When You're Tired, Tense and With a Humdinger of a Headache What Do You Do?

Reach for the nearest bottle of painkillers? Down an espresso? Or treat yourself to a guilty bar of chocolate?

Ever thought about massage?

You may be surprised to learn that time spent massaging the head can help alleviate the following conditions:

• stress,
• anxiety,
• mental tension
• mental and physical strain
• eye strain,
• headaches,
• sinusitis,
• congestion,
• insomnia

Indian Head Massage or, to give it its proper name, Champissage, is based on alternative medicine principles. Don't let the world "alternative" put you off - this type of massage has been used for thousands of years in Asia, and the skill has been passed down from generation to generation. Head massage is a weekly ritual in most families in the Indian sub-continent with mothers massaging their children's scalps and simultaneously nurturing the bonds between parent and child. It's an ancient technique that Ayurvedic healers have been using for thousands of years, and it's becoming more and more popular in the Western world.

To put it simply, Indian head massage therapists believe that when the energy does not flow around the body properly, negative energy builds up causing conditions such as stress, pain, baldness or hair loss. The massaging of the head corrects the energy flow and in doing so, helps to treat the conditions listed above. It is such a safe treatment that in India newly delivered mothers and their babies are routinely treated with Indian head massage for the 40 days after delivery!

Many benefits of massage therapy derive from its function of restoring normal circulation to the area being manipulated. However, other benefits have been observed which have to do with another very important function of massage therapy, and that is relaxation. The stroking and kneading stimulate nerves in the skin and muscles which in turn stimulate sites in the brain which produce "feel good" chemicals, triggering a relaxation response. And in a state of relaxation, the body begins to rebuild, restore, and replenish itself.

The benefits of Indian head massage are now becoming more widely known in the West, with the therapy even being offered in high street beauty salons. However, if you have a little time to invest, you may consider learning this ancient therapy at home. Use it to treat stressed partners or anxious children worrying about exams, and you should notice an increased sense of calm about them.

Then, like those Indian mothers, teach the therapy to your children and pass the skill down the family line!

Interested in learning Indian head massage? Visit: http://www.learnmassageathome.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Teresa_Seaton