Simone Johnson, kinesiologist and endota National Educator, explains that acupressure works with our meridians, the “energy highways in our body that transport our energy, or chi”. It does so by applying pressure or massage to target these points.
Our meridians can be found in our fascia, which is a connective tissue that envelops everything beneath our skin – even our neural pathways. Our fascia can become tight and constricted, which affects the way chi flows through our system, leading to a reduced range of motion and contributing to muscular pain and tension. This is where acupressure can help.
what is acupressure?
Acupressure is known to improve circulation, promote muscle relaxation, ease headaches, improve sleep and reduce stress.
“Pressure is applied to points of tension in the body to disrupt the pain signal, improve circulation and stimulate pain relief and muscle relaxation,” says endota National Educator Tamara Noske.
Tamara also explains that stimulating one pressure point can reduce discomfort in other parts of the body. “When the pressure is applied to those points, it relieves tension at that point and will also travel along the connected fascia and neural pathway to other areas. This is how tension is relieved in other areas of our body when working on one acupressure point,” she says.
what is acupressure?
Acupressure is known to improve circulation, promote muscle relaxation, ease headaches, improve sleep and reduce stress.
“Pressure is applied to points of tension in the body to disrupt the pain signal, improve circulation and stimulate pain relief and muscle relaxation,” says endota National Educator Tamara Noske.
Tamara also explains that stimulating one pressure point can reduce discomfort in other parts of the body. “When the pressure is applied to those points, it relieves tension at that point and will also travel along the connected fascia and neural pathway to other areas. This is how tension is relieved in other areas of our body when working on one acupressure point,” she says.
acupressure massage points for relieving tension and fatigue
Here are five of the most common acupressure massage points for cultivating wellbeing at home, according to Tamara.
- To alleviate fatigue and encourage better sleep, try pressing the soft point in your palm between your thumb and forefinger using the thumb of your opposite hand.
- To reduce lower back pain, press the Trigger Point Ball into the centre of your left glute (buttock) while sitting on a chair or lying on the floor. Repeat on the other side.
- To ease headaches, gently pinch the middle of the muscle at the front left side of your neck (the sternocleidomastoid) while keeping your head neutral and your shoulders relaxed. Repeat on the other side.
- To release tight shoulders, use your right thumb and fingers to gently pinch the muscle at the top of your left shoulder (the trapezius). Repeat on your other shoulder.
- To relieve pain and tension in your wrists and forearms from desk work, curl your fingers on your left hand to make a ‘C’ shape. Then place your fingers just below your elbow on your right arm and gently press on the muscles there. As you hold the point, gently rotate your right hand back and forth to encourage a deeper release.
is it safe to do acupressure on yourself?
The beauty of acupressure is that it can be practised on yourself at home using your fingers or acupressure massage tools. Tamara says it’s best to consult with your doctor before performing self-acupressure to ensure it’s a suitable option for you.
While you might imagine that more pressure will yield better results, Tamara explains this is not the case. After all, Traditional Chinese Medicine is about finding ease.
“You should be able to continue to breathe easily and not tense your body as you perform the acupressure,” she says. “Gently hold the point for 30 seconds, focusing on slow, deep breaths, and then release the hold. You may feel sensations travel along the pathways… or you may just feel sensation on the localised spot. However, you will notice the sensation release and subside as you hold the point.”
The Trigger Point Ball is a great tool to practise roller acupressure at home and can be used against the wall, in a chair or on the floor.
Tamara suggests following up your acupressure sessions with a gentle stretch as it teaches the area to remain in a relaxed state. The Cork Peanut Roller and Cork Cylinder Roller will both assist in stretching and massaging the area for enhanced results.
harnessing the power of acupressure with EFT
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as ‘tapping’, is a unique, modern branch of acupressure where practitioners ‘tap’ on acupressure points. EFT is predominantly used to release stress and unhelpful emotions.
“In Chinese Medicine, your meridians are associated with certain organs of your body, and also with certain emotions,” says Simone Johnson. “For example, anger is associated with the liver. Emotions are normal and healthy to being human, however when emotions are prolonged beyond a normal healthy response, this can accumulate in the physical and have a detrimental effect on our physical health.”
EFT can help address this by tapping on certain acupressure points while bringing to mind a difficult thought or emotion. When in this heightened state, the part of your brain responsible for your fight, flight or freeze response (the amygdala) is activated. EFT deactivates your amygdala and communicates to your body that you are safe amid stress.
“Essentially it calms your nervous system and may decrease cortisol, a stress hormone,” says Simone. “Of course, there are times where this activated response is absolutely necessary – however in the modern-day world, the amygdala tends to be over-stimulated by issues that may not be a threat.”
Working with tapping can reduce the emotional ‘charge’ that arises when faced with a perceived threat.
harnessing the power of acupressure with EFT
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as ‘tapping’, is a unique, modern branch of acupressure where practitioners ‘tap’ on acupressure points. EFT is predominantly used to release stress and unhelpful emotions.
“In Chinese Medicine, your meridians are associated with certain organs of your body, and also with certain emotions,” says Simone Johnson. “For example, anger is associated with the liver. Emotions are normal and healthy to being human, however when emotions are prolonged beyond a normal healthy response, this can accumulate in the physical and have a detrimental effect on our physical health.”
EFT can help address this by tapping on certain acupressure points while bringing to mind a difficult thought or emotion. When in this heightened state, the part of your brain responsible for your fight, flight or freeze response (the amygdala) is activated. EFT deactivates your amygdala and communicates to your body that you are safe amid stress.
“Essentially it calms your nervous system and may decrease cortisol, a stress hormone,” says Simone. “Of course, there are times where this activated response is absolutely necessary – however in the modern-day world, the amygdala tends to be over-stimulated by issues that may not be a threat.”
Working with tapping can reduce the emotional ‘charge’ that arises when faced with a perceived threat.
“Emotions are normal and healthy to being human, however when emotions are prolonged beyond a normal healthy response, this can accumulate in the physical and have a detrimental effect on our physical health.”
Simone Johnson, kinesiologist and endota National Educator
what are reminder and release phrases in EFT?
A ‘reminder phrase’ helps to bring your uncomfortable emotion to the fore so you can focus on it. For example, if you are fearful of job interviews, you might think about this by using the reminder phrase “The interview tomorrow” so that the difficult feeling is present.
A ‘release phrase’ is generally an affirmation used to calm your mind amid the stress. You can create your own phrase or use “Even though (I am fearful, for example), I deeply and profoundly love and accept myself.”
how to relieve stress with EFT
Once you have identified and silently stated your release phrase, you can repeat your reminder phrase as you tap on all the acupressure points below, starting with your head and making your way down like so:
- Very top of your head
- Beginning of your eyebrows (the thickest part of your eyebrow)
- Side of your eyes
- Under your eyes
- Under your nose (cupid’s bow)
- Chin (the crease between your lower lip and chin)
- Beginning of your collarbone
- Under your arms (about a hand’s-width below your underarm).
how to relieve stress with EFT
Once you have identified and silently stated your release phrase, you can repeat your reminder phrase as you tap on all the acupressure points below, starting with your head and making your way down like so:
- Very top of your head
- Beginning of your eyebrows (the thickest part of your eyebrow)
- Side of your eyes
- Under your eyes
- Under your nose (cupid’s bow)
- Chin (the crease between your lower lip and chin)
- Beginning of your collarbone
- Under your arms (about a hand’s-width below your underarm).
Simone suggests applying pressure that is firm yet comfortable and using your intuition – you may like to tap more gently on your face than your collarbone, for instance.
Depending on the strength of the emotion, it might take several tapping sessions to release it. You can gauge how much the stressor is affecting you by rating the intensity of it on a scale of one to 10 (10 being the most intense). Do this exercise both before and after each EFT session to observe the progress you are making.
“If you have a rating of 0 after tapping, your mind no longer responds to this issue in the same way. If the unwanted feelings return you can definitely restart tapping on this same issue,” says Simone.
Overall acupressure massage (including roller acupressure) and EFT are empowering, accessible techniques for encouraging a greater sense of calm and flow. Use these simple yet potent tools when you’re feeling stressed or out of balance and notice the way your inner state shifts.
