Acupressure For Beginners : Acupressure Principles

In this series of 8 videos, I answer the 8 most common questions that come to mind when we start practicing Acupressure.

Acupressure means "finger pressure".

The application of pressure with fingers (or hands) on points, or energy areas of the body, improves its overall functioning: essential organs and/or different systems (hormonal, nervous, immune ...) according to their needs.

The 1st of these 8 questions is: What is a "energy point"?

The energy points are the same points used by the Acupuncturist, except we use finger pressure instead of needles. They are usually located on energy Meridians, otherwise known as channels. Meridians are the principal pathways by which vital energy, or "Life force", circulates throughout the whole body. Some fewer points are "off" the body's main Meridians.

Points are special spaces that provide access to the energy flowing in the Meridians. Each energy point and Meridian, have specific associated functions.

Activating the points by finger contact, affects the body's energy flow, helping to:

• regularize it
• remove blockages
• harmonize energy flow according to the seasons

The Acupressure practice gives us a chance to soothe many symptoms we suffer and eventually removing them by healing their causes. For a sustainable and stable effect, Acupressure sessions should be repeated at a frequency and pace that is specific to each person and their situation.

The beauty of Acupressure is that it

• mobilizes our self-healing capacity
• improves our ability to self-manage the discomfort due to any symptoms that affect us
• increases our chances of recovery and overall wellness.

The 2nd question is: Where are the energy points? How do I pinpoint them?

There are in fact several hundred points distributed over the entire body surface. Fortunately, for most symptoms studied in the course "Managing emotions using Acupressure", we use a relatively small number of them.

Their position on the body is been precisely defined by Chinese medicine, and locating them is actually quite simple thanks to the charts they have produced over many centuries.

The first step is to locate the anatomical area in which the point is located: wrist crease, center of the chest, the shoulder tip, hollow of the neck...

The second step refines the search. The finger being used to apply the pressure explores the point area with delicacy, sliding gently on the skin to feel the hollow housing the point entry. It gives a kind of a signal to the point, preparing it to receive the Acu-pressure you are getting ready to apply on it.

Third step: apply pressure and feel the energy. Finger sensitivity is very fine and learning Acupressure is accessible to all, even with no prior experience of the vital energy flow. No experience of Chinese medicine is needed either.

Acupressure is primarily about feeling rather than knowing. The less the mind gets in the way, the better the results. So once you have pinpointed the location of the energy point, let yourself go with the feeling that manifests in you, and breathe quietly into the contact with the point.

The 3rd question is: How to apply effective pressures?

The main key to effectiveness is : be comfortable in what you are doing !

Moderate practice will always give you the best results in the long term:

• The fingers applying pressure, and beyond them, the hand, the wrist and the whole body are relaxed
• The breathing is calm, deep, natural
• Ordinary thoughts and concerns are left aside
• The mind is focused without undue effort, present in an open and kind way

Acupressure is an excellent opportunity to meet yourself. Unique Life experience to each person at each moment, it essentially is unconcerned with standard norms or principles. Acupressure sessions are a very special moment to do good either to one's self or to someone else, without tiring yourself out nor bringing on a headache!

Tuning in with your feelings and adjusting your practice accordingly is all that matters.Then the benefits will be apparent.

The risk of suffering side effects from an Acupressure practice is minimal

The pressures vary from person to person, and depends on various factors at the moment of treatment:

• your state - fatigue, tension, stress...
• the moment of the day, the season
• the point location
• ...

Elementary common sense will allow you to avoid treating:

• areas suffering from acute pains such as inflammation, wounds, bruises...
• stomach or belly just after a good meal

And all will be for the best with your practice!

The 4th question is: How long an Acu-pressure should be held?

I am choosing basic questions because those are the ones that most concern us when we start to explore Acupressure. When faced with these "simple" questions calling for a rational answer, keep in mind that the Acupressure is more than "just a technique". The practice is first and foremost about feeling and fully experiencing.

The duration of applied pressure is that which makes you feel good, here and now.

It varies according to:

• the points and their level of activity
• the moment
• the symptoms, the energy balance and profile of the person... and many other things.

Furthermore, it is rare to use only one Acupressure point in isolation. We usually stimulate a combination of points whose synergy is effective in improving a particular symptom.

The general feeling of the whole session, the pace at which the pressures on the points proceeds, are just as important as the time spent on each of them. A bit like in music, if we compare the points to the notes in the score!

With time and regular training, your fingers sensitivity and body perceptions will refine and sharpen. You will be able, while practicing, to intuitively answer these questions in a very accurate and alive way. Here and now practice !

For your peace of mind, at first you can decide to spend 1 to 3 minutes per point; or the time of a few breaths. Whatever! But don't start counting ! Make sure to be fully focused and present to your inner feelings, while you apply pressure on the points. The quality of your presence is more important in the end than the amount of time spent on the points.

One last point: the key word is MODERATION. Neither too strong nor too long, or on too many points.

An excess of any facet of the pressure can cause the opposite effect to that intended. For example, preventing sleep instead of facilitating it.

5th question: What makes our Acupressure practice "accurate"and effective?

The Acu-pressure on energy points results from the synergy between three essential and complementary elements:

• gesture / Touch
• respiration
• intention

The effectiveness of each pressure and of the entire session is directly determined by the degree of precision with which these three elements are linked together.

Acupressure is not an exact science, in the sense that we don't have to calculate the anatomical distances to the millimeter, or know precisely in measured terms how much pressure we put on the energy points.

However, fingers are wonderful tools, able to establish contact with great finesse and remarkably intuitive precision.

The inner feelings guide us in every moment towards an "accurate and effective" pressure. Provided we focus, tune in with them and turn away from the distracting mental activity. The exact same precision provided by an electronic device would be sterile, devoid of the true source of sustainable energy balancing and inner healing, the energy of the Heart.

The "accurate" gesture in the moment is the one that makes us feel good and gives us a feeling that can be described in so many ways: calm, relaxation, opening, release, invigoration, harmony...

"Accurate" breathing gives us the feeling of being breathed by Life. Away from any technical skill. Instead of forcing ourselves to comply with external rules dictated by any particular instructional method. Learn to surrender to what is in the present time, welcome the Breath as it is and let it make it's way through us - just breathe naturally without being controlled by the mind or will.

The "accurate" intention is that which gives us sufficient opening to reach our goal integrated into the wider field of the infinite possibilities of Life.

6th question: What makes the Acupressure Touch "accurate"?

To begin with, a word to reassure ALL beginners right away!

The intuitive act devoid of any specialized knowledge is instinctive and spontaneously right. Have you ever received a massage from a little child? It's good just because he is not trying to be "good".

With our experiences and memories, we tend to compare an existing session with our previous practices (conditions, level of comfort, quality of the effects and feelings...); thus busying our minds instead of practicing Acupressure.

This trend is a double-edged sword. While it stimulates us to improve our understanding, technical expertise, and knowledge of self, it takes us away from the here and now of the session we are involved with. So let us be aware this comparison mode is distracting more than enriching for our practice.

The stress of wanting to "do well and succeed," is just as damaging. How can we be neutral in these conditions? How can we collect all the expected benefits?

These 2 phenomena are almost inevitable at all levels of seniority amongst Acupressure practitioners: this is not trivial; they indeed are one lever by which we can develop our quality of Being. We have to find a way to take advantage of their presence, without letting our practice suffer or become infertile due to lack of room left open for sensitivity, intuition and creativity.

Let us be confident !

So much, that hesitations, doubts and fears don't inhibit our intuitive capacity to self-regulate and improve our general health or our psycho-emotional balance.

By being confident, our Acupressure practice will only be right and effective!

7th question: What makes the Acupressure Intention "accurate"?

An "accurate" intention is essential to the heart of Acupressure.

The "accuracy" is achieved by finding some kind of balance between acting and letting go at he same time.

The intent begins with a decision of the mind - it comes from a feeling of dissatisfaction. Something is wrong, and symptoms appear indicating we need to do something to change the situation.

This puts us in motion (learn Acupressure for example).

Then in actual practice, the intention may be formulated at different levels:

• a specific goal for the day's practice
• a specific effect by activating and / or combining certain points
• a more general desire for our live...

Then let go of it: once formulated, let the intention circulate from the mind to the Heart where it comes to life.

There's no need to repeat the intention in the manner of a mantra or a prayer. Let it vibrate in us. Let us experience the synergy of pressure, breathing and intention, and be open to its effects. The "accurate" intention is free of any expectation of results.

To register an intention into the open field of consciousness, orients the practice.

The conscious intention, informs the vital energy that flows in us and boosts our self-balancing and healing capacity. The body will respond even more favorably when are clearly in tune with the intention.

The process initiated by the Acupressure practice is then out of our control. Technical mastery at an ego level, or the need for "power over..." are not the point at this level. Wanting to direct the process, would spoil the practice and deprive the intention from the possibility to be "accurate".

Last and 8th question: What makes the breathing "accurate"?

The 3rd elements of the Acupressure synergy is breathing.

We should breathe freely and naturally, without constraining in any way the air flow. The simple intention to be fully open to the air moving through our body is recorded in our awareness field and the body response to it is instantaneous and favorable.

The many well known relaxation methods which consist in focusing at various parts of the body one after the other, are often made laborious by the endless stream of entertaining unfocused thoughts. Especially when no one is guiding us, conscious relaxation is then more likely replaced by mental wandering or drowsiness.

Another approach - simple, dynamic and creative, allows the beginners to practice Acupressure easily enough, even with no one guiding them.

It is based on the strength of a clearly formulated intention, brought down from the mind to the Heart to freely engage inside us what is supposed to be; we then just have to let go and surrender to the Acupressure synergy.

This is the magic of Acupressure - it creates an excellent opportunity to synergize action, intention and breath into a healing process. As in the practice of Qi Gong, Tai Chi Chuan, Meditation ... we immerse ourselves in the flow of Life.

"Accurate" breathing is one mean to become more fully aware of the living process consisting in co-creating our life.