Taking Care of Dry, Flaking, Cracked Skin

Dry flaking, cracked skin can be painful and irritating, particularly if of the heels of the feet.

During summertime when women wear open shoes, this is particular common. Fortunately, there is an easy, homemade remedy for this:

Every morning and evening after your shower or bath, place 1 drop of Sandalwood into a couple of Rosehip oil or Calendula oil and massage thoroughly. 

This is an excellent remedy for dry skin anywhere on the feet, especially if you play sport or are very active, when skin more readily dries and hardens.

Recipes 101

Danie de Villiers

Sensual Massage for Women

If you feel tense, and the strain of modern living is telling on you, there is nothing better than a soothing massage

Massage is an effective remedy for a very wide variety of muscular complaints, particularly those caused by tension. For amid the strain of everyday living, we often do not realize that our muscles are becoming taut and knotted, losing their elasticity and, in the process adding to that general run-down feeling. A good massage will loosen the muscle fibres, dissolving hard knots below the skin and leaving the body feeling more flexible and relaxed.

Massage also has a hidden benefit aside from its physical advantages. It provides a time for you to relax completely to shut out the world and to concentrate on your own body. It can help you locate where the trouble spots are and give you the opportunity to think about how to avoid future build-ups of body tension. In addition, of course, it is a marvellously sensuous experience and feels wonderful.

Massage at home

With the grown of interest in self-help relaxation, your local library and bookshop are likely to have an assortment of books on different types of massage. If you look at a basic introductory manual, you may be surprised to discover that the art of massage can be practiced by amateurs at home. All it needs is a little time and a willing friend. As you will learn from any massage manual, the basic stroking techniques are elegantly simple. They involve rubbing the skin with different parts of the hand and applying varying degrees of pressure. 

For the massage, you will require a thick blanket covered with a cotton sheet over a thin mattress or layer of foam placed on the floor. Beds are not advisable, as they normally do not provide enough underlying support. For sitting massage, you should have a chair with a straight seat and back.

Although it is not essential, the person massaging may find it beneficial to apply a little oil to his or her hands, to prevent friction. The person being massaged will also find it a pleasant sensation. Light oil such as almond or safflower is ideal. 

Make sure the atmosphere is comfortable – choose a warm, quiet spot with plenty of room for the masseur to move around, gentle, indirect lighting and possibly soothing music. Some people prefer to be massaged nude, while others wear a swimsuit - choose whatever makes you feel best. The idea is to be relaxed as possible. 

Mutual enjoyment

In a massage session of about 40 minutes to an hour, you should aim to completely relax the body by repeated application of basic strokes and then to concentrate on one specific area such as the neck or lower back. A cool shower after the massage will leave the subject feeling refreshed and toned up. In the nest session, swap roles so that you can both enjoy the sensual pleasure of being massaged.  

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How Muscle Relaxation Can Be Used to Alleviate Pain

Pain is the body’s way of telling that something is not quite right. Unfortunately it is not always possible to pin down what exactly is wrong, or what the cause of the pain is. Pain is experienced when certain nerve endings are stimulated to send messages of pain to the brain.

Normally, chronic pain is experienced due to an illness or medical condition, for example arthritis. When pain is localized, for instance a headache, heartburn, or toothache, it may be due to temporary ailments. Naturally, injuries also trigger pain.

As a remedy, it was found that progressive muscle relaxation can ease tension and subsequently alleviate pain.

Here is what to do:

1. Sit comfortably in a chair with a straight back, with the body in a 90⁰ relation to the chair. The hands must be in the lap and the feet solid on the floor. All clothes, like belt, tie, and other tight fitting clothes must be loosened. When in a comfortable, relaxed composure, take a deep breath and exhale very slowly.

2. The next step is to extent one of the arms in front of the body. Make a tight fist, and tense the muscles of the hand as hard as possible. Keep and hold this position for a count of 5 whilst concentrating on the tension in the hand.

3. Then, slightly relax the hand for a second or two and tense the muscles again for a count of 5.

4. Now, totally release the tension, relax and take a deep breath and very slowly exhale.

5. The next step is to repeat the sequences in 2-4 for the other hand, then for the arms, shoulders and facial muscles, taking deep breaths between each muscle group until the entire upper body is relaxed.

6. When this is done, the same routine must be followed for the lower body, tensing and relaxing muscles of the stomach, buttocks, legs, and feet.

7. With the entire body subjected to the tensing and relaxing of muscles, close the eyes and sit quietly and relaxed for at least 5 minutes. Breathe deeply; concentrate on any word that comes to mind, or a number or even a nice scene.

Just remember, pain that is unusual, very tense and last more than one day, growing steadily worse or is accompanied by fever, vomiting and other symptoms, warrants prompt medical attention.

Daniel