Yes, acupressure can never replace Western Medicine as a primary form of treatment; however, there is proof that this ancient Eastern art works on specific health problems.
Acupressure is a lot like acupuncture in so many ways. One similarity is that both have been practiced for over 3,000 years. Acupuncture involves the insertion of needles at pressure points, while acupressure uses manipulation of the pressure points with a tool or with the fingers.
Because the point underlies an ‘artery,’ one important note to remember is that acupressure depends on the ‘pulse’ of the artery being felt. It is different from random or voodoo massage.
Acupuncture became a household word in the U.S. when Nixon visited Chairman Mao in China in the early part of 1972. By 2006, the U.S had about 10,000 physicians practicing acupuncture and research on this therapy is endorsed by the federal government through the offering of grants.
Auto-Acupressure
You can gain the benefits of acupressure therapy using your hands and without any help from a physician. One other way to derive its benefits is to use simple tools to activate the healing reflexes of your body, if it’s combined with various mental imagery approaches.
Hold a broom, a mop, a tubular stick, or a foot massage ‘roller’ that you can buy sold in natural health and sporting goods stores. Some practitioners initiate massage or release the stress simultaneously in both feet while others manipulate one foot at a time. This will depend on the preference of the user.
The body parts where a ‘roller’ for acupressure is applied are on the ears, face, hands, and feet.
Rolling a pencil or pen on the ears and face can generate great results as well.
Reflexology
Throughout the world, millions of people have the belief that the ears, face, and foot have coonections to the glands and organs of the body and that for them massage is a form of therapy that produces a positive effect on various parts of their body. However, research has found no evidence that massaging the ‘reflex points’ on the foot produces therapeutic benefits in a person.
The positive outcomes derived from daily massage include flexibility of the massaged ligaments, tendons, and muscles and an increase in circulation. Reflexology is potentially useful, safe, and non-invasive.
Two-Minute Behavioral Intelligence Strategy
Step #1 – Place a tubular stick or a foot roller under the soles of your feet.
Step #2 – Sit on a chair down, place your hands over your thighs, and loosen and relax your shoulders
Step #3 – Open your eyes and focus them on your feet. Then start doing a log-roll on the soles of your feet. Roll the tubular stick or the foot roller back and forth from your toes to your heel. Continue the massage by rolling your feet back-and-forth. This will generate warmth in your stomach and other parts of your body. Do about 25 rolls in one minute.
Step #4 – While doing Step 3, perform a diaphragmatic breath. Breathe in deeply and hold your breath for five seconds, then slowly exhale. This will trigger the release of endorphins that alleviates stress and helps you to deeply relax.
Step #5 – While still doing Step 3, close your eyes and visualize with your mind what you are exactly physically doing in great detail. The aim of this activity is to physically exercise and seeing virtual reality mentally at the same time. Perform this activity while doing 25 slow rolls at the same time in one minute.
Step #6 – Before you open your eyes and go back to work, hear subvocally and repeat mentally the words – “And it is so!”, with great feeling. This is a Target Affirmation that boosts the strength of your acupressure workout.
Conclusion
If you follow the law of 21, your results will definitely improve. For three weeks, keep on performing this six-step exercise until it becomes a memory-trace or an ‘engram’. This is one type of acupressure method that can randomly strengthen your immune system and alleviate any pain you feel.
Cindy Chamberlain is a licensed acupuncturist and a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) of Eastern Healing Solutions, LLC in Overland Park, KS