Tonight, I'm going to give you a slow, deep, and luxurious head massage until you are so relaxed that you fall effortlessly into sleep. Massage therapy has been shown to be wonderful for sleep because the stimulation of the scalp encourages blood flow to the head, it aids relaxation, it relieves aches and pains, and it can also stimulate hormones that are conducive to sleep. Your head is the heaviest part of your body, and the neck does a great deal of work in supporting it, holding it up all day long. It can feel wonderful to really let go of the effort and let it be held by somebody else. Every day, we face challenges that keep our minds active and racing at bedtime. Our to-do lists and all the events of the day, reflections and worries, can prevent us from getting to sleep, leaving us wild-eyed and frazzled. Stress reduction strategies are an excellent way of creating a relaxing bedtime routine. I'm here to help your body unwind and allow you to let go of your thoughts. I'm here to take all the pressure and weight away. I'll be manipulating your scalp, face, and shoulders to lull you into a restful sleep. I'm going to use my fingers to strike, press, squeeze, knead, and pinch to stimulate your pressure points and promote the free flow of energy. As I apply pressure to the surface skin of the body, the massage creates signals that induce physiological and chemical changes within the body. These signals help to restore internal balance and a sense of calm and ease within the body and mind. People often experience pleasant feelings, tingling sensations, and deep relaxation after receiving a massage. The psychological pampering effect is just as important and valuable as any physical benefit. A scalp, face, and shoulder massage before going to bed is ideal. Standing behind you, I begin at the shoulders. I'm going to play my fingertips lightly over them and ask you to take a few deep breaths. In and out. In and out. In and out. Now I'm gently squeezing the trapezius muscle close to the neck and working my way outwards to the deltoids. My strokes are slow and gentle, yet firm. I'm now squeezing the tissues along the top of the spine and firmly kneading the muscles either side. The pinching of the muscles along the spine is good for promoting sleep and releases tension. I grasp and squeeze the nape of the neck and shoulders repeatedly, holding the pressure for a moment, and then releasing, causing tingles of pleasure that rise to the crown of the head and down the vertebra of the spine. I'm now returning to the neck and pressing outwards with my thumbs, firm strokes to the shoulders, repeating three times, allowing the pressure to increase slightly each time. I'm bringing my hands back up next to the neck, making small, firm circles with my thumbs on either side of your spine, just below the collar line. This is balancing out the muscles of the backbone. I'm continuing with the circles up the back of the neck until I reach the base of the skull, where I knead my thumbs into all the large muscles held there. Lowering my hands back down, I'll repeat this twice now. Placing my forearms at the side of the neck, I'm going to press and lean with my body weight onto the tops of your shoulders and glide them outwards towards the shoulders with a rolling rotation of the wrist. Then I'm going to lift my forearms a couple of inches from the neck and repeat the same firm rolling stroke. I'll repeat this twice more, sliding my forearms out and across your shoulders a little more firmly each time. This sensation of the friction of skin rubbing against skin combined with the building pressure can feel intensely pleasurable, like weight being lifted from your shoulders. And now, stepping to the side of you, I place one hand at the base of your neck and the other lightly on your forehead. This is done with very light pressure. My only aim is to prevent your head from falling forwards. It makes you feel held and effortlessly supported. I'm going to spread my thumb and fingers at the base of your neck and glide them upwards towards your skull. I'm careful to avoid putting any pressure directly on your vertebrae. And each time I reach the hairline, I remain here for a moment, pressing with my thumb and forefinger on the base of the head. I'll repeat this five times, up and down, adding some circling and pinching to the upward stroke if there's a lot of tension present. When my hand reaches your hairline for the last time, I'll just hold it here for a moment. Now I'm going to gently manipulate your head in different directions, following the natural range of motions of your neck and spine. I slowly tilt your head forward into the palm of my hand without strain or effort, then gently lift it back to vertical and continuing backwards without forcing or pushing, simply allowing the weight of the head to rest in my hand. You can completely let go of all effort or the need to hold up your head. Let your head just hang soft and heavy as I hold it. I'll repeat this gentle, easy rock of your head three times, front and back, and then very slowly and gently, from side to side, allowing your cheek and jaw to rest on my hand, and the muscles of the side of your neck to stretch out a little. As you allow your head to fall lightly to the side and rest on my palm, my fingernails lightly tickle the side of your neck in long, soft, stroking motions. This might send light tingles down your spine. I stand again behind you now to take my attention to your scalp. I take my fingertips to either side of your head, with my fingers spread and pointing upwards. I'm going to press firmly and slowly, moving my hands up, first with a shampooing motion, with small circles up towards the crown of your head. Now, I return my hands to the bottom, either side of the ears, and I'll move them to a different area of your head, repeating that slow, circular motion, just as though I'm washing your hair, until I've covered the entire scalp. Now, I come back to that place, either side of the ears, but this time, allow my fingernails to lightly touch the skull. I drag my nails through the hair against the scalp in long strokes. Bringing one hand to the forehead for stability now, I'll place the heel of the other hand in contact with the back of the head, and begin rubbing the back of the scalp, moving my hand vigorously from side to side. Up and around the head, then I switch hands and repeat the same motion on the other side. Now, I'll briskly rub the scalp with the fingertips of both hands for a little while. I take my fingertips to the crown of your head, and tap around the top of your head lightly. It might feel a little like a herd of horses in the distance. I move the tapping all around the scalp, and back down toward the neck and shoulders. And now, the tapping changes to gently stroking my fingers through your hair, from the top of the forehead over the back of your head. Stepping closer, I allow these final strokes to bring your head back, resting on a headrest. I lay my fingers over your forehead. From the center, I press my fingertips in and drag outwards towards your temples. And now, I'll draw my fingers down and along the brow line, tracing the eye socket to each temple simultaneously, with the index and middle fingers extended, kneading small circles, then bringing my hands back to your forehead. And I repeat this three times. And begin to stroke upwards from the temples, towards the hair, with all four fingers another six times. Now I press between your eyebrows with my middle fingertips, and press upwards to the top of the forehead six times. I'm now tapping my fingertips lightly around the eye sockets, bringing blood flow to this region of your face. I'll now press my middle fingertips into the center of your eyebrows, and slide downwards through the bridge of your nose, and stroke firmly outwards through your nose, and stroke firmly outwards through your cheeks, until I reach your ears. Here, I clasp your earlobe with my thumb and forefinger, and pull downwards gently. With my same fingers, I now grasp the top of your ear and squeeze, very gently tugging the ear away from the scalp, and continue to pinch and squeeze down the edge of the ear, until I reach your earlobe, where I linger a little longer, pulling downwards lightly and repeatedly. With the heels of my hands, I now press firmly into the hinge of your jaw, and drag downwards through the jawline. Lastly, I take your head forward once more to rest, and I'll finish with smooth strokes, beginning from the hairline above your forehead, and slowly making my way down to the back of your head, down your neck. Lightly stroking down and out across your shoulders, allowing the pressure to become lighter and lighter, until my hands float away, leaving you with a feeling of calm, serenity, and relaxation.