While most massages are administered by others, you don't necessarily need a second pair of hands to treat your menstrual cramps. Rachel Richards Massage demonstrates several self-massage techniques in her YouTube video, beginning with some measured breathing and soft abdominal pressure to reduce tightness.
She then moves on to the sun and moon technique, which is also mentioned by Massage Fitness Magazine as an effective way to treat menstrual pain. For this motion, one palm makes a circular shape across the abdomen while the other palm moves in the opposite direction, lifting over the first hand to trace the outer curve of a crescent.
Another self-massage strategy shown by Richards is the four-fingered circular motion. For this technique, take four fingers on both of your hands and apply pointed pressure in the shape of a small circle. Continue this movement in the shape of a larger spiral that centers around your navel. In this way, you should make the small circular movement all across your abdomen until you reach your belly button.
Besides these, you can also target acupressure points linked to menstrual pain. In a YouTube video from the channel Holden QiGong, Lee Holden suggests targeting the spleen meridian, which can be found by setting one foot on the opposite knee and feeling along the underside of the shin bone. Here, you can use both thumbs to apply pressure up and down the channel beside this bone, targeting any tender spots with more pointed pressure.
