Acupressure for Emotional Healing

Book excerpt: Increased stress and traumatic events in our lives have resulted in many millions of people who suffer from insomnia, nightmares, anxiety attacks, depression, and tension headaches. ACUPRESSURE FOR EMOTIONAL HEALING offers relief at your fingertips, quickly and safely, for a wide range of emotional problems. It explains how emotional distress becomes lodged in the body as muscular tension and blocked energy, and shows how acupressure can relieve not just the resulting physical symptoms, but also their emotional source--often without the need for extensive talk therapy or medication. Acupressure stimulates the same points used in acupuncture, but instead of needles, firm finger pressure is used on the surface of the skin. The pressure releases neurochemicals called endorphins that relieve pain. As in acupuncture, specific pressure points are connected with internal organs and energy pathways in the body (called meridians) that regulate the flow of electrical energy to all systems. Unlike acupuncture, acupressure can be used safely by anyone, with only the hands as equipment. ACUPRESSURE FOR EMOTIONAL HEALING offers a comprehensive A-Z guide to emotional ailments (from abandonment to worry and obsessive thinking), with fully-illustrated instruction on dozens of precise acupressure point locations and how to activate them, combined with yogic breathing, stretching, and movement routines. Case histories from the authors' practice further illuminate each condition and the path to emotional balance and healing. Most routines can be used independently for self-care and on-the-spot relief. There are also sections on how to use the techniques to help others, with appropriate safeguards.