Try This One-Minute Calf Massage

Pregnant women, runners, walkers, or anyone who has to stand for long periods
of time will love this! A few minutes of attention to the calf muscles gets the
circulation moving through tired, achy legs.

1. Positioning: Have your partner lie down on his or her back with one leg
bent (foot flat on the floor, knee pointing up) and the other leg straight,
relaxing on the floor.

Go ahead and sit on the foot of the bent leg (you can put a pillow over the
foot if you want) and hold the knee stable with one of your hands. Let your
partner know that you will hold on to the knee so they can relax the bent leg
without feeling like it's going to fall to one side.

2. Keep one of your hands supporting the knee at all times. With the other
hand reach around to the calf muscles, grab on to a big hunk and start squeezing
and releasing. Work at a nice, steady rhythm, squeezing and releasing, working
your way from the back of the knee all the way down to the ankle. (Make sure
you're not pinching the skin, but rather compressing big chunks of muscle.
Pinching doesn't feel good - compression does!)

3. Be thorough - get the whole back side of the lower leg. Even though the
calf muscles really only go half way down the lower leg, continue all the way to
the ankles to include the Achilles tendon area. It needs the work, too.

4. Spend about 30 seconds massaging the lower leg. Then, supporting the
underside of the knee with one hand, straighten the leg, putting it down on the
floor. Repeat on the other leg.

5. After one minute, you're done! Now switch places with your partner so that
you get a chance to receive. Have your partner massage your calf muscles in the
same fashion.