What is Acupressure?

By Michael Reed Gach

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She learned points to relieve her pain at home.

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More than five thousand years ago the Chinese discovered that by applying pressure with the fingers and hands to specific points on the body, they could relieve pain. Through instinct, trial and error, and methodical observation, they identified hundreds of acupressure points that could be used to alleviate physical symptoms, benefit the healthy functioning of internal organs, and balance the emotions.

     Acupressure stimulates the same points as acupuncture, but instead of needles, it uses the gentle but firm pressure of the hands to release muscular tension, promote the circulation of blood, and stimulate the body’s natural self-curative abilities. Acupressure reaches to the core of many of the emotional disorders and stress-related physical problems that typify our contemporary world. By freeing unresolved emotional experiences stored in the body, acupressure can alleviate a wide range of everyday aches and pains, allergies, poor circulation, sleeplessness, and other chronic complaints. It can even unveil the memory of a traumatic experience that caused an emotional wound.

     For years, Sally complained about being anxious and tense, which resulted in recurring headaches. As a store manager at age thirty-four, she was finding her emotional stress and physical complaints severely draining. She had chronic tension in her neck and a curvature in her upper back. Her relationship with her boyfriend was stressful and further exacerbated her pain. She felt overwhelmed; making decisions was especially difficult.

     Sally took an acupressure class, where she learned points to relieve her pain at home. As she held her neck and the pressure points under the base of her skull with her eyes closed, she remembered a fight with a boy in second grade: he had pushed her back so abruptly that her neck was traumatized with whiplash. She recalled how her head filled with pressure as her teacher reprimanded her in front of the class. Since then she had suffered from anxiety attacks and head pain. Holding the acupressure points on her own neck enabled Sally to recall and re-experience the source of her trauma. She began seeing a psychotherapist and a bodyworker. One month after practicing self-acupressure twice a day, she reported that her neck tension, headaches, and anxiety had dissipated; she felt clearer, empowered, and more self-reliant.

Stress and the Emotions

     Everybody suffers from stress from time to time, given the tremendous challenges, options and responsibilities in our busy lives. Your stress may be the result of a long day at work, rush hour traffic, tension with your boss, or a relationship issue. But stress can be exhausting and drain your vital energy, making coping with daily activities difficult.

     Stress exacerbates emotional problems and can be the underlying cause of many emotional disorders. Stress depressed respiration causes shallow breathing, which can lead to irritability, frustration and fatigue. Many people turn to unhealthy habits like smoking, overeating and excessive drinking to “counteract” stress fallout. Instead, you can use acupressure to transform these hindrances into opportunities for growth.

Quick Tips for Stress

     Once you practice these easy hands-on techniques and become familiar with them, teach them to your children or friends to enable them to manage stress and frustration, too.

     Sea of Tranquility (CV 17): Hold this point (in the indentations in the center of your breastbone) when you feel frustrated, irritated, or tense. Holding this emotional balancing point releases uptightness in the chest and enables deep breathing. Use your fingertips to hold CV 17 for three minutes, as you breathe slowly and deeply for an instant calming effect whenever you feel agitated or under stress.

     You can repeat this simple but effective technique many times throughout the day when you want to calm yourself. Try it the next time you feel frustrated, irritated, nervous, or anxious. The more you practice this technique, the more the Sea of Tranquility point will open for achieving inner peace and improving the quality of your life.

     Third Eye Point (GV 24.5): Use this point to transform negative emotions during stressful times. Close your eyes, and gently place your middle fingertip between your eyebrows on GV 24.5 (in the slight indentation just above the bridge of your nose). To collect your thoughts and rejuvenate yourself, breathe slowly and deeply for three minutes as you focus your attention on the gentle touch of this point. This touch meditation can shift your state of mind and revitalize you in just three minutes.

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Michael Reed Gach will be in Chicago April 25-27 to offer one workshop on self-acupressure for emotional healing and one workshop on the facilitation of another’s emotional healing. The workshops will be held at Zen Shiatsu Chicago at 825 Chicago Avenue in Evanston, 847-864-1130. Please consult the ad in this issue for more information.

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