Self-massage: a matter of instinct
Massage your face in front of a mirror – Source: spm
No need to learn overly complicated gestures or do an internship. Just let your instinct and intuition speak and listen to your body. Transform your make-up removal (or toilet) ritual into a meditative arc. Create your own routine by starting to choose your treatments by becoming aware of their benefits and functions. For example, a make-up remover in a cream or milk suitable for massage, a lotion in a spray, or a creamy night cream (preferably a balm, oil, or a generous cream to which you add a few drops of a targeted serum). Imagine the most haptic gesture possible, similar to the one an expert might choose in an institute or in a spa. Apply the cleansing milk with your fingertips, massaging the face and neck in long, broad circular motions. Imagine the desired results: relaxed complexion, smoothed features, radiant complexion, less stress, and perform each gesture with the intention of achieving these results. Set make-up removal with a care mist that is sprayed while inhaling deeply to absorb scents and active ingredients dispersed into fine droplets.
Massage and breathing…
Then, massage yourself generously with a generous amount of night cream or a special facial massage balm. Add a few drops of a serum or oil with calming properties, or a drop of lavender essential oil beforehand. Combine this massage with a cycle of breaths. Eyes closed, inhale deeply three times of the caring scents deposited in the palms of your hands and then smoothed over the face and neck. Insist on eye contour, gently run your fingertips over your eyes (index, middle finger, then ring finger) thinking that with this gesture you will expel all eye tension and “fall asleep” your eyes. Massage your head slowly and deeply. Go down the neck and finish with a trapezoidal massage. Complete this routine with an abdominal self-massage, pumping in the milk or cream in a clockwise direction, and imagine these needles slowing and ascending toward the solar plexus. Rub your hands together and place them on top of each other to form a shell on the braid. Imagine both energy and comfort. All while listening to relaxing music.
Get a massage
When one goes to an osteopath or a physiotherapist, feel free to offer a massage, especially when one is stressed or tired. However, the massage in the institute, in therapy, can also have its aim to reconcile us with sleep. Once a week for 1-2 months, treat yourself to a relaxing massage, or even rituals created specifically to prepare your body and mind for sleep. Like rehabilitation, this repetitive massage will create a kind of automaticity. By teaching us to breathe, ground ourselves, and relinquish ourselves to the expert hands of a practitioner, we are sending a message to the body as much as to the mind, that we can let go, abandon ourselves completely for rest, and recharge. Your batteries are out of this arc, and rejuvenated after a good night’s sleep. By “imprinting” this idea deep into our cells, we get used to regaining confidence in the lying position and in the idea of restorative rest.
Go to sleep with meditation
Yoga nidra practice – Source: spm
It’s easy to access meditation exercises on YouTube, Instagram, or apps. Do you find it difficult to sleep because your thoughts are racing when you go to bed? Conversely, do you fall asleep very easily but have a sudden awakening in the middle of the night end up ruining your night? Meditation seems to be made for you. Precisely because it shifts your attention to visualizations using breathing and body scanning. Bet on twenty minutes, no less, if you feel real stress with sleep. Choose a program that specifically focuses on getting to sleep or getting ready to unwind at the end of the day. Also try yoga nidra programmes, which is yoga practiced in a still lying position most of the time that involves body scanning, visualization and breathing. Whichever program you choose, settle into the most suitable sleeping position and focus on the sound. Pay attention to the volume, don’t put it too loud because when you start to sleep the sounds are perceived more sharply. Beware of the programs on YouTube, some follow along with others and you risk waking up with a start, in the middle of the night after two or three hours of listening, thanks to an advertisement louder than the chosen meditation program. Save your favorite show directly to your phone or computer. Another possible source: offline boxes that have the advantage of discouraging you from having your phone on hand. A source of insomnia known to those who are used to it. There are many funds that offer meditation, visualization, and sophistication programs.
