Curled up in bed, you discover your eyes are actually open, instead of closed in blissfull sleep.  Taking a deep sigh of  breath, you shift positions and wonder if a deep sleep will ever enclose you.  Thoughts tumble in, worries begin as you ponder the next day as full of exhaustion due to this lack of sleep; all those things you must do, with little energy to do it. At some point, everyone experiences the trauma due to lack of restorative sleep.

 Sleeping disorders can lead to illness, exhaustion, and even pain. A body unable to relax, unwind, and restore during the night (or day for all the graveyard people) will develop a myriad of aches to haunt us throughout our day. 

  Through therapeutic massage, and even self-massage, many of these nights can be reduced and eliminated.  The first thing to do, is of course take the time for yourself, whether it be with a therapist, or a place at home where you can relax.  Thirty minutes to sit/lie in silence, listen to soft music, or any other environment free of excitable stimulii can work wonders.  Enlist your partner to sit/lie with you, and take turns treating eachother.

For self-therapy, take a warm shower, before bed, with a pulsating extension shower head, closing your eyes and allowing the water to rythmically bounce off your body, part by part.  Focus on the rythmns of the water, thinking only of the next pulse.  If you have difficulty focusing on this, then choose a word to repeat over and over, slowly, to help; after awhile, the need to do this will disappear.

Take your time…move back and forth, turning so that the water’s path runs across the back of your head, moving downward toward your neck, leaning forward to change the direction to up and down, cover the whole of the spine in small increments.    Move across the shoulders, working downward to the hips. Take the showerhead, cover the chest, stomach, and switch to the jetstream to work from your feet, “pushing” upwards to the hip.  Cover the front, sides and back of the legs, giving more time for the areas that are a bit sore, ususally the ankle, shins and buttocks at the side of the hip.   This should take no more that 10-15 minutes, using warm/hot water within your limits.  The warmer, the better!  

Now it’s time for some swedish massage!  Sit wherever you can reach the length of your legs comfortably. Rake your fingers along the tendons on top of your feet, then  ”smooth” your skin  slowly with a light squeeze into the muscles; toes to ankle, ankle to knee, knee to hip, covering the whole of the leg. Repeat. 

  For the back, lean forward slightly, and pull your fingers from the sacrum to the outside hip, working as far up the back as you can go.  Then trace your thumbs along the lines of the ribs from the spine, finding your way into the grooves. These may be tender, and the more you work them, the easier it gets.

   Now its time to lie down, maybe place a folded blanket under your knees, and lift your arm toward the ceiling. Smooth over your arms, from your  wrists to shoulders, always taking it slow, and finishing with some squeezes. Work each hand, pressing into the fingers and palms, and hold the tips of the fingers in a “pinch” until you feel the pulsating of the heart, gently letting go.  Slowly rub your stomach in a clockwise circle, pressing firmly and evenly. 

Place your hands at your sides, taking deep, slow concentrated breaths that expand your ribcage as far as it can go, hold as long as comfortable, and release slowly.  Each breath should take longer than the last.  Do this until you feel relaxed enough to roll over and drift off into a deep sleep…….
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Sweet Dreams from Massage Soltutions

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