Transcription
This is my nighttime massage routine that I use to let go of tension and de-stress before bed. And it's totally follow along.
So, we're going to start out with clean, dry skin. And then we're going to add a moisturizing toner, hydrating toner, and we're going to mix that with pure glycerin. You don't have to do this, but I find that it's really effective. And all you have to do at the end is splash your face with water and pat dry with a towel, and you can continue on with the rest of your skinincare routine before bed. So, it makes it a lot more convenient than oil.
And then we're going to mix in some of the glycerin. And we're going to have nice glide when we do this. And this part is actually important. We're going to go in little rapid circles all over until we feel some heat build because this is going to prepare the tissues for release and make them more responsive to our routine. So, just like that until you feel some warmth. You can see some redness in my skin. That's good. That's what we're going for. And on the neck as well. Nice circles. Okay.
And now you're going to take your knuckles like this and you're going to run them up the neck starting at the collar bone and then going all the way back to those knobbyby areas at the back of the skull. And we're going to go nice and slow for all of these movements. We go just a little slower than we may normally go because this is going to also calm our nervous system and the muscles respond really well to this nice slow consistent movement. And the other side and you'll probably note that I'm turning my head into it a bit. That can be helpful to create some slack. It's okay to go up on the neck. We're not doing drainage here. We are doing tension release. So, this actually follows the natural tissue lines a lot better to go up.
And now you're going to take your knuckles like this. You're going to place one right up under there under the chin. and the other goes on top of the jawbone. And we're going to go nice and slow all the way back back behind the ankle of the jawbone into that divot underneath the ear and down. Nice and slow. You can close your eyes. Stay focused on your breathing. Keep your breathing slow and soft. And we'll switch to the other side. Try to breathe down into your low ribs and your diaphragm. We often breathe high up into the chest when we're stressed, when we're anxious. So focusing our breath down is very helpful for calming the body.
And now you're going to take your knuckles like this. So you're going to start at the edges, the corners of your mouth and turn in so you can feel those knuckles going into the cheek and use these wave like motions all the way back and really wiggled in when you get to the back here because this will really help with your jaw tension which can be really major for a lot of people during sleep. When we are in those subconscious states, the things that we have not processed during the day come out. They find a way to come out and often that is going to be right here in the jaw muscles. You may furrow your brows and sleep. You may clench your jaw. This will help your body not resort to those measures and help you feel calmer in general. One more time.
And now we're going to take the knuckles like this. We're going to sweep from the nose. Start on the nose because that really helps us dig into these muscles here that can be involved in sneering. This is, you know, kind of a intense expression associated with disgust. So, we really work all along those and then all the way back and then vibrate in when you get under the cheekbone here. And again, one more time.
And now to work on the eyes, you're going to take your knuckles like this and you're going to go so super slow in because fluid actually drains into a drainage point here in this direction. So we want to go in when we're right under the eyes. Slow hook up under the brow. Come around and back down again. We're moving so slow. And drop your shoulders. Another cue to drop those shoulders on an exhale because they may want to raise up. That's just going to keep us locked up in an anxious state.
And now we're going to work on the brow area a little more because like I said, a lot of people furrow with anger, frustration. So we're going to hook the finger here and then we're going to wiggle gently out. Really encourage that tissue to release. When you come out here, you sweep up. There's studies that show that facial massage can help us sleep more deeply, feel calmer before bed. It's a really wonderful tool for that purpose. And the other side. We're not tugging too much. We're just adding in a little extra encouragement for those muscles to let go. Nice and slow. Feeling into everything.
And now we'll work on the mouth corners. Counter any tensing, frowning during sleep. So I'm holding on the chin here. And I'm taking the knuckle up and then back along the muscle involved in frowning. And then all along those cheek muscles that can be involved in clenching and holding the chin just helps us really isolate this area. the other side.
And to finish off, we will do a hairline massage. So starting right here and using these circles with a little bit deeper pressure all along the hairline because we are working on that thick connective tissue of the scalp that connects into the face. We intuitively massage this area when we are feeling stressed and there is a reason for that. It is helpful to release this area. Helps the face stay lifted and calm. And that's it.