Six Resources for Self-Acupressure

Acupressure is a great tool for DIY Wellness practitioners. It benefits health in myriad ways, is simple to learn, and requires no equipment. It's also highly portable and flexible enough to use in situations ranging from stressful trips to the dentist to being laid up at home with the flu. In my experience it is especially powerful when dealing with muscle or joint pain, or high stress levels. 

The idea behind acupressure is that there are little points on your body that you can press on to influence health. While acupressure is rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) like it's well-known sibling, acupuncture, there's no need to learn a bunch of theory before getting into the practice (and no needles, hence the "pressure" instead of "puncture). There are some basic safety tips to be aware of, and some ground rules to make it more effective. Fortunately, there are many resources available to the beginning practitioner: 

1)  Acupressure's Potent Points by Michael Reed Gach. This is a very complete beginner's guide, covering a variety of points and health conditions (arthritis, insomnia, colds and flus, etc.) It has rather cheesy but useful pictures of happy self-acupressurists showing you where the points are. It also gives you some safety guidelines.

2) Acupressure for Emotional Health by Gach and Beth Henning. This one is a follow-up to Acupressure's Potent Points, above, and goes into much more detail on subjects ranging from trauma to abuse to depression. Some of the "positive thinking" mantras were not my style personally, but still a good resource to keep handy. 

3) Acupressure.com, the website of Michael Reed Gach, also has videos and other resources on it. You will be entering the Cheese Zone when you take this link, just so you know. Make sure you check out the blog. 

4) Of course there's an app for that. In fact, there are many. While I am dubious about the quality, the price and convenience are both great for these. 

5) Local classes on self-acupressure. These have the advantage of helping you find some of the more elusive points, as well as question-and-answer interaction. If you're around Madison, WI, I do many workshops in this area- here's my events page.

6) Getting professional sessions of acupressure and Asian bodywork. There are many styles out there, but getting work from a pro is a good way to get a better idea of how to work on yourself, and many practitioners teach their clients techniques for self-care. Getting work from someone else is often more powerful than yourself, so it's useful for serious conditions.