Essay on "Meridians & Points" Class

We started to learn about higher level healing massages than the basic relaxation healing patterns. We learned several complete patterns of healing massage, such as:

- one involving the bladder meridian
- one for nausea
- one for deficient kidney qi
- one for knee pain
- one for sciatic pain
- one for head aches &
- one to revive yang.

We learned the 5 elements;how each is different, and how they interact. This helps me to see the many aspects of an individual. If I refine my [health] intakes over much time I may be able to see more fully who my clients are, and how to treat each individual.

I believe we were all inspired by the movie, "9000 Needles." It truly showed the power of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) healing. I was also inspired by the movie, "Something Unusual is Happening, We don't Know What."

We learned when to use toning & tonifying.

We learned and focused on ways of bringing the best and highest good from ourselves and others. This is a very good space for a healer to be in. This included a "Pay it Forward" exercise.

Having our red book, "Fundamentals of Chinese Acupuncture" will be good for referencing the points and meridians to use for acupressure point holding. In our yellow book, "Traditional Acupuncture - The Law of the 5 Elements", I like the section on "Traditional Examination." I can foresee incorporating these suggestions into a good complete intake, especially for longer-term clients. The book, "The Web that has No Weaver" has given me a very good overview of the societal mind-set that includes Traditional Chinese Medicine. I start to be able to think more in this way. It is good for letting my Western-raised mind see/feel into what TCM really is.

We have learned and practiced "Smiling Heart Qi Gong" 3 times per week. This has become one of my favorites. I have also been practicing a daily hour-long qigong for my own specific health issues; for several weeks now. This has become more important to me. And, as I learn more, I may be able to suggest qigong to clients who may be open to it.

Being introduced to [health] intakes from the complexity of TCM [Traditional Chinese Medicine] means seeing a person much more thoroughly as an individual. Therefore, I may be able to help clients better as who they are; rather than from the perspective of a very brief Western style [health] intake and diagnosis. Knowing the acupressure points and meridians will help me help specific clients. And, it also gives me a direction to go towards more thoroughly learning specific helpful points.

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The Secret

Life has many different secrets that human beings still have to discover. Meridians and their points are one of these secrets. Personally, it made medicine make a lot more sense to me. I have a better understanding of how the body works now that I have learned about meridians and their paths. Meridians are like a map of your body with secret treasure points. Each point corresponds to different organs, which effects your body in different ways.

Everyone wants to be healed from their sickness. It doesn't matter how significant the sickness is, everyone wants to be free of it. It's human nature to want to be healed or want someone else to be healed like a family member or close friend. Meridians are the new hype these days because its a secret map of where your body needs help healing. If one of your meridians are deficient then it's a possibility that maybe the meridian organ its connected to is deficient as well. For instance, if your GB21 (Gallbladder) feels tight and knotted, then it may make your neck or shoulder stiff.

If someone feels dizzy, cold, or has a shortness of breath then they could look up which meridian corresponds to those symptoms. After you have found which meridians help the symptoms then you could massage those points and the symptoms would most likely disappear. This new kind of thinking has really opened my eyes. It's been around for centuries and I had never heard of it before.

I am almost out of massage therapy school and I am glad that they taught us about meridians and their points. This is information that I will use for the rest of my life because it makes sense that your whole body is connected. So, if a certain organ isn't up to par it would definitely have an effect on other areas of the body. Something about disease made a lot more sense and gave me hope for the future. Learning about meridians was another puzzle piece to my big picture of life.

acu-therapy

After five months of massage therapy school, our class got to the part we had all been waiting for : Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Points and meridians was one of our TCM classes. What are points and meridians? Meridians are invisible pathways on our bodies that connect acupoints to each other, as well as internal organs. The qi (energy) flows through these meridians. The meridians are like highways, when you experience a strong emotion, such as grief or anxiety, your qi gets blocked, similar to a traffic jam. Acupressure restores the smooth flow of qi. Acupoints are specific body points through which qi of organs and meridians can reach the body surface.


You can use acu-therapy to treat:
- headaches
- ortho issues
- weight loss
- addiction
- fertility
- colds
- insomnia
- the list goes on and on.

Basically, any disease you can think of, can benefit from acu-therapy. As a massage therapist, I would not be able to perform acupuncture, but can use non-needling techniques on points. Acupressure is a technique that we have frequently used. Our class has learned acupoint patterns to combat nausea, fatigue, frozen shoulder, sciatica and knee pain.


Now for the fun stuff. Moxa, cupping and gua sha, oh my. Moxa is quite possibly the most delightful herb in existence. It is a variety of mugwort, that is compressed and then burned. You can use it on specific points and meridians that are deficient. By the end of a session, I feel warm and tingling, it is an amazing feeling. Cupping and gua sha are two methods that help remove stagnation, and when I say stagnation, I pretty much mean pain. We have all had those "knots" the size of a golf ball that won't go away. After 15 minutes of having a suction cup placed on the knot and two more cups along the meridian, my pain was 90% gone. Gau sha brings stagnation to the surface, by using a tool to scrape the area. I am sure this might sound painful to some of you, but these treatments are WONDERFUL! I am excited to use them in my practices.

Massage For Insomnia

I was given the assignment of blogging about a "disease" and the benefits of massage therapy, as a homework assignment. Near and dear to my heart, I chose insomnia. For years I have been dealing with this issue and until recently just thought it was something that I needed to find the right prescription for. Why do people have insomnia? I read a concept a couple months back, that changed it all for me. Internal disharmonies make the spirit restless and it cannot be properly housed, and the spirit will wander.
So, how do we fix that? First, we need to address the disharmony. Treatment for this disease should include massage therapy. Regular massage can decrease your stress level on a physical and psyche level. If pain is a factor in insomnia, therapeutic massage relieves pain, promoting better sleep. Massage also increases seratonin levels, which produce melatonin, which governs our circadian rhythm that regulates our sleep cycle.
There are several acupressure points/protocols that a massage therapist can stimulate to encourage sleep. Application of essential oils can also be very beneficial. Fill a 15 dram bottle with a carrier oil, add 4 drops of lavendar, 2 drops of bergamot, 2 drops of marjoram, 1 drop of clary sage and 1 drop of ylang ylang.
I definitely recommend seeing your TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practioner to find the source of your insomnia, then find a massage therapist that you vibe with and enjoy the peaceful sleep you will find.