Is Acupressure Massage the Answer to Your Problems?
As we come to understand body as a complex, dynamic and interactive system, it becomes more apparent mental and physical well-being are intrinsically interdependent. The brain does not simply exist in the head, it extends down the body’s entire nervous system, making decisions based on the state of the entire body. This is why it is important to take care of the physical body in order to achieve optimal energy, sleep, digestion and emotional well-being. For centuries, the health benefits of acupuncture have been recognized and esteemed. Nearly everyone can improve their body’s functioning and promote natural self-healing with this practice. Acupuncture is a 3,000 year-old healing technique of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Only in the last few decades has the West started introducing and integrating the practice into modern medical, health and wellness culture.
Traditional acupuncture uses fine, sterile needles to stimulate acupuncture points or acupoints throughout the body. Acupoints are specific anatomic sites connected to the nervous, immune, endocrine, cardiovascular, and digestive systems. By stimulating the body’s various systems, acupuncture helps relieve pain, improve sleep, digestive function and promotes an improved overall sense of well-being. However, acupuncture is just one of the ways to stimulate these anatomic zones. Other forms of acupoint stimulation techniques include massage, moxibustion, or heat therapy.
Therapeutic massage can target acupoints with kneading, tapping, knocking or rolling massage techniques. With careful manipulations of the skin and connective tissue underneath, massage therapy stimulates blood circulation and releases tensions held within the body. By releasing energy blockages in the body, acupressure massage stimulates the body’s restorative functions by evoking its natural healing responses, taking place in various physiological systems.