Long before the development of Western medicine, people relied on their own innate healing potential to treat sickness and disease…

In China, practices such as Qi Gong, acupressure, and self-massage played a crucial role in health and well-being.

In the twenty-first century, a lot of people have forgotten about these ancient techniques, but the benefits of acupressure and self-massage are still just as powerful today as they were thousands of years ago.

This blog discusses the history and principles of acupressure and self-massage, as well as the benefits they offer.

Benefits Of Acupressure And Self-Massage

There are several essential benefits of acupressure and self-massage, but together, they have an even more powerful impact on your overall health and well-being.

You’ll notice that each of the benefits of acupressure and self-massage connect to the others. In other words, if you’re able to experience one of the benefits, it comes easier to experience the other benefits. In this way, all of the benefits build on one another when you practice.

1. Clearing Toxic Energy (Purging)

If you’ve ever practiced Qi Gong, you know that it’s important to purge toxic energy from your system.

Toxic energy can take many forms in your body, such as heavy emotional energy, destructive thought patterns, or even physical illness.

When you do acupressure and self-massage, you’re able to intentionally release toxic energy that your body is holding. Often, when this happens, you’re able to quickly experience relief from whatever negative energy was affecting you.

2. Improving Circulation

When your meridian pathways get blocked, your Qi is unable to circulate naturally. Blocked Qi allows stagnant energy to accumulate in one area of the body while other areas become deprived of the energy they need.

If you’ve ever seen a standing body of water, you know what stagnant energy looks like: cloudy, murky, and mossy! Without the ability to move freely, water becomes stagnant and unhealthy, and you certainly wouldn’t want to drink from a dirty puddle!

Now, imagine a mountain stream quickly flowing through a crisp alpine landscape. Imagine that this stream is fresh, clear, and full of rich minerals. You can even drink directly from it!

The energy in your body works the same way. When it moves freely, it remains fresh and healthy. But when it gets stuck, it becomes stagnant or even toxic.

Practicing acupressure and self-massage where it’s needed most helps your body quickly restore the flow of energy throughout your entire body. It’s the equivalent of turning stagnant ponds into flowing rivers.

3. Balancing The Body

Improving your body’s energy circulation helps your energy flow to become well-balanced naturally.

Balance is crucial for  physical, mental, and emotional health. Without it, it’s impossible to stay grounded, focused, or in sync with the natural rhythms of nature.

For example, it’s common for Yin and Yang energies to become out of sync, which creates deficiencies and can cause fatigue, restlessness, or emotional imbalances. If you ever find yourself lying awake at night or falling asleep during the day, it’s a likely indicator that your energy isn’t balanced.

Acupressure helps restore balance and alleviate many common ailments, empowering you to become less dependent on external mechanisms such as sleeping pills or coffee.

4. Relieving Pain

The ripple effect of positive benefits that acupressure and self-massage provide results in yet another powerful benefit, pain relief.

Physical pain is often the result of stuck toxic energy that we cannot release. Releasing this old energy and improving the circulation of your Qi can help you overcome different types of pain, like muscular pain, joint pain, headaches, belly pain, and more.

5. Increasing Energy

When your energy is circulating and balanced, it’s easy to feel fresh and energized! When it’s not, acupressure and self-massage are great for cultivating Qi, helping you feel full of life and vitality.

Having more energy certainly makes it easier to get through the day, helping you accomplish your goals and responsibilities with focus and confidence instead of feeling overwhelmed and intimidated.

But, we all know that life is simply more enjoyable when you have an abundance of energy. Whether you’re with colleagues or relaxing with friends, energy allows you to be mentally aware and emotionally present.

The History And Principles Of Acupressure And Self-Massage

Acupressure originated in ancient China thousands of years ago. Like the other branches of Chinese medicine, it works with important energy channels in the body to circulate Qi (life-force energy).

Early Toaist practitioners who studied the body discovered these energy channels, called “meridians.” Through their observations, they were able to identify distinct meridian pathways that each play an important role in our overall health and well-being.

They learned that life-force energy circulates and flows unencumbered when these meridian pathways are clear. But when these pathways become blocked, it leads to illness.

These early Taoist practitioners developed powerful methods for clearing and opening the meridian pathways for preventing blockages. One of these techniques, acupuncture, includes the use of needles. Although acupuncture is very effective, it requires a highly skilled practitioner to administer treatment.

Acupressure uses the same principles. But instead of using needles, acupressure simply requires gentle rubbing and massaging to remove blockages and increase energy circulation.

Acupressure doesn’t require an appointment with a certified professional. You can quickly and easily learn the techniques yourself for treatment and relief from many common ailments.

If you’re interested in learning more, check out our upcoming Acupressure and Self-Massage Online Course, taught by master teacher Lee Holden.

In this live, four-part course, Lee will share powerful acupressure practices designed to activate the body’s innate healing energy, remove blockages, and improve circulation. These are the same techniques that Taoist practitioners discovered in ancient China 2,000 years ago.

Acupressure and self-massage are widely known for being effective at treating many different types of ailments. You’ll find a chart containing a long list of specific items acupressure is effective at treating on the next page.

Learning acupressure and self-massage helps unlock the secrets of how your body works, empowering you to take control of your own health and well-being.

Source: Holder QiGong