Self Care Tip: Ear Massage Tutorial For Immediate Stress Relief

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We live in a very stressful world so it is no surprise that stress is the number one reason people seek alternative medicine. Health Pointe Jacksonville Acupuncture and Wellness Clinic offers acupuncture, massage therapy, Thai Yoga assisted stretching, and home exercise instruction to provide you with immediate relaxation from that never ending stress-train you are riding.  Thus allowing you to feel better, sleep better and live your best life yet. We commonly instruct our patients on self care between appointments to elongate the benefits of our treatments. Here is a great tutorial on auricular (ear) massage that you can do anywhere that will immediately lower tension and anxiety, as well as provide an immediate sense of calm.

Ear massage is an incredibly quick and easy way  to immediately refresh your thinking, calm your body, energize your mind and improve focus for more efficient learning. It only takes a few minutes and will leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed while improving your attention. Teaching children and teenagers how to perform self-massage techniques empowers them to take care of themselves whenever they feel stressed, anxious or simply need a lift in their day.

Ear Massage for Calm and Focus

In Ayurvedic medicine they say that all the energy points of the body are represented in the ear, and in Oriental Medicine there are over 100 acupuncture points just in the ear alone that can treat the entire body.  Powerful stuff! By providing acupressure, or massaging, to these points can stimulate the body systems.  Ear massage improves circulation, strengthens immunity and relaxes the body and the mind. Not only is it an immediate de-stressor, it is also really great for increasing energy and clarifying your thoughts.

The first thing you’ll want to do is to create a V in your hands. This side of the V is going to go in front of the ear, the index finger and thumb are going to go behind the ear. From there you want to rub up and down. Just gently. The lovely thing about self-massage is that you get to determine the type of pressure you want and what feels good today.

The next thing we are going to do is some lobe massage. Take your earlobes between your index finger and your thumb. And just start to rub, little circles. Now what this does is the ear lobes connect with the brain. So the right ear lobe stimulates the left hemisphere and the pituitary gland. The left ear lobe stimulates the right hemisphere and the pineal gland. So as you massage the lobes you are getting a full brain workout and energetically linking both hemispheres of the brain.

From there, you can take your middle finger and do a little massage on the inside of the ear. Here we are getting into the internal organs of the body. Giving them a little bit of stimulus, a little bit of care and attention.

Next, we are going to do what is called ear rolling. So you begin at the top of the ear and you open up this flap of cartilage and work your way down. Repeat that three times. This is a fantastic exercise for increasing focus, for giving you more creativity, more attention. It’s almost as if you are opening up the brain and all that goodness there.

Once you’ve done the ear rolling, the next thing is to do friction cupping. Take your hands, energetically rub them together till you’ve created some heat. Once you feel your hands are warm cup them over your ears and close your eyes. Relax your shoulders down. Pull your senses in. Breathe deeply. Allow the warmth to soothe and calm. Then when you’re ready open your eyes. Give your ears just a bit of a rub with the palms of your hands.

The last thing we are going to do is ear pulls. So with ear pulls you just gentle grab your ears and you’ll gently pull them down while you reach the back of your neck up. Do this a few times. This helps release tension in the eyes, opens the ears so that you can hear well, your listening improves. And maybe one more time. That’s it.

Pro Tip 1: If you have some essential oils on hand feel free to add one to two drops of your favorite scent in each hand as you perform this stress relieving ear massage. Inhale the scent deeply and exhale three times before beginning the massage for best results. Geranium and clary sage are two of my personal favorites that are immediately calming, but feel free to experiment with different oils to find your personal fave.
Pro Tip 2:  Have you ever been a passenger in a car when road rage hits the driver? From zero to crazy in a heartbeat! Quickly turn down the rage volume of  the driver quickly with this ear massage sequence. If that driver just doesn’t happen to be your husband or wife, perhaps stick with massaging your own ear to prevent any awkwardness…

Feel better? You should!

 

Wishing you peace. love, prosperity and good health in all your days!

*To schedule your next acupuncture, massage or infrared sauna treatment click here.