Tip of The Day : Pinch Yourself!!!!! - Acupressure, Part 1

Mom's advice to all of us - and still we practise this till today - when you have a headache, pinch the temple of your head. That's true, and not many of us know that it's acupressure that's working.

Acupressure is the art of self-healing through triggering (pinching, rubbing) various parts of the body to stimulate the body to heal itself. Practised by the Chinese for 5,000 years, it is a commonly accepted method of alternative complementary healing, besides the usual scientific methods - hey, even doctors pinch their heads when they have too many patients to look after!! 

It is most effective (and can sometimes cure without other types of treatment) on stress-related problems, improper body gait (like hunched walking, bad seating positions etc), and when combined with other types of treatment can usually result in very effective solutions to a variety of health problems.

I have read (quite a few times) of articles (Internet, newspaper etc - can't remember all of 'em, though) regarding massages and acupressure stimulating various chemicals in your body, especially endorphins that inhibit pain and therefore promotes blood (and oxygen!) to flow freely to the painful areas to aid healing. When you pinch certain 'tense' muscles, these muscles will flex under the pinch pressure, thus loosening up and letting blood flow better to flush toxins out.

The best part of acupressure is that it's easy to do (takes a few minutes once or twice a day), and you don't need to buy any special apparatus to do it, just your own two hands. What is also required is a lot of patience, since some ailments take time (sometimes months) to fully subside.

I plan to make acupressure tips in a few series of posting, so this is Part 1. Before I stop, I'll give a simple demonstration you can try yourself at home once or twice a day: But first a word of CAUTION - PREGNANT LADIES ARE FORBIDDEN TO DO THIS AS THE STIMULATION MAY CAUSE CONTRACTIONS AND MAY JEOPARDISE  THE BABY YOU'RE CARRYING (told you it can't work on everything).

The webbing on your hands between the thumb and the index (pointing) finger (both left and right) is a very potent point in acupressure. It treats a few illnesses including sinusitis / allergies, arthritis, headaches. Pinch firmly the inside of the webbing (near the area where the bones of the fingers meet) for at least one minute and several minutes (3-5, take your pick) at most - don't overdo it, repetitions are better. A minute is all it takes to stimulate that point, and that few minutes per session is all you need (remember, sessions depend on illness, so I can't describe it here).

There you have it, a mom's advice that actually makes a lot of sense and easy to do. Like I said, I'll post a few series of this, so keep visiting for the latest tips. Ciao.  

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