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Gettin' Movin'
ExerciseA Simple Exercise: Hand and Foot Massage One of the best reasons to exercise is to FEEL better. I like to start people off with an exercise that everyone can do. Even if you have great physical limitations, even if your life is so busy that you cannot imagine finding time to exercise, YOU CAN DO THIS EXERCISE! This is both an emotional AND a physical exercise. It will affect your flexibility, circulation, self-acceptance, and self-care. I did not think of this myself. A very clever client thought of this in one of our counseling sessions. I have, however, used it ever since. I use it myself. I recommend it to my other clients. You can use this whenever you need to relax, unwind, feel tended, feel nurtured, be appreciated, be acknowledged, center yourself, tune in to your physical self, and more. What could accomplish so many things? An experience ... I know. This sounds silly. It is not. It is significant. When your right hand massages and tends your left hand, you are experiencing a physical representation of this entire process of self-care. You are not waiting around for someone else to do it. You are not distracting yourself from the pain of needing it. You are not being angry at your unmet needs. You are taking care of you. Every time you take care of you and tend yourself, you heal from the times in your life when you did not receive the care you needed. Every time you take care of you, the world becomes a safer place in which to live. You are building your that YOU will take care of yourself and get your needs met. Take a moment. Take your left hand in your right. Give your left hand a wonderful massage. (Yes, you will give your right hand the same pampering next.) Choices, choices, you have so many choices. Do you want a quick few second massage sitting right there at your desk? Will you simply squeeze and press wherever it feels good on the palm, on the fingers, at the tips? You don't even need hand lotion for this kind of massage. When one hand is done, roll your shoulders, sit up tall, lay your hands on a pillow on your lap or just on your desk, and do the other hand. Breathe. Be. Or, do you want to sit down, when tasks are set aside for a while, and pamper yourself? This is a time when you might take a little longer and use hand cream or lotion. When your hands are slippery, you will find all sorts of motions that feel good. Rubbing in little circles, sliding your fingers or knuckles across the palm, pulling as you slip down the finger to a little press on the finger pad. Ahhh · you deserve this. And you deserve twice as much relaxation and enjoyment because you have an entire other hand to go. Change sides and let the other hand feel tended. There is more than just relaxation going on here. When one hand is being massaged and relaxing, the other hand is getting a gentle, rhythmic, vigorous, workout. The muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your working hand are all being used as you squeeze, press, and kneed the left hand. This is great exercise. My clients with arthritis and carpal tunnel have found that their symptoms actually reduce when they use this massage technique a few times a day! Oh, but there is more. A healing art called reflexology has been used for centuries. According to reflexology, there are points and regions on the hands and feet that correspond to areas of the body and organs. My clients report that they find themselves pressing on or massaging specific areas of their hand or foot, just naturally, with not specific intent. Often, when we look at a reflexology chart, we see that the specific spot in the hand or foot that they were drawn to press or massage is precisely the spot that corresponds to a body area or organ where they have had illness or problems. This is not scientific evidence. This is simply an interesting anecdotal report. However, since I find no negative side effects to gentle hand massage, I think it is interesting to entertain the possibility of other positive benefits. I mention the hand massage first because most people who have two hands can do this exercise. (I have clients with only one hand who accomplish similar results pressing their one hand on and against a wooden or plastic ball or rounded surface.) The next type of massage may require some creativity for some people to implement. Let's explore the foot massage. First, I will comment on massage for those who can reach their feet. I recommend that you sit in bed with support for your back. Sometimes it is best with a pillow tucked under your butt so that you can lean forward more comfortably. Many people find it easier to move one foot within reach while the other foot hangs off the side of the bed. Some people are comfortable with both feet within reach. One position is NOT better than the other. The best position is the one that works for you and is comfortable (especially on your back). So, there you are, sitting, back supported, and comfortable. Now you can enjoy your foot massage. You will find that you can press and squeeze harder on the foot than on the hand. You may want to use your knuckles to get the right pressure on your foot while still being gentle on your fingers. Since your feet are used to carrying your weight, it may feel good to actually pound gently on your heels. Your toes however are more delicate. You may like to pull gently and press on the pads, just like on the fingers. What if you cannot reach your feet? What if your are quite far from them indeed? Here is where another clever client has helped us all out. (There probably are fancy tools in specialty health catalogues for this purpose, but I find this client's idea works great.) Get a wooden spoon. You can choose a short or long handled spoon, depending on how far you need it to reach. The weight, smooth texture, and shape of a simple wooden spoon makes the perfect tool for tapping, pressing, and massaging your feet if you cannot reach. You can use the rounded tip of the spoon to press with specific pressure in one spot. You can softly tap your arch with the flattened round bottom of the spoon. When firmer pounding would feel good on your heel, you can use the edge of the spoon. Once you have gently relaxed and stimulated your feet with tapping, pressing, and gentle pounding, you can use the same spoon to apply cream to your feet. Put a dab of cream on the back of the spoon and apply with gentle circles. The side of the spoon will slip, sometimes with a giggle, between your toes. Enjoy. You and your feet deserve it. Oh, but there is more. While you are giving yourself a nice foot massage in whatever fashion works for you and your body, you are also doing something else very important. You are stretching your low back, upper back, hamstrings, and inner thighs. Since you are massaging both feet, you are getting an even symmetrical stretch on both sides of your body. Feel it. Breathe into the stretch as you reach for your foot. Easy, easy, only stretch as much as is comfortable. What is happening to your upper back, shoulders, arms, and hands while you are giving yourself a foot massage? They are all working and using the muscles of your upper body. Make sure that you alternate hands and use your right and left hands when you work on your feet. This will help you to work the muscles on both sides of your upper body. You can increase the strength and stamina of your shoulders, arms, and hands just by enjoying more frequent foot massages. It is kind of nice how everything is connected.
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