The most common part of the body to exfoliate with a pumice stone is the feet. Heels tend to develop a layer of hard, calloused skin that can become cracked or scaled. Your elbows are another area that may benefit from exfoliation. Soak the calloused body part in warm water for about five minutes to soften the skin. If you're working on your feet, you may want to fill a bowl with warm water and soak your feet in the bowl. For other parts of the body, pumicing as part of your shower may be easiest. The skin will be easier to remove if it's soft and supple. Feel your skin after several minutes of soaking. If it still feels tough, wait a few more minutes (giving the water a warm-up if necessary). If it's soft, your skin is ready for the pumice stone. Wetting the stone will help it slide more easily across your skin, rather than catching on it. Run the stone under warm water, or dip it in the water where you're soaking your skin, in order to thoroughly wet it. Use a circular motion to start sloughing away the dead skin with the pumice stone. If the skin is nice and soft, it should start coming right off. Keep going until you remove the dead skin and get to the fresh, supple skin underneath. Don't press too hard. Light pressure is all that is needed; let the surface of the stone do the work. If you're working on your feet, focus on the heels, the sides of your toes, and other areas where dry skin tends to build up. Rinse off the dead skin and take a look to see if you need to keep going. If you still see bits of dead skin, go over the area again with the pumice stone. Continue using the stone on the area until you're satisfied with the results. Since the pumice stone will wear down slightly while you use it, you may need to turn it over to get a fresh surface you can use to exfoliate your skin. Rinse the pumice stone often to keep its surface clean and effective. When you're finished, use a towel to pat your skin dry. Coat the area with an oil or cream to prevent it from drying out too quickly. Your formerly calloused skin should now be soft, supple and gleaming. Coconut oil, almond oil, or body lotion are all fine to use to condition your skin after pumicing. Repeat as often as needed to keep your skin in good shape.

Summary: Soak your calloused skin in warm water. Wait until your dry skin has softened. Wet the stone. Rub it gently over the calloused area. Rinse and repeat. Dry and moisturize your skin.

Vocalizing your thoughts is one of the best ways to memorize things. Saying the names of things aloud while you read them will help you memorize them. You can use this to help you study for a test or remember your grocery list. Children regularly talk to themselves as they perform new tasks and learn new things. As adults, we continue to do this, but we internalize the voice and no longer talk to ourselves. However, if you talk aloud as you perform a new task, you will be more likely to remember how to do it again in the future. For example, if you are cooking a dish for the first time, you might try saying the steps of the recipe out loud as you cook in order to better remember how to cook the dish in the future. If you are stumped by a problem, talking through the problem aloud can help you find the solution. You can either talk it through with someone else or talk to yourself. Talking through a problem works because it forces your mind to focus on the task, instead of drifting off to other thoughts. For example, if you are bogged down on an algebra problem, talk through the steps of the problem out loud in order to find the place where you are getting stuck.

Summary: Use it to remember things. Talk to yourself when you perform a new task. Vocalize a problem.

Although it hasn't been scientifically proven to help with stiff or sore neck, magnesium has been thought of as an effective relaxation technique for many suffering from debilitating muscle soreness. Try taking magnesium supplements. The recommended daily allowance of magnesium supplement is anywhere from 310 milligrams to 420 milligrams, depending on age and gender. Do not exceed the recommended daily dosage. Epsom salts, or magnesium sulphate, is a common addition to many hot water baths, although science shows that Epsom salts have no effect on improving sore muscles. A very popular practice in China and Vietnam, skin scraping uses a dull spoon to scrape the back in order to produce bruising. This action is supposed to promote blood flow to the area as well as remove toxins or other unhealthy elements from the area. Gua Sha is beginning to be tested by the wider scientific community, sometimes with positive results. Gua Sha is not without controversy. Because it produces light bruising, it often looks unappealing, and it may not feel soothing or produce results for some patients. Gua Sha treatment should be approached with caution; communicate to your practitioner when the scraping doesn't feel good or is rough on your skin. You don't want to leave the session with irritated skin and no comfort.

Summary: Take magnesium supplements. Try Epsom salts in a warm water bath. Try Chinese skin scraping, or Gua Sha.

You can wash your hands before eating or your server may give you a hot, moist towel to use before your meal is served. Wipe your hands thoroughly on the towel and set it back on its plate so your server can take it away. Many sushi restaurants will also provide another hot, moist towel for you to clean your hands at the end of the meal. The server or chef will set down the plate of sushi you ordered, but you'll also notice a small empty dish, which you can pour soy sauce into, and a dab of green paste. The green paste is wasabi, which you can eat with the sushi to give it a little heat. Sushi chefs add some wasabi to their rolls, so try the sushi before adding wasabi to your pieces. You'll also notice pickled ginger off to the side of the sushi. It will be pale or bright pink in color. Although you often see sushi eaten with chopsticks, it is acceptable to pick up a piece of sushi with your fingers. Good sushi shouldn't fall apart when you grasp it with your fingers or chopsticks. Keep in mind that sashimi is usually only eaten with chopsticks. Since there's no rice in sashimi, it's pretty easy to pick up the fish with chopsticks. Pour a little soy sauce into the empty dish on your sushi plate. Slowly dip the piece of sushi into the soy sauce for about 1 second. If you're eating nigiri, tilt the fish into the soy sauce instead of the rice so it doesn't fall apart. Since the chef has already seasoned the sushi, it's considered rude to soak an entire piece of sushi in soy sauce. Soaking the piece in soy sauce also makes it more likely to fall apart. Try not to mix wasabi into the soy sauce since this is seen as bad manners. If the sushi already has sauce on it, eat a piece before dipping it in soy sauce. You might enjoy the flavor that the chef has already prepared. Most sushi is small enough to fit into your mouth all at once. Eating all of the sushi in a single bite will allow you to enjoy all of the flavors of the rice, wrapper, and fish. If the sushi is too large to fit into your mouth, you can eat it in 2 bites, but you may want to let the chef know that you prefer smaller pieces. Although some people argue that you must put the sushi fish-side down in your mouth, you can decide which way to eat the piece. Pay attention to how the flavors change as you eat the sushi. For example, you might notice a tender texture at first, followed by a slightly spicy finish. You probably ordered a few types of sushi, so you'll want to taste the difference between each of them. To refresh your mouth between different types of sushi, use your chopsticks to pick up a slice of ginger. Once you've eaten the ginger, you're ready to taste the next sushi. Avoid draping the ginger on the sushi and eating them together. Ginger is sometimes pale white or bright pink if food coloring has been added.
Summary: Clean your hands before eating sushi. Identify the wasabi and soy sauce. Pick up a piece of sushi with chopsticks or your fingers. Dip the sushi in soy sauce if you'd like to enhance the flavor of the fish. Try to eat the sushi in one bite. Eat bites of ginger in between different types of sushi to cleanse your palate.