Mornings, PT, Druid Studies, Acupressure
Jan. 10th, 2008 11:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenToday was clear, but yesterday the river dragons were at play, their breath rising out of the woods to the east, weaving and dancing slowly across the snow-covered field.
***
PT was somewhat grueling today. Backing off on the theraband, from red to yellow, I believe because we're introducing new directions in which to move the arm, so ROM is more important than any strength-building. I tried out a little tai chi while I was waiting for my paperwork at the end of the session, and it went okay, so I'm going to try adding that back into my daily routine.
***
Read another article at the Peakoildblues site, Water, Water, Nowhere. Shorter than yesterday's, written by a guest writer. He brings up an interesting point in regard to the prolonged drought conditions in the south, in that it affects electricity. Except for Texas, the rest of the country is divided into power grids that are all connected to each other AKA, the national power grid. When there's a high demand in one place, power can be sent over from another place. However power requires water, whether the power is created by nuclear, coal fired, gas fired, oil fired, and hydro power plants. About .5 gallon per kilowatt for most of them, .62 for nuclear. So a drought in the south can affect people in the north as well.
***
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hengruh posted the list of studies for the AODA 2nd Degree Druid curriculum today. I'd forgotten how many essays there are... sigh. You'd think that with all the writing I do here, I wouldn't have a problem with more writing, but it isn't really one of my favorite things, if I'm not really psyched for it. Guess I'll have to work on that :D Probably the one I find not terribly interesting is the one on studying and writing about a Celtic peoples, but I'll poke around and see what I come up with... the Welsh are among my favorites, but finding anything on ancient cultures about them has always been a challenge. So much got wiped out what with Edward and his lot moving in. Think I'll save that one for later, seeing as I have plenty of other things to work on.
I'd forgotten about the helping others on their spiritual path bit (it's a pretty long list, actually).gwynt_y_storm has set things up so that everyone in the study group takes turns leading discussion on different topics, so that makes it easier for everyone to help each other. But I like the times outside of the organized study as well, when we're walking along (like on the barn 'tour' we did last month), just chatting about different things, asking and answering questions. Oddly, despite my lack of formal training, I've been doing that sort of thing since high school...
In fact though, I need to order my thoughts a bit on my topic for this coming Sunday. I'll be doing an overview on self-acupressure. Healing is one of the learning spirals in our druidic studies. Learning first aid and standard stuff is highly encouraged, but also study of alternative medicines. I picked up a couple of useful books in that regard recently, thanks in part to Sharon Astyk's list. But I have a preference for non-drug treatments/preventive medicine. That's why I like chi gong (there are many different practices), tai chi (it's both physical and energy exercise, and a moving meditation), reiki, and acupressure. Of course if you have a broken arm, you need someone who can set it properly, but for many ills, the alternatives work quite well.
Why is healing one of the spirals for druidry? Well, we are working to be more one with Nature, to have respect for Her. This means we should minimize our use of most modern drugs if possible (which it isn't always, I know), because those drugs eventually find their way into the ecosystem, and are one of the reasons our water is so unhealthy for us and every living thing. There are huge amounts of estrogen in the water these days, parabens too (shampoos and such), and other equally lovely chemicals. And the fewer artificial things we stick in our bodies, the better off we are as well. We are a part of Nature after all, so we should have more respect for our own bodies than I expect most of us do.
Natural healing methods are still useful even for people who have to be on a lot of medications. They can augment the effectiveness of the meds, or sometimes ameliorate the side effects. And they can feel good too :) I like doing at least some chi-lel qi gong daily, because I'm connected to the energy of the universe; it's very relaxing as well as helpful in the healing process.
Acupressure is like acupuncture, in that it uses the same points on the body. In fact, it pre-dates acupuncture. In the stressful world we live in today, it is one of the perfect systems for people -- it does a lot to relieve many types of stress, it's cheap, and you have control over your treatment.
You apply gentle pressure (there are a few exceptions) to the point, generally what would feel like the weight of a nickel or quarter on your skin. This is usually for 1-3 minutes at a time, 1-3 times per day. You don't want to apply too much pressure, because if you're touching each point daily, and especially if 3 times daily, you can actually make the points sore, almost feel bruised.
If you have chronic issues, then doing the correct points once a day is a good idea, for maintenance. If things are more serious, then up to three times. As you practice, you'll come to know what is right for you. The points you use are determined by what you are trying to attend to (cold, asthma, back pain, headaches, etc.). These points are along meridians, which are lines of energy going through your body.
Many points get used for more than one thing -- so, depending on what you're working on, you may get a two-fer ;) For instance, whether you have a cold, or are suffering from low energy, or a stomach ailment, you'd probably want to include Three Mile Point (St 36) in your treatment. This is one of the oddball points actually, because instead of applying a steady pressure, you rub your knuckles up and down over the point to stimulate it. St 36 is 4 finger widths below the kneecap and one finger width to the outside of the shinbone. If you're on the right spot a muscle should flex as you move your foot up and down. Basically, this point helps to stimulate the immune system.
My absolute favorite book is Acupressure's Potent Points: A Guide to Self-Care for Common Ailments, by Michael Reed Gach. He's written some other books as well, but this one book has served me and others quite well for many years. Likely a used copy can be gotten through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Bookfinder.com (this searches many booksellers). This book goes into appropriate use of acupressure, has both photos, text, and illustrations, includes suggestions on diet that may help with each condition, and also provides appropriate warnings.
That last bit is important because some spots aren't advised for all people, depending on the illness, or for instance if you are a pregnant woman. One of the most common spots many people learn for headaches is a spot in the skin between the thumb and forefinger for instance, and this is a forbidden spot for expecting mothers. Another is Bigger Stream (K3), which is "forbidden to be strongly stimulated after the third month of pregnancy". The brief overview description for K3 is "Relieves difficult labor, fatigue, swollen feet, and insomnia; restores the immune and reproductive systems". So, it can have a particular effect on the reproductive system, at the correct times.
I expect most people who read my journal know this, but just in case, I'd like to say here that just because something is natural, doesn't mean it is 100% safe. One must have respect for the appropriateness of natural medical treatments, whether it is massage, acupressure, reiki (or other energy work), or herbal.
Speaking of massage, one of the things I noted when I was in massage therapy school was that a number of the most useful points for working on headaches or back pain doing deep tissue work were the same ones for acupressure. Deep tissue is kind of the opposite of acupressure, at least as far as how it's applied, but if the muscle anchor all kinked up (yeah, that's a technical term :D) a single intense treatment can work pretty well. It's pretty cool how eastern and western methods can come together, through completely different methods.
I like teaching a lot of those points to other people though, because gentle is less traumatic to the body, and we have enough trauma in our lives these days, eh?
***
PT was somewhat grueling today. Backing off on the theraband, from red to yellow, I believe because we're introducing new directions in which to move the arm, so ROM is more important than any strength-building. I tried out a little tai chi while I was waiting for my paperwork at the end of the session, and it went okay, so I'm going to try adding that back into my daily routine.
***
Read another article at the Peakoildblues site, Water, Water, Nowhere. Shorter than yesterday's, written by a guest writer. He brings up an interesting point in regard to the prolonged drought conditions in the south, in that it affects electricity. Except for Texas, the rest of the country is divided into power grids that are all connected to each other AKA, the national power grid. When there's a high demand in one place, power can be sent over from another place. However power requires water, whether the power is created by nuclear, coal fired, gas fired, oil fired, and hydro power plants. About .5 gallon per kilowatt for most of them, .62 for nuclear. So a drought in the south can affect people in the north as well.
***
hengruh posted the list of studies for the AODA 2nd Degree Druid curriculum today. I'd forgotten how many essays there are... sigh. You'd think that with all the writing I do here, I wouldn't have a problem with more writing, but it isn't really one of my favorite things, if I'm not really psyched for it. Guess I'll have to work on that :D Probably the one I find not terribly interesting is the one on studying and writing about a Celtic peoples, but I'll poke around and see what I come up with... the Welsh are among my favorites, but finding anything on ancient cultures about them has always been a challenge. So much got wiped out what with Edward and his lot moving in. Think I'll save that one for later, seeing as I have plenty of other things to work on.I'd forgotten about the helping others on their spiritual path bit (it's a pretty long list, actually).
gwynt_y_storm has set things up so that everyone in the study group takes turns leading discussion on different topics, so that makes it easier for everyone to help each other. But I like the times outside of the organized study as well, when we're walking along (like on the barn 'tour' we did last month), just chatting about different things, asking and answering questions. Oddly, despite my lack of formal training, I've been doing that sort of thing since high school... In fact though, I need to order my thoughts a bit on my topic for this coming Sunday. I'll be doing an overview on self-acupressure. Healing is one of the learning spirals in our druidic studies. Learning first aid and standard stuff is highly encouraged, but also study of alternative medicines. I picked up a couple of useful books in that regard recently, thanks in part to Sharon Astyk's list. But I have a preference for non-drug treatments/preventive medicine. That's why I like chi gong (there are many different practices), tai chi (it's both physical and energy exercise, and a moving meditation), reiki, and acupressure. Of course if you have a broken arm, you need someone who can set it properly, but for many ills, the alternatives work quite well.
Why is healing one of the spirals for druidry? Well, we are working to be more one with Nature, to have respect for Her. This means we should minimize our use of most modern drugs if possible (which it isn't always, I know), because those drugs eventually find their way into the ecosystem, and are one of the reasons our water is so unhealthy for us and every living thing. There are huge amounts of estrogen in the water these days, parabens too (shampoos and such), and other equally lovely chemicals. And the fewer artificial things we stick in our bodies, the better off we are as well. We are a part of Nature after all, so we should have more respect for our own bodies than I expect most of us do.
Natural healing methods are still useful even for people who have to be on a lot of medications. They can augment the effectiveness of the meds, or sometimes ameliorate the side effects. And they can feel good too :) I like doing at least some chi-lel qi gong daily, because I'm connected to the energy of the universe; it's very relaxing as well as helpful in the healing process.
Acupressure is like acupuncture, in that it uses the same points on the body. In fact, it pre-dates acupuncture. In the stressful world we live in today, it is one of the perfect systems for people -- it does a lot to relieve many types of stress, it's cheap, and you have control over your treatment.
You apply gentle pressure (there are a few exceptions) to the point, generally what would feel like the weight of a nickel or quarter on your skin. This is usually for 1-3 minutes at a time, 1-3 times per day. You don't want to apply too much pressure, because if you're touching each point daily, and especially if 3 times daily, you can actually make the points sore, almost feel bruised.
If you have chronic issues, then doing the correct points once a day is a good idea, for maintenance. If things are more serious, then up to three times. As you practice, you'll come to know what is right for you. The points you use are determined by what you are trying to attend to (cold, asthma, back pain, headaches, etc.). These points are along meridians, which are lines of energy going through your body.
Many points get used for more than one thing -- so, depending on what you're working on, you may get a two-fer ;) For instance, whether you have a cold, or are suffering from low energy, or a stomach ailment, you'd probably want to include Three Mile Point (St 36) in your treatment. This is one of the oddball points actually, because instead of applying a steady pressure, you rub your knuckles up and down over the point to stimulate it. St 36 is 4 finger widths below the kneecap and one finger width to the outside of the shinbone. If you're on the right spot a muscle should flex as you move your foot up and down. Basically, this point helps to stimulate the immune system.
My absolute favorite book is Acupressure's Potent Points: A Guide to Self-Care for Common Ailments, by Michael Reed Gach. He's written some other books as well, but this one book has served me and others quite well for many years. Likely a used copy can be gotten through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Bookfinder.com (this searches many booksellers). This book goes into appropriate use of acupressure, has both photos, text, and illustrations, includes suggestions on diet that may help with each condition, and also provides appropriate warnings.
That last bit is important because some spots aren't advised for all people, depending on the illness, or for instance if you are a pregnant woman. One of the most common spots many people learn for headaches is a spot in the skin between the thumb and forefinger for instance, and this is a forbidden spot for expecting mothers. Another is Bigger Stream (K3), which is "forbidden to be strongly stimulated after the third month of pregnancy". The brief overview description for K3 is "Relieves difficult labor, fatigue, swollen feet, and insomnia; restores the immune and reproductive systems". So, it can have a particular effect on the reproductive system, at the correct times.
I expect most people who read my journal know this, but just in case, I'd like to say here that just because something is natural, doesn't mean it is 100% safe. One must have respect for the appropriateness of natural medical treatments, whether it is massage, acupressure, reiki (or other energy work), or herbal.
Speaking of massage, one of the things I noted when I was in massage therapy school was that a number of the most useful points for working on headaches or back pain doing deep tissue work were the same ones for acupressure. Deep tissue is kind of the opposite of acupressure, at least as far as how it's applied, but if the muscle anchor all kinked up (yeah, that's a technical term :D) a single intense treatment can work pretty well. It's pretty cool how eastern and western methods can come together, through completely different methods.
I like teaching a lot of those points to other people though, because gentle is less traumatic to the body, and we have enough trauma in our lives these days, eh?
