Massage is the manipulation of the soft tissues of human body. It relieves stress and all kinds of pains and fatigue, which have been accumulated due to daily life activities. Massage is generally done with hands, fingers, knees, elbows, forearms, feet, or a device. Body massage starts with the front portion of the body and too from the navel. Then it gradually moves towards the other portions of front body. As navel is one of the most important parts of the body, so the front body massage should be started from there.

Importance of Navel in Front Body Massage
According to Ayurveda or Yoga, navel is one of the most important parts of the body operating 72,000 nerves of that area. It is the centre for preservation of the body. A child in womb connects to his or her mother through this navel part. All vital life fluids flow into the child from the body of the mother. The external nostrils of the child are clogged and inactive in the womb so the Pranic energy functions through the navel area. The navel is also the centre of gravity in human body. There are many lymph nodes in this area; the circular movements given clockwise by the massager help in circulating the digestive fluids in this area.

There is a folk belief about the shapes of navel in India. Deep navel is regarded as a good quality navel as in Indian iconography, Gods are always shown with a deep navel. Protuded navel is supposed to be demonic and people with bulging navels are eternally dissatisfied.

Method of Front Body Massage
There are certain sub-methods of massaging the front part of the body. The steps are:

Feeling the Pulsation: The person, who is getting the massage, should lie down on his or her back. Then the massager should put his three fingers excluding the little finger and the thumb into the depth of the navel to feel the pulsation. The pulsation should be registered by the middle finger; in case of a healthy person. If pulsation is not felt then the subject should relax and try to feel it again. If no pulsation is registered by either of the three-fingers then the subject will be having problems of stomach and intestines.

This is called dislocation of navel, which may cause by lifting heavy weights, pulling or pushing heavy articles or running a lot. In such cases, the dislocated navel should be taken back to its position by putting some efforts. Like, sucking the air through a blower sets the nerve in its right position. Then the massager should pour oil into the navel, until it gets full. And massage the navel area in increasing circles thoroughly.

Massaging Rib-Cage, Liver and Stomach: In this part, once the navel part is done, the massager will massage the area near rib-cage. During this time, massage with circular movements on the cartilage bone helps reducing depression. Then massage the top of the chest in circular movement, going downwards on the inside, and upwards on the outside.

Then the massager should press on both sides at the place where the rib-cage ends. One the right side of that area there is located liver and on the left side there is stomach. Massage on this area should be much gentler than the normal pressure. If any pain is felt during massage on this area then there might be certain issues like liver problems or swelling on the mouth of the stomach.

Massaging Breasts: Massaging the breasts is slightly different from the massage of the chest. Breasts should be massaged in circular movements making the circles gradually smaller till the massager reaches the nipples. This type of body massage movement gives proper shape to the breasts. Then the massager of both men and women should pull the nipples with a little pressure by the thumb and the forefinger. The pulling should be done lightly, but should excite all the fine capillaries of blood circulatory system and increase the circulation of lymph because there is a network of lymph nodes in this area.

Finishing the Massage: Finally finish the front massage by asking the subject to sit down for a while comfortably and then massage the shoulders and neck from the back side. Along with that massage the armpits by putting oil with fingers.