A good foot massage leaves you relaxed. The benefits of touch therapy are beyond your imagination. Just as a hug on a dull day brightens your spirit; a good foot massage can energize your body instantly.

Benefits of a foot massage:

There are several benefits that you stand to gain from a massage. Firstly you eliminate all the dead skin cells from your feet when you get a massage. This gives your feet a natural healthy look. It also keeps the skin on the feet youthful.

Applying pressure on the soles of the feet and the area under your toes helps to give you relief from the stress and aches and pains that you may be suffering from. Pregnant women often complain of swelling of the feet due to sudden increase in weight; a massage will help to relieve the pain and reduces the swelling drastically.

Massaging your feet can also help you to get rid of ailments like sinusitis, headaches and common colds. Acupressure is a therapy where pressure is applied to different parts of the feet in order to cure common ailments.

Steps involved in a foot massage:

You need not go to a spa to get a massage; you can avail of one at home. You can give yourself a relaxing massage or get your partner to give you one.

Start with soaking your feet in warm water. You may add a few bath salts to the water or add lavender or peppermint oil to the water to help your tired feet to relax. The hot water loosens stiff and tired muscles in the feet and also gets rid of the dead skin cells on the feet.

The next thing you need to do is remove your feet from the warm water and wipe them dry. Now use a generous amount of massage oil on the palms of your hand and gently apply pressure on your foot. You need to work with one foot at a time in order to get maximum benefits. Take both your hands and place them on your feet and press from the bottom to the top as if you were squeezing toothpaste out of the tube. You need to repeat this action 3 to 4 times. Do this with both the feet.

Focusing in the toes is also very important. Gently stroke the toes and apply pressure to them independently. Rub the base of the foot in circular movements so that you increase the circulation of blood in the feet and thereby reduce the pain and pressure on the area.