How acupuncture and acupressure can help you manage stress and anxiety
Calm down and get back to center with ancient therapeutic techniques.
Acupuncture is now well known for its ability to balance the human body.
It helps people manage acute and chronic conditions and, like any therapeutic tool in Chinese medicine, is based on the art of self-care practices that aim to regulate the body’s natural biorhythms.
Although acupuncture is a treatment that requires a specialized health professional to insert needles into specific points on your body, you can also learn, guided by an expert practitioner, how to apply acupressure (using a ball) on specific points of the acupuncture channels, to treat yourself.
In this article we will discuss how and why these ancient therapeutic techniques can give immediate results in the treatment of anxiety and stress.
Connecting with Chi
To learn more, you must first understand that when you work on these acupuncture points, you are actually connecting with the Chi or bioelectricity, which is the life force of your being.
Chi is with us from the beginning.
It gives the body a framework where the cells of the body grow and maintains the hologram throughout our entire life. The classical texts of Chinese medicine say that “human life depends on Chi” and that “when Chi gathers, the physical body is formed; when it disperses, the body dies”.
Chi occupies our entire physical space, bathing the fabric of which we are made, and is refined in the Mai System.
The Mai System
The Mai System is a gigantic network commonly translated in the West as a system of meridians or acupuncture channels.
Chi supply to the body
The Mai System is an integral network that takes the form of a complex body map that supplies Chi to every part of the body.
It assists in the distribution of blood and body fluids, maintains the balance between Yin and Yang elements, benefits good posture and protects the body against disease.
In the Mai System, the twelve main channels form the main structure, branching twelve large collaterals (lines) to enter the chest, abdomen and head and connect with the internal organs; and fifteen external collaterals to run through the limbs and trunk.
There are also twelve small collaterals to support muscles and tendons, and smaller collaterals distributed on the surface of the skin.
Completing the network, the eight extraordinary meridians, also called the eight curious vessels, consolidate the communication and functions within the system. They all work closely together and, as in any ecosystem, a dysfunction in one of them usually affects the others.
Connecting and linking different parts of our body, these channels or rivers provide the transport of the fundamental substances of Chi, blood and body fluids.
Along these channels the flow of Chi is concentrated or “injected” into the surface of the body. These specific areas of the body are known as acupuncture points, and although they are located externally, they can be worked through acupuncture, acupressure and specific exercises to internally regulate their corresponding organs or channels so that the body can maintain or return to a state of balance and health.
Chi and emotions
Emotions are part of our human nature.
They emanate as waves from within us, triggered by a comment, a piece of news, a simple thought or a memory that creates inner movement. They are part of our existence, they teach us how to move through life. They serve a purpose.
If they flow naturally, come and go dynamically without going to any extreme, the body tends to return naturally to its homeostatic state.
However, when emotions are chronically present or acutely experienced, they can “blind us” and lose their useful purpose, becoming detrimental to our health.
They can have a dramatic impact on the natural functioning of the body.
Breathing, blood flow, peristaltic activity and digestion, for example, require the body to expand and contract effortlessly, which is directly related to the flow of Chi.
Any restriction of this natural pulse causes internal tensions.
If a child, for example, repeatedly experiences feelings of fear, anxiety and insecurity while growing up, his or her body will react defensively, subtly altering the natural flow of Chi, which gradually creates a permanent pattern of tension in the physical and mental body.
This pattern, if left untreated, will tend to remain present in the body and mind even when there is no real threat and, over time, will affect the quality of that child’s adult life.
Constant anxiety = stomach problems
To give an example, anxiety can cause physical problems.
The main physiological function of the stomach organ system is to aid digestion by converting external nutrients into living substance.
It also gives us a point of stability where our metabolism and psyche are in dynamic balance, providing us with primary existential nourishment, a sense of centeredness.
The acupuncture stomach channel itself ensures that the movement of Chi is maintained downward to facilitate digestion.
Constant anxiety reverses the movement of the channel impairing digestion and deep breathing.
This is the case for people suffering from indigestion, stomach reflux, hiatal hernias, stomach ulcers, etc.
Renal essence, your energy reservoir
We all know that stress is part of life and that our body has mechanisms to cope with it.
When we are stressed, our adrenal glands (which are above the kidneys) secrete an enormous amount of stress hormones, such as cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, causing an increase in energy levels.
This causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and glucose metabolism – the fight or flight response.
This is a natural and primitive reaction to ensure survival, based on an acute state of fear when we are under real physical threat, but it has become, for most people, a general modus operandi.
Our modern society, with its culture based on valuing the quick achievement of goals and success, as well as the possession of material things, has turned this state of fear, of not being able to achieve enough, of not measuring up, of not being good enough, into a constant level of stress built into our bodily systems.
It is not at all a coincidence that fear in Chinese medicine is related to the kidney organ system, which is also the storehouse of physical essence, also known as kidney essence.
Kidney essence is with us in finite quantities from the moment we are conceived, but naturally diminishes as we age.
It is an “energy tank,” like a savings account, and while it is fine to access some of that inherited energy from time to time, abusing this internal resource with chronic stress and anxiety will greatly accelerate the aging process.
In Chinese medicine, all body systems depend on the Kidney for Chi, for energy to function. It also maintains the balance between Yin and Yang energies in the body, and within each organ system.
In Chinese medicine, organs have a much broader meaning than in Western thought.
To put it simply, they are part of a physical-emotional-mental functional sphere and each of them contributes to shape the character of the person, as well as the way in which certain areas and tissues of the body manifest themselves.
How does Chi affect the physical and mental body?
Chi flows through the body at different depths in the Mai System like a system of streams and rivers flowing to the organs and various parts of the body.
Each Mai has its own qualities and their respective acupuncture points have specific functions such as sending Chi downward and inward or upward and outward.
The five Shu points
The Five Shu Points are located in the 12 main channels of the Mai System. Each of these energy pathways relates, represents and expresses the qualities of its corresponding organs.
All Five Shu points are, as a rule, located between the tips of the fingers and toes and the elbow and knee joints.
They are called:
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- Jing (well)
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- Ying (spring)
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- Shu (stream)
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- Jing (river)
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- He (sea)
The progression of the size and depth of the Mai is independent of the direction in which the channels flow, i.e. it applies equally to the Yin and Yang channels of the arms and legs. The five Shu points contribute to harmonising the organisation of all structures and functions of the body systems.
The Shu points of the Back and the Anterior Mu points
There are other important points in the body where the Chi of the internal organs is infused. As they are considered alarm points, they are not only important in the treatment of the Chi of the respective organ systems, but are also very useful in the diagnosis of their imbalance. In the West, they are named after their corresponding organs:
Back Shu points
Located at the rear, on both sides of the column.
- Lung – Feishu in V13
- Pericardium – Jueyinshu in V14
- Heart – Yinshu in V15
- Diaphragm – Dushu in V17
- Liver – Ganshu in V18
- Gallbladder – Danshu in V19
- Spleen – Pishu in V20
- Stomach – Weishu to V21
- Triple warmer – Sanjiaoshu in V22
- Kidney – Shenshu in V23
- Large Intestine – Dachangshu in V25
- Small Intestine – Xiaochangshu in. V27
- Bladder – Pangguangshu in V28
Front Mu points
- Lung – Zhongfu in P1
- Large Intestine – Tianshu in IG25
- Stomach – Zhongwan in VC12
- Spleen – Zhangmen in H13
- Heart – Juque in VC14
- Small Intestine – Guanyuan in VC4
- Bladder – Zhongji in VC3
- Kidney – Jingmen in BV 25
- Pericardium – Shanzhong in VC17
- Triple warmer – Shimen in VC5
- Gall Bladder – Riyue in VB24
- Liver – Qimen in H14
Located on different parts of the front of the body in the abdomen and chest area.
Vicious cycles of stress and anxiety
When an emotion or attitude initiates a “wave” of Chi movement, followed by a neural and metabolic change, this change, when unconscious, tends to deepen or complicate the attitude and disorder the Chi flow.
This easily puts us in a loop where the emotion produces intense thoughts and the thoughts continue to add charge to the emotion, resulting in even greater Chi flow imbalance and thus increased chemical changes.
This state of the body/mind can cascade until significant physical and mental symptoms begin to appear.
Since the body has an innate wisdom to let us know what is going on inside, when stress and anxiety become chronic certain signs and symptoms of Chi imbalance already become noticeable.
These symptoms can be:
- agitation
- muscle stiffness
- shortness of breath
- trembling hands
- jaw stiffness
- headaches
- menstrual disorders
- impotence
- lack of libido
- indigestion
- insomnia
- forgetfulness
- lack of concentration
- pain
- Yes, pain!
High or low Chi concentration
As mentioned earlier in this article, the bio-electricity, the Chi, which runs within the channels and forms our hologram and is what gives the motility to the cells of the body.
If the concentration of Chi is high in one part or segment of the body, there will be a lot of cell motility in that area.
Because our body is a complete ecosystem, a high concentration in one area will lead to a low concentration in another, leaving the latter with low cell motility.
A body tissue, for example, a muscle or fascia, will show signs of sharp pain if the Chi is highly concentrated and dull pain if the Chi is low.
Its state of health will depend on the quality and circulation of Chi in the respective channel/body part.
In clinical practice it is very common for people to ask for help thinking they have a back problem and what they really have most of the time, is an imbalance of the organ system showing alarming signs of high or low Chi concentration, leading to tenderness or pain in their respective Shu point of the back, due to long-term stress and anxiety.
Another common symptom that can accompany insomnia, headaches and indigestion is tiredness in the legs (weakness of the Five Shu Points) and pain in the neck, due to a lack of Chi in the lower body and an excess or lack of Chi in the head and shoulders.
Since Chi is directly connected to emotions and thoughts, the ancient medical text Huangdi Neijing, taken from chapter 39 of Suwen, describes these disturbances well:
When there is anger, the Chi rises.
When there are obsessive thoughts, the Chi is knotted.
When there is euphoria, the Chi loosens.
When there is sadness, Chi becomes scarce.
When there is horrifying fear, the Chi descends.
When there is startle with fright, the Chi is disordered.
Learn how to manage stress and anxiety with self-acupressure from home!
Balancing the Mai System
Modern medicine manages stress and anxiety by controlling the body chemically through medication.
Conventional doctors also recommend a good diet and regular exercise, followed by the importance of regular check-ups.
Chinese medicine, which sees the human body as a microcosm reflecting the macrocosm in which we live, does this through balancing the Mai System, which brings the body into a natural homeostatic state.
When the Chi of the Mai System is of good quality and circulates well, our physiological processes flow smoothly, we feel alive, but relaxed.
We have mental clarity, we feel aligned and deeply connected to life.
Onsite and online services
If you are looking for a more balanced body/mind state, you can treat stress and anxiety with a specialized health professional who, based on your signs and symptoms, can regulate your biorhythms by toning or dispersing specific acupuncture points with immediate results.
MENU:
Onsite
- Acupuncture Session – 60 min
- Full Body Shiatsu Session – 90 min
Online
- SOS Immediate Stress Release – 90 min Online Session
- Personal Stress and Anxiety Management Kit: a private online course of 4 sessions (60 min each) on how to apply, in the correct order, acupressure (using a tennis ball and positioning) on specific channel points and tailored for you. That means you literally learn how to manage your stress and anxiety, completely by your self.
Testimonials
¨Being a online student of Aline Tisato is transforming my life. I am learning with her how to regulate my emotions, integrating my mind with my body. In the first session, I was in a terrible emotional state, in a strong anxiety crisis, I thought I would have to cancel my professional commitments, since I would not have the psychological conditions to go to work. That day, when we started the session, she directly guided me to put pressure (with 2 tennis balls) on specific points of my body. The result was impressive, within 15 min I was completely different. It calmed me down and I was able to spend the rest of the day well and even went to work. This is priceless, thanks to this professional who teaches me the tools that brings me so much wellness! ¨
Cristina Silva Castro – 53 years old
¨Aline is one of the best therapists I have ever come across, if not the best. She has magical hands and a vast knowledge of how to give people back the vital energy they have lost. After a few days with an agitated, unsettled mind, a massage from Aline brings me back to the dense body, where we should never stray from. I have learnt to realign myself energetically through exercises with tennis balls with which I press on certain meridian points of the body.¨
Mercè Clara – 42 years old
