It’s About Moving Your Qi!
Acupressure was developed over 4,000 years ago as a means to accessing and releasing blocked or congested energy centers within your body.
Treating patients with Acupressure is yet another way to balance, strengthen, and tonify your internal zang-fu (solid and hollow organ systems).
This allows your body to increase its immune response towards disease or daily disharmonies.
The idea of using one’s own life force to largely help in healing oneself appears to be a new way of approaching treatment to pain and disease in these modern times. Yet, this scientifically advanced concept of healing has been studied, practiced and carried on by Chinese, Tibetan and Egyptian medical practitioners for a very long time.
A current day example spin-off of acupressure and the alignment and manipulation of energy would be the field of chiropractics.
A chiropractor focuses on, but is not limited to, the treatment of neuromuscular disorders such as with neck or back pain from trauma [a car accident, fall, assault…].
Chiropractors are concerned with the energetic and intimate relationship between the nervous system and spine.
Proper alignment equals a smooth flow of energy, unblocking blockages, relieving pain and bringing about homeostasis. The area of chiropractics is generally viewed as an alternative or complementary medicine means of treatment.
Acupressure originated from its predecessor Chinese massage, named Tui-Na which literally translates as push-grab.
About 4,000 years ago Chinese Medicine Practitioners, following the understanding of meridians and Qi flow, manipulated the human body in specific ways to affect and eliminate disease.
Tui-Na encompasses a wide range of energy moving techniques including the pressing of key Acupressure points on the body, one of the finer practices of Tui-Na itself. One of the famous writings on Chinese Medicine, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, explores applications of twelve massage methods and their use for specific disease processes.
Specific acupressure centers, or points, lie on energy pathways moving throughout the entire human body called meridians or channels. When these points become blocked or congested, one may experience pain or discomfort on a physical, emotional, or spiritual level. On an emotional level one may become frustrated or irritable, and on a spiritual level one may experience a feeling of ungroundedness or may have difficulty knowing their purpose in life.
By using deep, but gentle finger pressure on specific points, the blocked energy starts to release allowing one’s body and mind to relax, tonify, and start the healing process.
It is important to recognize that putting pressure on these points may be painful due to the stagnation of Qi and Blood. This is not meant to deter the recipient of acupressure, but to prepare oneself for the acupressure session.
During an Acupressure session one may enter into a mindful exploration, taking a deeper look at one’s life and others as well.
It is important to see one’s self, from the inside out, recognizing locked away thoughts and emotions that may in fact be the leading cause to imbalances and disharmonies.
This line of thinking may be somewhat foreign, but lies deep within the Chinese Philosophy known as the Tao [The Way] in reference to an overall approach to healing.
It should be understood that the mind, body and spirit is inseparable. All must be in balance in order for the free flow of Qi (energy, life force) and the free flow of life itself.