According to practitioners of Chinese medicine, good health is controlled by a flow of energy called chi. By pressing certain points on your head you can stimulate chi, relieve tension and tone the tiny muscles, acting like a natural face-lift. Got five minutes? Let your fingers do the walking.
1 Close your eyes. Place the index finger of each hand on your temples. Hold with a light pressure for 10 seconds. Move your index fingers to the points just above the middle of your eyebrows (in line with your pupils if you were looking straight ahead). Press for 10 seconds. Then move to the point called the Third Eye, located between the eyebrows in the indentation where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead; press for 10 seconds. Open your eyes wide, lift your eyebrows and relax.
2 Move your fingers to the points either side of your nose in the hollows above the tear ducts. Hold for 10 seconds, then massage in tiny circles for 10 seconds. Use your index fingers and thumbs to gently pinch along the bony ridge around your eyes, starting at the inner corners and working your way up and along the brows.
3 Using thumbs, stroke firmly down both sides of your nose, from your eyebrows right to the end of your nose; repeat for 10 seconds. Now press upwards under your cheekbones with your index fingers in about the middle of your cheekbones. Hold for 10 seconds. Using your thumbs and fingertips and working outwards from your nose across your cheeks to your ears, lightly pinch small sections of the skin with quick movements.
4 Gently lift your ears up, back and forwards in a circular motion, then rub them vigorously with your palms for 10 seconds.
5 Imagine you have a big piece of gum in your mouth: chew up and down and from side to side for 10 seconds, to stretch and release stiff muscles. Feel along your jawbone and find the indentations on both sides about an inch from where it’s joined to the upper jaw. Press these points for 10 seconds. Open your mouth, stick out your tongue and say “aaah”, then relax.
6 Spread your fingers through your hair and massage your scalp from front to back with circular movements. Use your thumbs to massage the points known as the Heavenly Pillar, located in the hollows at the back of your neck where the spine and skull join, just to the left and right of the spine. Press for 5 seconds, release, then repeat twice.
7 Make soft fists, leaving your thumbs running along the outside. Tap briskly from the base of your neck to the top of your head and back again. Using your fingertips, lightly patter all over your face like raindrops. To finish, press your temples for 5 seconds then cup your hands over your closed eyes for 5 seconds. Now, open your eyes and return to the world, refreshed and revitalised.
YOUR SAY: Have you tried any of these techniques? Tell us whether you think they work!
