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In this article, we will discuss acupressure points for relaxation and stress management, and the related set of techniques commonly called ‘Meridian Therapies’ and Energy Psychology techniques.

M Gach (1990) (see Bibliography) defines acupressure points as “places on the skin that are especially sensitive to bioelectrical impulses in the body and conduct those impulses readily” (p.5). Several thousand years old, Chinese Medicine (sometimes called ‘Oriental Medicine’) conceived of these points as junctures of special pathways (or meridians) that carry the vital life force or qi. When these points are stimulated, either manually (acupressure) or with needles (acupuncture), this assists the body in self-healing. A report from a Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1997 stated that, according to their clinical evidence, acupuncture was considered to have potential clinical value for “nausea/vomiting and dental pain, and limited evidence suggested its potential in the treatment of other pain disorders, paralysis and numbness, movement disorders, depression, insomnia, breathlessness, and asthma.” Prec-linical studies have documented acupuncture’s measurable effects, but they “have not been able to fully explain how acupuncture works within the framework of the Western system (italics mine) of medicine”.

The NIH proposed that acupuncture produces its effects by the conduction of electromagnetic signals at a greater-than-normal rate, thus aiding the activity of pain-killing bio-chemicals, such as endorphins and immune system cells at specific sites in the body. These particular studies only examined acupuncture, i.e., stimulation of the points with needles, and further studies are planned on acupressure, i.e., stimulation of the points manually.

There are several acupressure points on the body that are useful for calming stress and promoting relaxation, but I will discuss two common ones that can quickly be used, per Gach’s (1990) book, Acupressure’s Potent Points: A Guide to Self-Care for Common Ailments:

1. The Third Eye acupressure point is located between the eyebrows, “in the indentation where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead” (p.140). It is best to use the middle finger at the point and hold with gentle pressure for approximately one minute. It is recommended for “spiritual and emotional imbalances, headaches, and eyestrain”, among other things.

2. The Sea of Tranquility acupressure point is located on the center of the breastbone, “three thumbs widths up from the base of the bone” (p. 140). It is recommended to relieve “nervousness, anxiety, frustration, irritability, insomnia, and depression”.

A new set of psychological and peak performance techniques have evolved out of this Eastern theory of health and medicine. Collectively, they are commonly referred to as Energy Psychology techniques and ‘meridian therapies’ since they work with the qi that flows through the body’s meridians.

One type of meridian therapy known as Thought Field Therapy (TFT) was originally formulated by psychologist Roger J. Callahan, Ph.D., and further evolved by others, including Fred Gallo, Ph.D., Gregory Nicosia, Ph.D., George Pratt, Ph.D., and Peter Lambrou, Ph.D.

According to Dr. Callahan, TFT was discovered in 1981, when he had tried everything in his repertoire to help a woman with a lifelong, severe and apparently intractable water phobia.

He decided to try a variation on a holistic, mind-body healing method he had been studying, based on the theory in Oriental Medicine that life energy or qi flows along meridian lines in the body. These meridian points appear to act as a governing force in healing and growth. He discovered that by directly treating the blockage in the energy flow created by a disturbing thought pattern, the disturbance or upset dissipates.

Callahan continued to expand on his discovery and has come up with a number of brief treatments or ‘algorithms’. Algorithms are step-by-step procedures or sequences of body taps on acupressure points geared to particular conditions which clients can perform on themselves. It basically works as follows. The therapist asks a person to think about a troubling situation or event and rate how uncomfortable they feel at the moment on a scale from zero to ten, where ten is the worst you can feel and zero is no trace of the problem. Then the client taps with two fingers on various acupressure points on the body, according to the prescribed recipe pattern (algorithm). The algorithm is based on the particular emotions elicited by the troubling event. After a series of tapping per the algorithm, the treatment is complete. Clients are taught to self-administer the treatment so they may create relief whenever needed.

For a detailed history and literature review of the various types of meridian therapies, see Gallo’s (Energy Psychology (Innovations in Psychology). An excellent self-help reference is Lambrou’s (2000) Instant Emotional Healing: Acupressure for the Emotions. For information on Barbara Cox, author of this article, go here.

Strategically inserted needles to stimulate the body’s natural healing procedure is nothing new, although it could seem like a fairly strange procedure to undergo if you’re a person who’s uninitiated to these types of treatments. Kids have a tendency to grow up with a organic aversion to needles, and that tends to filter into the way we think as adults.

The fear of getting pricked subsides, but we still try to avoid needles unless being stuck with one is absolutely essential. This is why it might seem strange to a person who has never had an acupuncture treatment to willingly lie on a table and have up to a dozen of much more steel needles hanging out of them for a variety of minutes at a time.  In a session that’s supposed be both relaxing and spiritually healthy, how can you possibly be comfortable?

The answer reveals itself when you begin to take a look at the acupuncture needles themselves, and in how they differ from the things that ordinarily come to mind when somebody mentions the word “needle.” For starters, they’re really tiny. By far smaller than the forms of needles utilised to give you a flu vaccination every year. In fact, they’re barely any larger than a human hair.

The cause why makers of acupuncture needles are capable to obtain away with this is these needles don’t have to be hollow, considering that they’re certainly not employed to deliver any sort of actual medication by way of injection. Instead, all that’s needed of these needles is always that they just barely pierce the skin, since the ancients who first developed the practice of acupuncture believed that the most necessary energy channels of the body resided very close to the skin. Because the pressure points that acupuncture aims to stimulate are rather sensitive, the needles only ever have to be thick enough to stay relatively straight upon entry into the skin.

To boost natural healing comfort, they may be also in no way sharpened to the point where contact using the skin causes any sort of “cutting” feeling. In this way, acupuncture needles have a lot more in common with extremely stiff hairs than using the kinds of needles that men and women normally consider of when they imagine any variety of ordinary medical procedure. (Acupuncture can also help with headaches. Find out more in this article.)

On average, acupuncture needles will never will need to sink deeper than a half an inch or so into your skin. This, combined with how little they are, final results in an experience that is by no means painful. In reality, numerous clients of acupuncture treatment report that the relaxation that takes place right after the sudden rush of emotional energy that’s been blocked up all this time distracts from any feeling related to the needles truly making entry into the body. What’s even better is they’re little adequate not to leave any marks whatsoever once the session has concluded. Even should you had quite a few acupuncture needles in you at any point in time during the remedy, you won’t feel any real discomfort. Only the euphoric sensation of your body’s organic spiritual strength returning, the vanishing of old body aches, and also the ability to obtain a very much a lot more wholesome and restful night’s sleep for a long time to come.

When I signed up to work with Mindful Medicine Worldwide I was able to request my location so I chose to work in Chapagaon, a rural location just outside of Kathmandu. The clinic is on the grounds of a Buddhist teaching monastery. A teaching monastery is where boys age 5 to 18 come to live to learn to be Buddhist monks. That’s right, there are lots of mini monks here, running around in burgundy and yellow robes.

One of the perks of being in this clinic is getting to treat the mini monks, whether it be rubbing Neem oil on their heads or dressing their many cuts and scrapes. (What the hell is Neem oil ? Why, it’s a wonderful Ayurvedic antimicrobial, antifungal, skin healing plant oil that has a gnarly funk to it.)

In my head, before I came here, I had thought how peaceful it would be to be next to a Buddhist monastery. I had pictured rolling green hills and monks chanting in unison at dusk. Monks in training are actually quite noisy; they’re learning to play horns, they chant out of tune and tempo. Every morning at 9:30 and evening at 7:30 they come into the clinic using the little English they know, “hellloo, hello, helloo?” I massage the Neem onto their shaved, fungus-infected heads, not bothering to wash my hands in between. A few of them roll back their ears to show crusty spots where I apply a Chinese herbal balm to it. Another shows me the chunk of skin missing on the bottom of his foot and points to the Calendula. Read the rest of this entry »

Aromatherapy is technically defined as “the practice of using volatile plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical well-being.”

Utilizing essential oils for aromatherapy purposes dates back nearly 6,000 years to the time of Egyptians and was a crucial part of their culture and religious ceremonies and was routinely used in embalming dead bodies for burial preparation within Egyptian tombs.

The practice of using aromatherapy spread across the Eastern hemisphere and, particularly within China, became a vital part of their medicinal practices.  In fact, for many years, aromatherapy was the primary medicinal used in treating various ailments.  In India, the custom was never lost and still today Avurveda, the most ancient medical practice, is still widely practiced.  In the West, however, the use of essential oils took a bit longer to gain momentum and just over the past thousand years has gained popularity.

In addition to medicinal applications, essential oils are often used in conjunction with other complementary ingredients, including various oils, sea salts, clays and muds from around the globe to produce cosmetics and beauty treatments.  The perfect combination of these elements results in rich, luxurious beauty products whose properties not only benefit the psychological aspects of a person, but also often produce results that make an individual appear more youthful and vibrant. Read the rest of this entry »

This is my second blog on being in Nepal as a volunteer for Mindful Medicine. (See my earlier blog for more details on how I ended up in Nepal.)

What I like about Mindful Medicine is that they want their work to be sustainable, to make a lasting difference. Instead of just bringing acupuncturists in for 2 to 4 month periods to treat, they have them teach as well. The Vajra Varahi clinic-paid interpreters have been learning basic acupuncture treatments so that they can help the acupuncturists that come here as well as treat in their absence.

Since I am a body worker and only halfway through my training as an acupuncturist I came to work here in a slightly different capacity. I was able to bring a massage table that was donated from Earthlight to do the work (30 pounds, by the way!). My job here is to teach the staff the basics of massage and anatomy so that they can continue to help the local population. A lot of people here have low-back, neck, and shoulder pain, often accompanied with arthritis. See the picture below (enough said).

I’ve started teaching. The students are Satyamohan, Sonya, and Prajwal who are all 25 years old and Ramita who is 33 and the only one with a child. They all have other jobs in the clinic, such as interpreting and reception work. I designed my classes based on my 6 years of experience, what Jessica and Grainne of Mindful Medicine had talked to me about, and what I went over with the clinic director when I got here. The students are picking it up fast and I’m actually envious of the way they get to learn massage, with one-on-one attention and none of the bullshit classes I had to take to satisfy state requirements. I’m working really hard to make sure that they can apply what I am teaching them once I am gone. Read the rest of this entry »