How to Use and Benefit From Acupressure

Acupressure is an Ancient way of healing that has been perfected through three millennia. Constant testing and tweaking by trial and error has made acupressure one of the most effective techniques to treat and prevent many health issues, including pain, nausea, anxiety and hormonal imbalances.

The stimulation (i.e. applying pressure on them with fingers or small blunt objects) of the so called acupressure points (acupoints), of which 604 have been found on the body to date, one can influence the working of other parts of the body. This works through the way our neurology is wired although the Ancients had a different, more esoteric explanation which is sometimes also used today.

The Ancient explanation of the working of acupressure (and acupuncture, which is a related technique, where they use needles to puncture the acupoints) is that the life energy, or Chi, flows through the body in certain patterns, called meridians. When the flow of this energy gets blocked, illness begins to develop. By applying pressure on the relevant acupressure points, one can remove the blockage and allow the flow of energy to continue, thus bringing back balance and health.

The video below explains the basics of the energy meridians, according to TCM, a special network of channels that allow the flow of life energy or bio-potential (Chi, Qi) through the body and supply it to every cell.

These channels, or meridians, can get blocked or become hyperactive and this can, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, lead to discomfort and disease.

Acupressure and acupuncture were developed over millennia in an attempt to unblock these channels and to bring back the balance into the body. Through "trial and error", the Ancient Chinese have developed a complex system and simplified it so that anyone can use it to eliminate many different health and emotion issues.

Acupressure and acupuncture have been found to be especially effective for pain management and are now being introduced also in Western medical practices.

The explanation of the meridians starts at the 2 minute 13 seconds mark...

A more modern explanation is that applying pressure to (or in the case of acupuncture, by puncturing) acupoints, one produces the increase or decrease (depending on the acupoint) of the activity of the nerves that pass by these areas and thus through the vast neurological networks work on distant parts of the body, including muscles, internal organs and hormonal glands.

One of the most intriguing discoveries was when they examined subjects with an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) - a machine that gives us live pictures of the activity of the brain. They discovered that by stimulating certain points on the subject's foot, unusual brain activity occurred that coincided with the area of the brain that deals with a specific organ - the exact same organ that by traditional medicine the stimulated acupressure point affects!

Acupressure and acupuncture have both proven very useful for pain management and nausea control. Many other studies have confirmed the effectiveness of both methods for many other issues as well.

Of course, some of the scientific clinical studies also showed no greater effect than placebo and some studies claim that although to the naked eye the results seemed promising, there were no statistically significant improvements. Further studies are on the way to answer these questions for those specific studies.

Nonetheless, acupressure can be an extremely effective method for complementary treatment to boost the effects of regular medical treatment. It has been used successfully for thousands of years and even modern medicine begins to acknowledge it as a potent way to combat certain health issues. 

Below you can watch and follow a video that shows you in detail how to find and stimulate acupressure points to get rid of stiff neck.

These acupressure points are very effective for relaxing the neck muscles, thus getting you rid of stiffness and pain in your neck.

You can also use thes points as a preventive measure each day and it only takes you a few minutes after you know where to find them and how to stimulate them. Make sure you press fairly firmly on the points and keep pressing each point for a minute. Also, where applicable, stimulate the points on both sides of your body.

Daily stimulation of these points will also reduce your stress and prevent tension headaches that come about as a direct result of tense neck muscles.

In the video there's mention of the word "CUN". This is a chinese word and it refers to the width of your thumb. Don't worry about this, just follow along and do exactly as the instructor does in the video.

With regular use of acupressure you can bring balance to your physiological and neurological processes. Acupressure was found to have long-term effects when practised regularly every day for a few weeks.

It is regarded as an effective, safe and 100% natural way to combat certain issues and illnesses.

With the use of video, acupressure can be learned very quickly and effects are typically seen very soon, for some problems the results are seen instantly. Besides that, acupressure is easy and cost effective.

Enjoy the power of acupressure!