Acupressure: Simple Steps to Health: Discover your Body’s Powerpoints For Health and Relaxation

Acupressure: Simple Steps to Health: Discover your Body’s Powerpoints For Health and Relaxation
Jacqueline Young

Acupressure is one of the simplest and most truly effective ways to treat yourself – naturally.Our practical guide makes Acupressure simple for even a complete beginner.Very similar to Acupuncture – but without any needles – Acupressure works by applying fingertip or thumb pressure to specific points on the skin along the body’s meridian, or energy, lines.This practical guide demonstrates clearly where to place pressure for each treatment. Our book provides Acupressure workouts for:Beauty – facial acupressure• Mind and emotions• Day to day health – colds, backache, headache, period pains.• Preventative medicine – for healthy heart, lungs, liver, digestive system.• Whole body workouts – for fundamental good health and vitality.There are reader friendly explanations of all stages and the language used is Western rather than Chinese throughout – making this an excellent Healthy Explorer guide.

Dedication (#u66789829-3ebf-58ce-9eee-fc8915f6d06f)

For my mother and stepfather, Joosje and Don Angel – for all their loving support.

For all the participants at my acupressure classes and clinics;

I have so much enjoyed sharing and learning together.

And for all those who read this book: may you gain many

benefits from the practice of acupressure.

Table of Contents

Title Page (#litres_trial_promo)

Dedication

Foreword

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Acupressure Health Workout

Chapter 1: Acupressure Health Workout

Part Three: Acupressure Health

Chapter 2: The Head

Chapter 3: the Joints

Chapter 4: The Respiratory System

Chapter 5: The Heart and Circulation

Chapter 6: Digestion

Chapter 7: The Urinary System

Chapter 8: The Gynaecological Organs

Chapter 9: Sexual Health

Chapter 10: The Whole Body

Chapter 11: Mental Health

Chapter 12: Pregnancy and Childbirth

Part Four: Acupressure First Aid

Chapter 13 Acupressure

List of Acupoints

Further Reading

Useful Addresses

Practical Reiki A step-by-step guide

Reflexology for Women

Big Book of Ch’i An exploration of energy, form and spirit

Searchable Terms

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Also by the Author

Copyright

About the Publisher

Foreword (#u66789829-3ebf-58ce-9eee-fc8915f6d06f)

This book is different from previous acupressure books written for the lay public in that it focuses on health and preventive health care rather than just on disease. It clearly describes how to balance acupressure points, what the correct sensation is, and how much pressure to apply. It also explains the principles of direction of flow of chi along the meridians and includes complementary techniques such as breathing and visualization, both of which quite definitely affect the flow of chi.

It is an eminently practical book and is very simply set out, with very clear photos and diagrams on what points to use to both optimise health and to treat a whole range of conditions. It can be used perfectly easily without reading the whole book by simply reading the introduction, then looking up your area of concern in the index and turning up the particular part of the book which tells you how to approach it from an acupressure point of view. In each section there is an explanation as to what the points are actually doing, so making this discipline more understandable to the Western mind. This is of great importance, as the concepts underlying acupuncture and acupressure are foreign to the Western mind, making it difficult for us to think in terms of energy and flow of energy around the body. We are culturally pre-programmed to think in terms of organs that we can actually see.

Jacqueline Young has produced an eminently readable text which will be of benefit to anyone who buys this book.

Julian Kenyon, M.D., M.B., Ch.B.

Medical Director, The Dove Clinic for Integrated Medicine, London.

part one (#u66789829-3ebf-58ce-9eee-fc8915f6d06f)

Introduction

Nowadays there is so much you can do to help yourself to health and to stay healthy. Both ancient and modern wisdom and techniques for promoting health are widely available to guide us along the path. Modern research has demonstrated the importance of diet and nutrition, for example the importance of balancing proteins, carbohydrates and other foods and of reducing fats, or the effects of specific vitamins and minerals. Similarly, sports science has clearly demonstrated the importance of regular exercise, and it is now possible to know exactly how to combine different types of exercise and training for peak fitness. Work in psychophysiology and psychology has clearly shown the effects of stress on both the physical body and on the mental state: performance is impaired, chemical changes occur, concentration deteriorates and a sense of well-being is lost. This work has led to the development of a range of psychological techniques to promote both mental and physical health-techniques for relaxation, stress management, positive thinking and attitudinal change.