5-Minute Massage

"5-Minute Massage: Quick & simple exercises to reduce tension & stress."

I picked up this book at the library this week. The book contains 6 segments of 5-minute massage routines for various parts of the body that tend to carry stress and muscle tension. Here are some interesting points that this book makes.

"More and more of us are finding that we are increasingly succcumbing to the two major problems of living in a fast-moving world; loss of flexibility and stress. Although slow in their effect, they can be thought of as silent epidemics, which go largely unrecognized and unchallenged, yet wreak untold damage in people's lives."

"...our bodies are built for movement, and actually require it for optimum performance."

It goes on to talk about how muscles that overlap and glide over eachother begin to 'stick' to eachother as time goes on without use. Eventually, we lose flexibility, and the loss in one area, say the shoulder, influences the suppleness of the whole body. In our culture, we see this slowing down process as inevitable fact of aging, however, in traditional societies, many of the conditions we normally associate with getting older are the exception rather than the norm.

So, anyway, with further reading I was convinced and willing to commit to 30 minutes a day doing self-massage on the areas of the body most prone to stress and tension: the head and face; the neck and shoulders; the arms and hands; the front and back; and the legs and feet.

Last night I decided I would give one of the 5-minute regimens a try. I went with the first one offered in the book - head & face, or as they cleverly put it, "keeping a level head." 5 minutes? Try TWENTY! Yes, it took me twenty minutes to massage my own head & face and during that time my arms got tired! Going through this entire book in one shot could take me... TWO HOURS!! Now, I'm willing to commit some time and effort to my well-being, but I just don't have two hours every day!

I'm hoping that as I begin to learn all the various spots and techniques, things will really speed up! I would like to spend 30 minutes massaging myself most days, if it is really going to help my body and if I'm going to get through it all. I'll let you know how it goes! In the meantime, I'm also trying to keep up with some exercises and stretches the doctor prescribed for the pain I'm having thanks to my right sacroiliac joint. I'm also trying to do more bike riding, and I'm hoping to start up with swimming once or twice a week. Isn't it terrible that something like this has to happen in order for me to wake up and start taking care of myself? I was lost in motherhood... I must emerge!