relaxation - spinal Massage

The Spine is a versatile structure which can bend, twis swivel the head and support most of the body weight. It als protects the one centimetre thick spinal cord through whic millions of messages fly back and forth from the brain. It has th layers of sheathing, a fluid bath to take up the shock and a bon housing. Almost half of the thirty one pairs of nerves whic branch out from the cord are sensory, conveying information t the brain the rest are motor which transmit orders from the bra~ to the muscles.

The structure of the spine is an engineering marvel. It has even cervical vertebrae which are capable of extraordinary ran of movements, twelve thoracic vertebrae where the ribs a hooked on to, five lumber vertebrae which carry most of t weight, five sacral segments called sacrum and four bones fuse together called coccyx.

The spine in its natural formation shows a convexity in t neck and lumbar region and concavity in the thoracic regio The curve of the spine is necessary for proper balancing a weight bearing. The spinal nerves which branch out from each vertebrae shown in the figure. By activating these nerves, the whole bo can be toned up and one can feel fresh within few minutes of spinal massage.

In spinal massage, finger walking, similar to caterpillar walk is used to activate the spinal nerves. The person can be asked lie down prone (on the stomach), preferably on a mat spread a hard surface. Then use your fingers to apply on and off pressure with thumb on one side of the vertebrae and four fingers on the other side and start moving from the neck region to the coccyx.

Pressure should be applied only on the sides of the vertebrae and not over the vertebrae. The finger walking should start at the neck and end at the coccyx for one cycle. Three to five cycles of finger walking for just three minutes can rejuvenate the person instantly.

Finally use the index finger and the middle finger in V shape and rub the sides of the vertebrae three to five minutes from the top to bottom to complete the massage.