Touch Your Tatas! They’ll Love You For It!
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love
getting a massage. It’s one of the most
loving things that I do for myself and it’s so relaxing. I actually try to make it a point of getting
a massage every month with my membership at Massage Envy. Not only do our bodies need that kind of
love, our tatas do too! Stay with me
here – I’m not talking about anything
freaky and I’m not talking about how you can increase your bust size either!
A few years ago I went to a holistic gynecologist who told me to massage my breasts. I told him that I already knew how to do breast self-exams, but he wasn’t talking about that. He was talking about intimately massaging my breasts (not in a sexual way), really getting to know them and sending love to them. It seemed strange to me at first, but after I thought about it for a while, it made sense. Just like people, our bodies can sense the love, hate or apathy that we have for them. Our bodies can tell when they are being neglected. Any part of your body that is being loved will serve you better. When we really love our bodies, we take better care of them -- we get sleep, we eat the right foods and we exercise. Individual parts of our bodies also need that same kind of love and attention. Our breasts are one of the many things that make us unique as women. We need to take care of them. We need to wear the right bras (both regular and sports bras) to give them proper support, refrain from using toxic chemicals (antiperspirant) under our arms and also really get to know them.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, many diseases, including breast cancer, are partially due to stagnation or the improper flow of blood. It is believed that massaging any area of the body will improve blood flow and the flow of fluids as they relax and rectify the flow of qi (energy).[1] The flow of bodily fluids is very important in Western Medicine as well. Our breasts are located near our lymphatic system which transports and processes waste matter from our cells throughout our bodies. This is one reason why breast cancer can be so dangerous—if cancer cells reach our lymphatic system, they can spread throughout the body. Therefore it is critical that our lymphatic systems are working properly. Moving the lymphatic system helps to flush toxins out of the body. Exercise helps with this, but regularly massaging the breast tissue and lymph areas around the breasts helps to ensure that there is no stagnation.[2]
As young women, many of us have dense and fibrocystic breasts, so it can often be difficult to detect breast lumps when doing breast self-exams. One way to conquer this problem is really getting to know your breasts. Breast massage not only allows you to do this, but also sends your breasts the love and healing energy they deserve.
(If you have active breast cancer, it’s best to see your oncologist, finish treatment and get clearance before practicing breast self-massage. Also, if you notice any lumps or thickening while doing the breast massage, please see your doctor.)
If you google “breast self-massage” on the internet, you’ll get a lot of hits, some of which are quite graphic! I recommend two types – the tulip technique and the lymphatic breast massage, which can both be done in as little as two to three minutes, but I suggest that you take your time.
A few years ago I went to a holistic gynecologist who told me to massage my breasts. I told him that I already knew how to do breast self-exams, but he wasn’t talking about that. He was talking about intimately massaging my breasts (not in a sexual way), really getting to know them and sending love to them. It seemed strange to me at first, but after I thought about it for a while, it made sense. Just like people, our bodies can sense the love, hate or apathy that we have for them. Our bodies can tell when they are being neglected. Any part of your body that is being loved will serve you better. When we really love our bodies, we take better care of them -- we get sleep, we eat the right foods and we exercise. Individual parts of our bodies also need that same kind of love and attention. Our breasts are one of the many things that make us unique as women. We need to take care of them. We need to wear the right bras (both regular and sports bras) to give them proper support, refrain from using toxic chemicals (antiperspirant) under our arms and also really get to know them.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, many diseases, including breast cancer, are partially due to stagnation or the improper flow of blood. It is believed that massaging any area of the body will improve blood flow and the flow of fluids as they relax and rectify the flow of qi (energy).[1] The flow of bodily fluids is very important in Western Medicine as well. Our breasts are located near our lymphatic system which transports and processes waste matter from our cells throughout our bodies. This is one reason why breast cancer can be so dangerous—if cancer cells reach our lymphatic system, they can spread throughout the body. Therefore it is critical that our lymphatic systems are working properly. Moving the lymphatic system helps to flush toxins out of the body. Exercise helps with this, but regularly massaging the breast tissue and lymph areas around the breasts helps to ensure that there is no stagnation.[2]
As young women, many of us have dense and fibrocystic breasts, so it can often be difficult to detect breast lumps when doing breast self-exams. One way to conquer this problem is really getting to know your breasts. Breast massage not only allows you to do this, but also sends your breasts the love and healing energy they deserve.
(If you have active breast cancer, it’s best to see your oncologist, finish treatment and get clearance before practicing breast self-massage. Also, if you notice any lumps or thickening while doing the breast massage, please see your doctor.)
If you google “breast self-massage” on the internet, you’ll get a lot of hits, some of which are quite graphic! I recommend two types – the tulip technique and the lymphatic breast massage, which can both be done in as little as two to three minutes, but I suggest that you take your time.
1.
The Tulip
Tap – This technique incorporates Chinese medicine acupressure. During the massage you apply pressure on six
points around the breast that line the breast in the shape of a tulip and
gently tap each area with your thumb for six to nine seconds. After that, you use your three middle fingers
to tap around the breasts in the shape of the tulip. The
Tulip Tap moves the energy and lymphatic tissue around the breast. To watch a short video on how to do the Tulip
Tap, click here. Please note that this video also has a
demonstration of the Lymphatic Breast Massage discussed below.
2.
The
Lymphatic Breast Massage – This technique was created by The Breast Health
Project and involves pumping, squeezing, pulling and brushing the breast tissue
in various directions which mimic how the lymph moves in the body.[3] To watch a short video on how to do the
Lymphatic Breast Massage, click here.
If this blog post resonated with you, I encourage you to try
both of these techniques and see which one you like best. They’re both pretty simple to incorporate into
your daily or weekly routine. Whichever method
you choose, remember to relax, take your time and send some love to those girls!
-
AmiCietta D. Clarke, Certified Holistic Health
Coach & Founder of Clean Body Living, LLC, www.cleanbodyliving.com
posted by Tigerlily Foundation @ 4:58 PM
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