Acupressure

Wagasana, greeting the day with gratefulness and curiosity!

Have you had a doga moment today!

Enlightened!

Acupressure moves and balances life force energy by applying gentle pressure, at specific points, along the meridian pathways. It relieves muscle pain, tension, increases circulation and treats a variety of ailments by balancing life force energy.

Acupressure is a form of touch therapy that utilizes the principles of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. In acupressure, the same points on the body are used as in acupuncture, but are stimulated with finger pressure instead of with the insertion of needles. Acupressure is used to relieve a variety of symptoms and pain.

Chinese medicine views the body as small parts of the universe, subject to laws and principles of harmony and balance. The Chinese system believes that emotions and mental states are every bit as influential on disease as purely physical mechanisms, and considers factors like work, environment, and relationships as fundamental to a patient's health. Chinese medicine uses very different symbols and ideas to discuss the body and health. While Western medicine typically describes health as mainly physical processes composed of chemical equations and reactions, the Chinese use ideas like yin and yang, chi, and the organ system to describe health and the body.

Everything in the universe has properties of yin and yang. Yin is associated with cold, female, passive, downward, inward, dark, wet. Yang can be described as hot, male, active, upward, outward, light, dry, and so on. Nothing is either completely yin or yang. These two principles always interact and affect each other, although the body and its organs can become imbalanced by having either too much or too little of either. Similar to us eating too much dark chocolate or drinking too much wine. A little is pleasurable. Imbibing too much wreaks havoc on our health.

Chi (pronounced chee, also spelled qi or ki in Japanese shiatsu) is the fundamental life energy. It is found in food, air, water, and sunlight, and it travels through the body in channels called meridians. There are 12 major meridians in the body that transport chi, corresponding to the 12 main organs categorized by Chinese medicine.

Acupressure is a safe technique, but it is not meant to replace professional health care. A Physician or Veterinarian should always be consulted when there are doubts about medical conditions. If a condition is chronic, a professional should be consulted; purely symptomatic treatment can exacerbate chronic conditions. Acupressure should not be applied to open wounds, or where there is swelling and inflammation. Areas of scar tissue, blisters, boils, rashes, or varicose veins should be avoided.

Recommended Readings (training programs can range from basic to extensive):

The Well-Connected Canine, Amy Snow and Nancy Zidonis
Canine Acupoint Energetics and Landmark Anatomy, Amy Snow and Nancy Zidonis