Two Simple Techniques for Deep Relaxation

We all know what stress can do to your body and mind, and how important it is to prevent it. Apart from yoga and meditation, one of the best ways to support your health is to have a massage.

The benefits of massaging your body are numerous – improved circulation, stimulation of the lymphatic system that helps to remove toxins from your body, reduced muscle tension, increased flexibility, and reduction of stress hormones, leading to a stronger immune system.

Having frequent massages or spa treats is, however, not always practical and within everyone’s budget.

In the Eden Method Fundamentals course, I have learned a number of techniques for deep relaxation, pain relief, and problems with insomnia, and I am happy to share a couple of them in this article.

By the end of this post, you’ll know of two profoundly relaxing techniques, and I hope that you will try them out and enjoy them as much as I do.

Simple Yet Powerful

Not only can these two techniques be learned and applied easily, but they will also boost your physical and emotional health – with immediate effect. If you want to give someone a nice treat, these techniques won’t disappoint you.

1) Spinal Flush

This technique is carried out by firmly pressing paired points a few inches to the side of your spine. You’ll be proceeding from top to bottom, starting at the level of your neck, then gradually going down, and ending around or under the waist level.

If you receive the Spinal Flush, it will benefit you in several ways:

Energize you
Strengthen your immune system – you may even stop an approaching cold from developing
Reduce built-up stress and emotional tension (it can be a sanity-saver for any woman experiencing PMS, for example)

The reason this procedure is so invaluable in terms of improving your health is the following:

All along your spine, there are important points called the neurolymphatic reflex points.

These can be found at various locations on the front and back of the body, and each of them is related to a specific organ and meridian.

We can use these points to help organs and meridians that are out of balance and need attention – e.g. due to clogged energy, toxins, energy overload, or not enough energy.

The points related to a meridian that is energetically out of balance will be tender or sore – thus easy to identify.

To eliminate toxins, the lymph needs to move, and since (unlike the heart) it hasn’t got its own pump, it needs to be stimulated by body movement, massage, or pressure.

When massaged (pressed/buzzed) deeply, the neurolymphatic points send a signal to the lymph system, which consequently starts removing toxins from the related organs, and send energy to the associated meridians.

The physical and emotional effects of those released toxins and restored flow of energy can be felt immediately. My husband often offers me a spinal flash when he notices I’m getting tired, and I can never thank him enough for this treat.

The person receiving the Spinal Flush can be standing and leaning towards the wall, but it is much more relaxing to receive the treatment when lying face down.

When doing the spinal flush lying on a massage table, the therapist stands above and behind the client’s head while performing the massage, so he/she can use the weight of their own body to lean down towards the client, and exert more natural pressure than when standing up.

How to Give a Spinal Flush to Someone:

Have them lie face down (or make them stand about half a step from a wall and support themselves with their hands)
Using your thumbs or middle fingers, deeply massage the points about an inch on either side of their spine, from the base of their neck to the bottom of their sacrum.
You should be pressing quite hard, as this is important for a proper release of toxins. You should be applying deep pressure in a circular motion, for at least three seconds on each point. However, always check with the treated person whether they find the pressure too painful.
When you have reached the sacrum, you can either repeat the massage, or complete it by distributing the person’s energies down their body, by sweeping down with your open hand – starting at their shoulders, and going across their back, through their waist, all the way to their feet. Repeat this cross-sweep several times.

This exercise is also described on page 93 of Donna Eden’s book Energy Medicine, and also in the Energy Medicine Kit.

You can watch Donna and David demonstrating the Spinal Flush in this video (from 01:10 onwards), in which they reveal yet another benefit of this technique.

Spinal Flush Done with a Massager

If you want to give your therapist’s hands some rest, you can also have your Spinal Flush done with a handheld massager (see Recommended Products further down the page).

2) Brazilian Toe Technique

The Brazilian Toe Technique is a simple, yet powerful relaxation-promoting and toxin-releasing technique, sometimes used in hospitals to help people with after-effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

It is performed by gently holding specific acupressure points on a client’s toes, and it has proven to be a helpful tool for insomnia, nausea, edema, restless leg syndrome, hormonal and emotional imbalances, stress, balancing the body’s polarities, and various types of aches and pain.

The toes are held in the following order: 3,4,5,2,1.

When holding the client’s toes, the therapists keeps their fingers straight, like a peg, rather than crouching them, and hold each toe for 3 minutes. The touch should be light and gentle.

The Procedure:

Hold your thumb under the pad of the client’s middle toe, while your middle finger gently rests on top of the toenail of the middle toe.
When transitioning to the next toe, always slide your thumb first to get into the next position, in order to maintain contact with the client’s foot.
Move towards the fourth toe – first with your thumb sliding towards it from below, maintaining contact with the client’s foot, and then move your ring finger to rest on top of client’s fourth toenail.
Move towards the little toe – first with your thumb sliding towards it from below, maintaining contact with the client’s foot, and then move your little finger to rest on top of client’s toenail of the little toe.
Move towards the second toe – first with your thumb sliding towards it from below, maintaining contact with the client’s foot, and then move your index finger to rest on top of client’s toenail of the second toe.
Move towards the big toe – first with your thumb sliding towards it from below, maintaining contact with the client’s foot, and then place your index finger AND your middle finger on top the client’s big toe.

You will be holding important acupressure points – the first point of the Spleen meridian, and the first point of the Liver meridian.

If you want to learn about all the points and their incredibly poetic names, have a look at the meridian chart in the section Recommended Products at the end of this post.

I hope that you will try these techniques and enjoy all the benefits. If you have any questions or comments, leave a comment below this article.