How to give yourself good massage?

No time to get a massage? Work out the knots on your own with these pointers.

"There are many self-care techniques you can try for relaxation or to soothe achy muscles," says Jennifer Durkin, a massage therapist at Soothe Massage Therapy in Worcester, Massachusetts. "And you don't need expensive equipment or lots of time."

Whenever you feel sore or need to de-stress, give yourself some TLC with these mini-massages:

"Scalp massage is something you can do anywhere, any time, to relax and feel refreshed," says Alice Sanvito, massage therapist at Massage St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. Place the heel of your palms under your hair on either side of your head near your temples. Push the scalp up toward the ceiling, hold a few seconds, and release. Work in sections across your entire scalp.

"This feels good if you have a tension headache starting," says Durkin. Use your fingertips to lightly draw little circles along your hairline, cheekbones, above your eyebrows, and where your jaw connects. Gently rub your ears and earlobes between your fingertips.

Too much texting? Relax one arm, palm up, on top of your thigh. Push the heel of your other palm slowly along the forearm in the direction of your wrist. Use enough pressure to feel some heat, but not to give yourself a brush burn. Do the same thing across your open palm all the way down toward your fingertips, and again over the mound of your thumb, says Durkin. Repeat a few times, and switch hands.