Self-Massage for Athletes   

A Revolutionary Approach to Improved Fitness and Health

 

Self-Massage for Yoga

Few activities will do more to improve the quality of your yoga practice than a bit of self-massage therapy. Massage relieves the sore muscles that accompany a vigorous life. Even better, massage improves health and mood, and reduces stress. Think of massage as a powerful form of restorative yoga and you’ll be on point.


Who

If you engage your yoga muscles regularly, you may need a massage more often than most people. But unless you do it yourself, you’re probably not getting one. The purpose of this page is to help you get  the massages you need by describing a basic routine designed to be included in your yoga practice or directly after it. We’ll massage: face, feet, hands, and shoulders. On the Yoga*Massage page, you’ll find a deeper massage for your back body and feet.


Why

Sore muscles are often good evidence of a need for massage. By improving circulation, massage feeds and cleans the cells that got hungriest and messiest during your practice. By squeezing, pressing, and drumming--you direct your blood to the muscles that need it.


Massage releases trigger points, those tiny knots that form in muscles and reduce strength and range of motion. While yoga asanas may make you limber they won’t get out all the knots. By pressing directly on a muscle, massage stretches it, releasing the trigger points that often impair performance. Thus, massage delivers a precise and often more effective stretch than traditional stretching.


7 Massage Strokes

Glide your hand over your skin to warm it up.

Squeeze a muscle to warm it and improve circulation.

Squeeze & Roll: while squeezing a muscle roll or pull the muscle to improve circulation.

Press a muscle by pushing your hand, or massage tool into it to release trigger points.

Press & Roll: While pressing a muscle, roll your hand or fist into it in small circles for an even deeper more effective massage.

Drum the side of your hand, fist, or palm into a muscle to wake it up.

Rock & Roll: Dance massages your internal organs, put on some music and try it.


Massage Routine for Yoga

  1. Bullet Hands and Wrists

  2. ✓ Get comfortable, and glide your hands together to create heat, energy, and pleasure. Cover all possibilities: fronts, sides and backs of hands and wrists.

  3. ✓ When warm, apply a squeezing rolling tugging stroke to each of your fingers. Then give your hands a good shaking out to get your blood flowing.

  4. ✓ Now starting at your wrist begin a series of firm squeezing strokes moving towards your fingers and beyond your physical body if that feels good. Then apply a series of squeezes to your other hand.

  5. ✓ Let’s press the flesh, by pressing your four fingers into your backhand and your thumb into the palm side of your hand until you’ve covered the entire surface area of your hand, wrist, and fingers. Give special attention to the muscular area between your thumb and index finger. Use breath to relax your body.

  6. ✓When time or feeling moves you, massage your other hand.

  7. ✓ Drum your hands together, by making a fist with one hand and hitting it into the other hand until you’ve covered the entire surface area including your wrists. Then apply the drum stroke to your other hand.

  8. ✓ Let your hands go wild, combine all the strokes you’ve just done in any way you like, then shake your hands over your head and make the noise of your choice.

  9. ✓ Take a moment of quiet to feel the effects of your massage.

  10. ✓ Then give your hands a workout by massaging your:


  1. Bullet Feet and Ankles

  2. ✓ Sit or lie down on your mat and choose a foot to glide your hand over. Cover the entire area between your toes and ankles to warm it. 

  3. ✓ Once it’s warm give your entire foot a series of squeezes beginning with your toes. Each stroke is delivered slowly and firmly before moving up an inch or so towards your ankle for the next squeeze. Finish by squeezing up the length of your Achilles Tendon. 

  4. ✓ Now do something with your toes that you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have time. Bend them, pull them, twist them, shake them!

  5. ✓ Using both hands press your knuckles or fingers into your foot so the fingers of one hand are moving towards the fingers of the other hand, make certain not to let them touch. Cover your entire foot and ankle this way. Twist and stretch your ankle through its full range of motion.   

  6. ✓ If you haven’t massaged your other foot, do it now.

  7. ✓ After massaging both feet let’s go to your:


  1. Bullet Shoulders

  2. ✓ The idea that downward facing dog is a relaxing pose can make massaging your shoulders an act of mercy. Warm one by gliding your hand over it. You may want to support the elbow of the arm that is massaging in your other hand.  

  3. ✓ Now squeeze your shoulder with your fingers as hard as feels comfortable, vary the intensity and position of each squeeze until you’ve covered it. 

  4. ✓ Then do it again but this time roll your fingers as you squeeze. This should give you a deeper massage. Again cover the water front by varying the location and intensity of your strokes.

  5. ✓ Finally, the best part, drum both shoulders simultaneously with your fists or open hands. 

  6. ✓ After massaging both shoulders you may move on to your:


  1. Bullet Face

  2. ✓ You can sit, you can stand, you can lie on your back.

  3. ✓ Glide your hands over your beautiful face until it’s warm. 

  4. ✓ Press all five fingers from both hands into opposite sides of your face, continue pressing while slightly varying the location of the press until you’ve covered both sides.

  5. ✓ Then press your knuckles on opposite sides of your face and roll your fists slightly varying intensity and speed. Vary location until you’ve again covered your entire face. Lightly massage your closed eye lids.

  6. ✓ Experiment by opening your mouth wide during some part of each of these strokes, continue to do what feels good until your face can’t feel any better.

  7. ✓ Then drum your entire face lightly with your fingers, cover your entire face with light vivid finger taps. Vary intensity and speed.


  1. Bullet Finishing Touches

  2. ✓ Two final strokes to apply: drumming and rock & roll.

  3. ✓ Drum or tap your hands against your body, begin with your feet and work your way up to your head, play your body like a drum. This stimulating stroke can be done with open hands, fists or the side of your hands in the familiar karate chop style.

  4. ✓ Rock & Roll is an even more stimulating stroke and a great way to get ready for your next activity unless it’s napping. Just put on some music and go to it.

  5. ✓ Dancing  gets your blood moving and massages your internal organs.

  6. ✓ Most yoga students devote 10 to 15 minutes to this whole routine, but you should take as long as you need.

  7. ✓ That’s all there is to it, all you have to do is do it.


  1. Bullet The Whole Enchilada

  2. ✓ Yoga involves more than hands, feet, shoulders, and face. As you’d expect from such a dynamic activity, yoga works nearly every muscle in your body.

  3. ✓ Pay attention to what other parts of you are calling out for a massage and answer their call.

  4. ✓ Check out the routines for other sports to experiment with massages for your back, calfs, quads, hamstrings, glutes, hips, abs, pecs, arms, neck, and any other part of you that needs it.


Conclusion

After you’ve massaged your hands, feet, shoulders, and face a few times using the above routine, you’ll realize: There’s not one single perfect massage routine. Each massage you perform will be an improvisation based on your current needs. Your body changes with every yoga practice, and your massage routine should change as well. Your muscles will learn to direct your hands and your fingers will learn to listen. Practice massage regularly and you’ll feel a big improvement in your practice and your life.


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Every Good Workout Deserves a Massage

To get comfortable with the strokes and routine, first practice them with this  page in view.