The Art of Body Brushing

It’s so good for you…..and so easy!

According to research, 5 minutes of energetic body brushing tones your muscles as much as a 30 minute jog – I know which I’d choose!

So what does it do for us and what’s the best way to do it?

Body brushing  improves our health by:

• stimulating the body’s circulation
• toning muscles
• improving the nervous system
• helping the lymphatic system remove waste and toxins and break down cellulite
• removing dead skin layers, leaving the skin glowing and healthy

It’s generally better to brush before your morning shower as the effects can be stimulating and stop you falling asleep if done too near bedtime.  You need to shower after brushing to remove dead skin cells.  To be extra virtuous you could alternate warm and cold water a few times while you the shower.  This will further benefit  blood, lymph and nerves.

It’s important to brush the right way to encourage good circulation and here’s how:

Use long strokes and brush towards the heart.  Start at the feet and brush up the legs.  Similarly with the arms, start with the hands and brush up towards shoulders.  Brush upwards over bottom and lower back.  Above the heart, you need downward strokes so brush down from shoulders over the chest.

Use brisk, light strokes.  Not too hard – I promise there will be gain without pain!  And don’t use over the face – the bristles are too rough for delicate facial skin.  Also avoid infected or damaged skin and don’t brush if you have eczema, psoriasis or varicose veins.

Lastly, you need to clean your body brush.  Every week or so simply soak the brush in warm water with some teatree or eucalyptus oil.  Then hang up to dry.