tender areas two or three times

• if accessing your foot causes strain, use a rolling pin instead and roll your foot over it

• for raised areas, you can also use a tough rubber ball.

Neck massage

I don’t know about you, but I find that my neck and shoulder areas become especially tense and tender.

According to Dr. Jahnke, the neck and shoulders are often where back pains and headaches begin, so relieving tension in this area can be an effective preventative measure for these conditions.

His neck massage below is one I intend to use every day this week and see what benefits it may bring.

Abdominal massage

This is another area where we can derive significant benefit from massage.

Better digestion and reduction in bloating are two areas where abdominal massage might give rapid and effective results, and over the long term it can potentially assist in the reduction of abdominal fat.

Face massage

Similar to the hands, feet, and ears, the face has many reflex points that relate to other parts of the body.

The tapping technique he uses is remarkably relaxing, so I am looking forward to doing this every day. It also feels like the skin is tightening, not to mention he does a face lift exercise.

MY FINAL ADVICE: As Dr. Jahnke demonstrates, meditative music is preferable when doing this kind of work, to release tension and induce deep relaxation.

I’ll check back in with the results, and our wellbeing approach for Week 3, next Monday. (I’m moving from Sunday, as I had originally intended, to Monday as it seems a more appropriate day to serve as the start to each week.)

Enjoy these relaxing and energizing massages and see you then!

Resources

The Healer Within: Using Traditional Chinese Techniques to Release Your Body’s Own Medicine, by Roger Jahnke (HarperCollins, 1999)