Pamper your loved ones with this soothing five step treatment.
After a stressful day it’s not just in our shoulders and necks that we carry tension and aches. Our hands are one of the most active parts of our body and whether it’s cracking your knuckles, tapping your fingers, or wringing your hands nervously, they’re often one of the obvious ways we show physical signs of anxiety. When our loved ones are stressed or in need of a calming massage, the first impulse is to offer a shoulder massage. Next time think about switching it up by giving a hand massage.
Start by finding a luxurious cream with a beautiful scent. Have them sit or lie somewhere comfortable where they can rest their neck and head. Apply a generous amount of the cream and support their wrist and hand using one of yours, maintaining a grounding sense of touch throughout the massage.
- Begin the massage with their palm facing down, running soothing strokes along the length of their wrist and hand, using your palm and fingertips. Turn over their hand and repeat with their palm facing upwards.
- Using circular motions, massage their palm with your thumb, working your way out from the middle.
- Turn their hand over with their palm facing downwards again. Using your thumb and fingertips, give gentle circular movements to each individual finger, starting with the nail and working your way towards the back of their hand.
- Repeat the circular motions with your thumb across the back of their hand.
- End the massage with long flowing movements from the wrist up the palm to the fingertips.
Repeat the above on their other hand and watch the tension fade from your loved ones’ face. Hand massages can achieve a great amount of relaxation in a short time and are a wonderful way to connect with your loved ones at the end of a long day.
This article was originally published in Issue 8 – Bookworm’s Feast. You can purchase this issue and enjoy more enchanting content here.
