Acupressure for Relaxation and Healing

Acupressure is a Traditional Chinese medicine technique based on the same ideas as acupuncture. Acupressure involves placing physical pressure by hand, elbow, or with the aid of various devices on different acupuncture points on the surface of the body. Some people believe that acupressure has the power to aid weight loss, even without working with diet and exercise. However, this is under a great deal of debate, and the advertising of Accu-slim fat burning beads has been banned in the UK.

Acupoints used in treatment may or may not be in the same area of the body as the targeted symptom. The TCM theory for the selection of such points and their effectiveness is that they work by stimulating the meridian system to bring about relief by rebalancing yin, yang and qi (chi).

Many East Asian martial arts also make extensive study and use of acupressure for self-defense and health purposes (chin na, tui na). The points or combinations of points are said to be used to manipulate or incapacitate an opponent. Also, martial artists regularly massage their own acupressure points in routines to remove blockages from their own meridians, to enhance their circulation and flexibility and keeping the points “soft” or less vulnerable to an attack.

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It is thought that acupressure was developed over 5000 years ago in Chinese as a healing method used to cure many common problems. The goal of acupressure is to release the blocked energy and to maintain the proper flow by simulating specific points called acupoints. It is thought that blockages in the meridians which prevent the flow of chi can lead to many illnesses, and acupressure, like acupuncture, deals with clearing the blockages and allowing the chi to flow.

Generally acupressure treatments last from between a quarter of an hour to an hour. The patient sits or lies on a massage table during the treatment while the therapist locates the acupoints related to the problem and works on them using varius acupressure techniques. Each acupoint is pressed for three to ten seconds, and the points are pressed and released repeatedly to remove the blockage in energy flow. After the treatment the patient often feels relaxed, and acupressure can be used as a massage technique to reduce stress.

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