How To Give a Foot Massage

For some there is nothing more relaxing at the end of the day than a foot massage. There is an entire practice of massage called reflexology that concentrates on massaging the feet in order to relieve symptoms throughout the body. You don't need to practice reflexology to give a foot massage; you just need to follow these steps.

1. Start with clean feet! While you may love a foot massage at the end of a hard day, have some courtesy for your partner or the person offering the massage. Remove your foot coverings and give your feet a little bath before offering them up. If you are offering the massage and don't want to suggest your partner wash their feet, try step two.
2. Wrap a warm, damp towel around the feet. This step is often skipped but it serves two purposes. First you get cleaner feet to work with. Second the heat will help relax tense foot muscles. Keep the towel in place for at least two minutes.
3. Test for ticklish feet. It helps if you know someone's feet are ticklish before they react and kick you (or break out in giggles and ruin the mood).
4. Apply lotion to hands. Don't go overboard with the lotion. You don't want slippery hands, just enough lotion to soften the hands and feet.
5. Lightly rub lotion across the tops and bottom of the feet. Once you have applied the lotion you will start to concentrate on one of the feet for the next few minutes.
6. Hold one foot between the palms of your hands and rub with thumbs. Use your thumbs to rub firmly along the bones across the top of the foot. Rub as firmly as you can without causing pain. Realize that everyone reacts to pain differently and you want to relieve tension, not create it.
7. Massage the bottom of the foot. Switch your hands so that with your palms still around the foot, your thumbs are now against the bottom of the foot. Create small circles with your thumbs and press deeply as you slowly widen the circles to massage the ball of the foot then the arch.
8. Stretch the toes. With your palm still facing down, slowly slip your fingers of one hand between the toes. This small movement stretches the feet and relieves pressure. Be aware that for some people this causes their toes to crack. This shouldn't be a problem unless they feel pain.
9. Put on a warm sock. The sock will seal in the moisture of the lotion and complete the relaxing feel of the massage.
10. Repeat with the other foot. You should never leave a foot massage half done.

With any luck, your partner will return the foot massage favor sometime. If you followed these steps and didn't rush through the massage you should have one relaxed and satisfied pair of feet.