Acupressure Points for Calming and Grounding

It is extremely common in our culture to have unhealthy levels of anxiety and stress. A large component of this stress/anxiety can be attributes to holding onto tension. Tension is something that our bodies create as a safety mechanism when some sort of negative stimulus is presented. This fear response puts your body into a guarded state. Although this contracted energy state is helpful in an acute situation, it is not a state that should continue after the stimulus is removed. Unfortunately, in our culture, we are often pressured to put our fears and anxieties “behind us”, without truly processing and releasing this contracted energy.

There are many different types of therapies that you can incorporate into your life to release past fears and anxieties, leading to an overall more grounded state of being. A few of these therapies include the utilization of breathwork, acupressure, and Emotional Freedom Techniques (also known as tapping). Both acupressure and the EFT technique draw upon meridians. Meridians are energetic channels, which flow within your body and correspond to different organs. By utilization of an acupressure point or EFT technique, we can isolate areas of the body that are holding on to tension and encourage them to release. With breath-work therapy, we can use our intention to send out breath into different regions of our bodies, also encouraging them to release any states of tension, while also helping your body to enter a more parasympathetic/relaxes state where healing can occur. If you’re feeling particularly creative, you can even incorporate all three of these therapies together.

Guideline for incorporating these practices:

1. Find a grounding acupressure point that works for you. Two that I recommend are: LU1 (for letting go of tension) and KI-3 (releases fear).
1. LU1 can be found on the outside edge of the rib cage, three finger widths below the clavicle.
2. KI3 can be found on the inside of the foot, halfway between the Achilles tendon and the side of the ankle bone.
2. Once you’ve found this acupressure point begin tapping on the area lightly with your forefinger. As you do this, take deep inhales and open mouth exhales. After about 1 minute of tapping and deep breathing, increase the pressure on this point with your forefinger.
3. Keep pressure on this point for about 3 minutes until you feel tension dissipate. It can be helpful to include the following breath-work as you keep pressure on the region:
1. Take 4 short inhales through your nose until you feel completely full of air. Hold your breath in for 4 seconds. Exhale through the mouth of 4 seconds. Hold breath out. Repeat.

By incorporating these therapies into your daily routine, you can help dissipate your overall level of anxiety, fear, and tension. Encouraging your body into a more grounded and relaxed state can create profound changes in your life.