What is Acupressure?
Acupressure is a form of Chinese medicine that can be easily used as part of a self-care routine and it is also gentle enough to be a great method of health care for children. Chinese medicine understands the body to be interconnected by a series of energetic pathways. Certain points along those pathways help the body to return to a state of balance. Acupressure and acupuncture both rely on the same set of energetic points to create change in the body.
Acupuncture uses the insertion of hair-thin needles under the skin to improve health. Acupressure relies on the use of pressure on those spots, rather than the insertion of needles, to achieve the same result. When a condition is more chronic or severe, acupuncture is more likely to be effective. However for more recent conditions, or when treating children, acupressure alone can be sufficient to return the body to a state of health and balance.
Can I Use Acupressure On My Child?
Acupressure can be done easily by using your fingers to create pressure on points, using household objects to create pressure, or using specific acupressure tools. When treating children it can be fun to use natural objects for acupressure, such as rocks, shells, small blunt twigs, or other found objects. You can also use any small, gently pointed object from your house such as a bobby pin, the pack of a ballpoint pen, a small key, or other similar object.
When using acupressure, you’ll want to press on the acupressure point repeatedly using roughly the rhythm of your heart rate (around once per second) and continue for about a minute for each acupressure point. You can do acupressure about two or three times a day on the recommended points to help return to balance.
If you’re interested in receiving a customized acupressure protocol based on your health conditions, please reach out to me to schedule a consultation. I look forward to hearing from you!