You can think of acupressure as "acupuncture without needles." It is a branch of the practice of traditional Chinese Medicine, with its various components that promote the proper flow of energy, the fundamental life energy in all of us, using the hands, or herbs, or acupuncture needles.
Perhaps you have heard the term "Qi (or Chi)", or Ki, or Gi, Chinese or Japanese or Korean terms for the energy inherent in our bodies. Eastern 'medicine' for millennia has held that when the flow of Qi is obstructed or hindered all varieties of malaise and illness befall us. Problems with Qi flow can manifest in troubles as diverse as musculoskeletal pain and stiffness, headaches, digestive and sleep disorders, not to mention emotional stress and distress. The task of the Eastern practitioner, thus, is to relieve the Qi blockage, hence helping the patient heal and feel energetically revived.
The branch devoted to the use of pressure points to restore energy flow is called the practice of acupressure. In Japan, it is called Shiatsu, in Korea, Sugi. Sugi literally means hand and energy. Acupressure is different in two principal ways from the many bodywork techniques available today: First, it does not use oils and lotions that bodywork typically employs to aide gliding and kneading strokes on bare skin and the underlying musculature; instead the practitioner applies finger pressure on specific sites of the body. Second, and more importantly, acupressure is directed by a carefully studied and intricate system of some 360 points and 12 meridians on the human body, the same orientations used in acupuncture and considered functional (and externally available) extensions of our internal organs.
I recall the first time I had Shiatsu in a small, spa town in Japan many years ago. A middle aged, dowdy looking Japanese woman with a purse from another era over her arm came to my room. After about a ½ hour I had to stop, and it took me a couple of days to recover from the pain. I attribute that pain to the fact that I was not prepared to let myself relax and let the pressure do its work. Once in Thailand another pressure practitioner began to walk on my back, all 110 pounds of her. It was an experience that I knew I wanted to repeat -- but with someone whose study was as exacting and whose skills were as able as that of any doctor or therapist I would consult here in the U.S..
As a practitioner of Western medicine, I have seen the marvels that science has brought to remedying disease. But we all have seen, as well, how the limits of Western medicine have prompted the growth, in many countries outside of Asia, of what is called alternative and complementary medicine. That's because we seek more than what western medicine has to offer.
If I have an infection, I want an antibiotic -- give me a western approach to my disease. But when I have stress, a pill is not what I want. And even when I am taking a pill or other western treatment for many a condition I want to give my body the resilience and strength it needs to recover. Wellness is truly complementary to treating illness. One does not exclude the other. What so many people now seek are techniques that release the body's energy to help clear the mind, relieve the body's ails and knots, and improve our mood. Practitioners are more likely available in cities but not only there. A website that nicely explains Sugi Acupressure is www.sugiacupressure.com.
Rousseau was said to have exhorted "bring me medicine, not the doctor." But that was before the east began to join the west, before western medicine could be combined with complementary eastern techniques. Now we don't have to choose just one.
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The opinions expressed herein are solely my own as a psychiatrist and public health advocate.
Dr. Sederer receives no support from any pharmaceutical or device company.
Visit Dr. Sederer's website at www.askdrlloyd.com - for questions you want answered, reviews and stories.
Norma Kamali: Am I at a Korean Day Spa or on Set With Italian Vogue?
Dr. Joseph Mercola: 7 Stress-Relieving Tools to Quiet Your Mind
Dr. Michael J. Breus: Acupressure Can Improve Insomnia
Dr. Michael J. Breus: Accupuncture And Accupressure: Can They Help You Get A Good Night's Sleep?
Acupuncture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In no way should they be considered equal to or in place of evidence based medical treatments. Just like any other medical treatment their credibility should be judged based on independent and credible research/evidence.
Other stakeholders in the healthcare industry may have competing motives - particularly since we have a profit driven healthcare industry, but that doesnt change the credibility and ideal of EBM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence-based_medicine
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/StThomas/what-is-acupressure_b_829432_80490972.html
I think that an ancillary point to your article is the importance of doing what is best for the patient.
Whether a particular discipline is better than another is irrelevent. The very question itself may only arise because of commerical competition.
Someone who uses regular eastern practices for stress reduction is less likely to have a weakened immune system when exposed to an infection, and is also less likely to suffer from many other medical problems.
I submit that it is this commercial aspect of eastern and hollistic practice that is the real source of distain for eastern practices by the western medical establishment. The direct care providers, like doctors, are not the cause of this problem.
Fanned.
"Someone who uses regular eastern practices for stress reduction is less likely to have a weakened immune system when exposed to an infection, and is also less likely to suffer from many other medical problems."
Evidence?
Show that eastern practices work better than drugs, then any British Health Board would be very interested indeed. That it hasn't happened in the non commercial setting of the NHS may be significant.
I am a distant energy healer and I believe in the power of prayer to heal because it appears to increase subtle energy flow. Haven't you seen a greater resilience in consistent worshipers? I have seen it in people that do energy healing practices on a regular basis.
I think that we are working with similar subtle energies. I worked on a minister once who felt much greater energy flow when he prayed. He even started doing energy healing on his own. I should check back with him.
I do Tong Ren distant energy healing and I think that it would be very productive to combine that with prayer sessions to help the ailing. I would be happy to give you a demonstration via Skype if you are open to it. It could give religion in the UK a real boost if they could start helping the National Health Service.
In my mind there isn't any one superior discipline. They are all different tools available to doctors and others to apply based upon the situation. Christians stand a much better chance of being helped by prayer, at least for stress, because it is a real source of energy for them.
Let me know what you think.
Dave
Articles like this one, as well as comments like yours, really do a disservice to those of us who suffer from mental disorders. You all seem to think we don't deserve honest, actual medical advice and care. I would hate to think that someone who is suffering (like I was a little over a year ago in the grips of a severe anxiety/depression breakdown) would see this blog and think this is all that is out there for them.
We know from practice that finding and clearing these obstructions helps the body to function better and to heal itself. Many illnesses have treatment points (obstructions) which frequenty repeat for different patients. Many of the obstructions present as sore spots when pressed, and manipulation can often relieve the obstructions.
I must reject your assertion that these techniques operate outside "Western reductionist analysis." Praying nuns and monks don't get their benefits from prayer simply because God grants it to them, but instead scientific analysis has been able to significantly explain their meditative and spiritual experiences.
This isn't magic, and although there hasn't been sufficient research looking at these techniques, we actually do have a pretty good understanding/hypotheses of how they actually work.
it seems to ease the tension in your whole body. you just relax and kind of melt...ha its sweet.
one of the things you can do to maintain a healthy lifestyle for sure. Quigong is also an excellent addition along with yoga, exercise, and eating right. This combination is a recipe for dankness. You will feel amazing living like this. If you want more energy and power in your life than this is definitely the way to go. If you want to kick it up another level you'd want to check out some super foods.
More info about eating a dank combination of super foods at:
http://www.michaelstagg.com/brightearthfood
I saw your similar response to me but it hasn't appeared here yet.
I'm not saying that drugs don't work and I would never tell someone to stop taking them.
I advise people to tell their doctors that they are doing energy healing.
I have helped many people with stress and depression, and I have told many people to ask their doctor about different issues. Energy healing is a complementary tool that can be used, and it is good to see that some doctors are open to it.
no acupuncturist worth his salt would recommend that a patient stop taking pharmaceuticals or continue treating a patient that is non-compliant with his medications without doing something about it.
Thanks,
Sara