Self-Soothing Touch For Stress Relief

Let your stress melt away as we cultivate relaxation, comfort and compassion through our own healing touch. From the jaw to the lower back, you'll be guided in techniques that soothe and relieve tension and discomfort.

Transcript

Hello,

Let's use our own healing touch to find stability,

Support and relaxation today.

I'm Emily.

I'm a massage therapist and I'm so happy you're here with me today.

Let's begin in a neutral position with our eyes open.

When you're ready,

Begin to narrow and soften your gaze,

Coming inward with your attention as your awareness draws in towards your body.

We welcome the sensations that we feel here,

Breath,

Blood flow,

Muscle tension,

Skin temperature,

Postures,

Noticing without judgment.

We're going to spend this meditation in this place of attending inwardly to our bodies.

No matter what you have going on in your life,

Here you are bringing relaxation,

Comfort and compassion using your own healing touch.

Rub your hands together,

Building heat and energy.

Now place your hands on either side of your jaw to relax your jaw,

Clench and then slowly release the muscles,

Feeling your jaw soften under your hands.

Breathe here as you use your finger pads to perform circles,

Massage circles along the jaw muscles,

Circling to the back and to the front,

Feeling into the sensations on the right side and the left side.

Bring this circle upwards to your cheekbones and then continue circling upwards into your temples,

Massaging out the temples,

Massaging out the tension.

Now bring this massage circle back into your scalp so that you're massaging your scalp above the ears.

This is where your temporalis muscle lives,

Which is a muscle that controls the jaw.

So you may feel some relief through your jaw as you touch here.

Now use your thumb and finger pads to pinch and massage the ears,

Starting at the top of the ears,

Slowly making your way around and down to the earlobes,

Enjoying the relief of ear massage,

Relaxing the nervous system as you massage your ears.

Now bringing your finger pads to the top of the bridge of the nose,

We'll circle out our eyes here as we stretch up to the eyebrows,

Across the eyebrows and then down and under the eyes,

Coming back to the bridge of the nose.

Do this again,

Big slow circles as we release any eye tension you may be holding,

Perhaps from looking at screens,

Driving or just holding emotional tension.

Using the finger pads now to tap out the forehead,

The scalp,

The back of the head,

Welcoming in any tingles or sensations as you go.

Let your hands rest at your side.

Take a breath,

No matter what you have going on in your life,

Here you are,

Bringing relaxation,

Comfort and compassion with your own healing touch.

Extend gratitude to your eyes,

To your ears,

To your jaw and to your facial muscles for helping you sense the world around you.

Bring your finger pads to the base of your chin now,

Gently pull downwards along your throat and past your collarbones,

Stretching your chin upwards as you go.

Do this a few more times,

Gently pulling down from your chin past your collarbones,

Stretching your neck as you go.

Now rest a full palm over your heart,

Maybe you stack your palms here and feel yourself breathe the gentle rise of your chest on the inhale,

The fall of your chest on the exhale.

Compress inward and circle your palms here over your heart.

When you're ready,

Use the right hand to massage across the left side of the chest,

From the sternum across to the left shoulder,

Making big circles across the pectoral muscles.

Do this a few times and when you're ready,

You can do the same thing on the other side,

Using the left hand to massage the right side of the chest,

From the sternum towards the right shoulder,

Across the pectoral muscles.

Place your hands down as you feel your shoulder blades gently sink towards your hips,

Allowing your shoulders to open.

To enhance this feeling,

Squeeze your shoulders up towards your ears and then gently drop them down again,

Letting your shoulder blades sink towards your hips.

Maybe you shake your head left and right or massage your neck to enhance this feeling of length and release.

Imagine a light shining out through your chest,

Outwards towards the world around you.

This light comes from within.

Extend gratitude for your natural healing light and your natural healing abilities.

No matter what you have going on,

Here you are,

Shining your light through the unknown.

Here you are,

Bringing relaxation,

Comfort and compassion with your own healing touch.

Let's bring our attention now to our lower body.

Bring the heels of both hands and nuzzle them into your left hip crease.

Alternate pressing and kneading into your hip flexor muscles,

Using the heels of your hands,

Relaxing these muscles which tend to tighten as we sit and drive and walk.

Turn this into a squeeze down your thigh,

Massaging and kneading from the hip crease towards the knee.

Maybe you massage around the muscle attachments of your knee,

Giving soothing touch to your joints.

Now let's repeat this on the other side,

Nuzzling the heels of your hands into your right hip crease.

Alternate pressing and kneading into your hip flexors on this side.

Maybe this side feels differently than the left side,

Relaxing and dissolving any tension as you turn this into a squeeze or a knead down your thigh,

Perhaps massaging around your knee.

We all have a dominant side and a non-dominant side,

So you may feel things are different on this side.

Now use both hands on either side to squeeze or stroke down the entire leg,

From the hips to the knees down to the ankles,

Stopping at any areas that need a little more attention,

Massaging out your legs.

You may have felt the tension that your legs have accrued from the day or from the week.

Extend gratitude for your legs for the support that they give you,

Whether with walking or sitting or however they have supported you.

No matter where your legs have carried you,

Here you are,

Bringing relaxation,

Comfort and compassion with your own healing touch.

Let's once again bring our palms together and rub them together,

Building heat and energy.

Pull them apart just slightly and feel the magnetism between your hands.

Now place your hands over your lower back.

Maybe you place them closer to your tailbone,

Maybe upwards towards your back ribs.

Feel free to circle,

Compress or just pause,

Using touch to release your low back.

Bring your hands around to the side of your hips as if cradling your pelvis in your hands,

Breathing here.

If you'd like,

Bring your hands over your belly.

You can choose to bring both hands onto your belly or maybe you place them elsewhere along your lower core,

Breathing,

Cradling your body.

Here you are in the midst of everyday life,

Bringing your body relaxation,

Comfort and compassion with your own healing touch.

You are honoring this wise,

Knowledgeable,

Communicative body.

Bring your palms together one last time to thank you so much for joining me.

Always remember that the healing power of touch is at your fingertips.

Reviews

Thanks Emily. Helped settle some of the mental chatter and become more body centered. 🙏