Relaxation Technique 9: Acupressure for stress reduction

I am a big supporter of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). An important part of the TCM is the concept of the energy meridians and acupoints. These acupoints are active points that have effect on the body or the mind, when stimulated. The usual form of stimulation in the Traditional Chinese Medicine is inserting very thin needles into the points and leaving them there for about 20 minutes. This is called acupuncture and it can be very helpful in many conditions where modern medicine still struggles.

A simpler form of acupoint stimulation, which can be practices without studying TCM, virtually by anyone is acupressure. In acupressure, the same acupoints are stimulated using pressure instead of needle insertion, which makes it more accessible to general population. There are guides for when to stimulate in specific conditions. One of the best guides I’ve seen is available on the site of Stanford Stanford University School of Medicine, called PointFinder. For example the points for treating anxiety are shown below (captured from the above site):

You should stimulate those points by pressing on them for a about a minute on each side of the body. More conditions can be selected from the site and another set of points will be shown.