Healing Links Between Yoga Asanas and Acupressure
>> Monday, February 09, 2009 –
acupressure,
Yoga
I have exposure to both Acupressure and Yoga for a long time now. Like most people I was attracted to Yoga initially for its healing power, though I did not believe in it initially. If you look at the Yoga poses as an outsider it is difficulty to visualize how it can heal us. They also look easier to practice till you attempt the easiest one. But once I started to practice the beginners asanas from the great master BKS Iyengar's "Light On Yoga" book I realized how difficult even the easy looking asanas are for an average level fit person like me.
In the initial days I was hooked on to Yoga because of the relief it provided to me after a hard day at the office. All tiredness used to disappear, whereas weight training exercises makes you tired and you would need rest. Gradually I was able to experience the other aspects of Yoga, and its affect on the body and mind. Another point which provided boost to the experience was the fact that even with my relatively less experience I was able to assist people in their health problems. Since people knew that I was practicing Yoga and they had heard about its healing abilities, they approached me. I just used to read the relevant asanas (Poses) from the books and used to practice with them and guide them. They were healed of their problems. This left a great impact on me and encouraged me to pursue Yoga with more enthusiasm.
At around the same time I also started reading on Acupressure. It was quite interesting to learn that applying pressure on certain points of the palms, hands or body could help in curing diseases. Based on the learning, I applied Acupressure on myself and anybody willing to receive help. I immediately saw how useful it was. I cured lot of people from stiff neck problem and also helped people recover from lower back sprain and so on. I also successfully tried the treatment on convulsion points on my sons when they had febrile convulsion during high fever and it was really convincing.
How this thought was born?
I was just wondering if there could be some links between the healing powers and working of Yoga and Acupressure. This thought came to me while I was preparing to sleep in the night, and thinking about what could be the link although there may not be total match, but I saw quite a few definite links. I realized that during the practice of the asanas which heal certain diseases, often Acupressure points related to that disease are also pressed.
Most of the acupressure and reflexology points are located on Hands, feet, back of the neck and front of the body. As per the theory of Acupressure there are different energy meridians (or lines) in the body which passes through different areas of the body. At certain places in the body these meridians are near to the skin and pressing those points affect the organs and body parts associated with the meridian.
Examples where asanas and acupressure converge.
1. When we practice Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand Pose), pressure is applied on the back of the neck, throat region and the palms, as they support the body. Most of the points related to thyroid problems, cough and cold and eyes etc are located in the areas which are pressurized during the asanas. No wonder Sarvangasana is helpful in illness related to Thyroid, cough and cold, sore throat etc apart from many other diseases.
2. When we practice Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose), we use our palms to support ourselves. Cobra pose strengthens the back, and relieves back pain. There are certain points on the base of the thumb which are used in Acupressure for back pain, which are pressed during this pose.
3. In Janu Shirasana(Head on Knee Pose), which is good for Liver, the “Liver point” which is just below the ribs on the right hand side is also pressed.
There are many other examples which we can find. Though more research needs to be done on this. Though both are independent therapies, there is some evidence that there may be some common ground between these. One more thing to notice is Asanas complement the Acupressure treatment, but the reverse may not be true, but at the other hand Acupressure treatment can be taken by people who may be too ill to practice Yoga Asanas. To conclude, we can safely say that practicing Yoga asanas, may be benefiting us in more ways than we may be aware.
Related Posts
Yoga Insight - How To Make Progress In Your Asana?
In the initial days I was hooked on to Yoga because of the relief it provided to me after a hard day at the office. All tiredness used to disappear, whereas weight training exercises makes you tired and you would need rest. Gradually I was able to experience the other aspects of Yoga, and its affect on the body and mind. Another point which provided boost to the experience was the fact that even with my relatively less experience I was able to assist people in their health problems. Since people knew that I was practicing Yoga and they had heard about its healing abilities, they approached me. I just used to read the relevant asanas (Poses) from the books and used to practice with them and guide them. They were healed of their problems. This left a great impact on me and encouraged me to pursue Yoga with more enthusiasm.
At around the same time I also started reading on Acupressure. It was quite interesting to learn that applying pressure on certain points of the palms, hands or body could help in curing diseases. Based on the learning, I applied Acupressure on myself and anybody willing to receive help. I immediately saw how useful it was. I cured lot of people from stiff neck problem and also helped people recover from lower back sprain and so on. I also successfully tried the treatment on convulsion points on my sons when they had febrile convulsion during high fever and it was really convincing.
How this thought was born?
I was just wondering if there could be some links between the healing powers and working of Yoga and Acupressure. This thought came to me while I was preparing to sleep in the night, and thinking about what could be the link although there may not be total match, but I saw quite a few definite links. I realized that during the practice of the asanas which heal certain diseases, often Acupressure points related to that disease are also pressed.
Most of the acupressure and reflexology points are located on Hands, feet, back of the neck and front of the body. As per the theory of Acupressure there are different energy meridians (or lines) in the body which passes through different areas of the body. At certain places in the body these meridians are near to the skin and pressing those points affect the organs and body parts associated with the meridian.
Examples where asanas and acupressure converge.
1. When we practice Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand Pose), pressure is applied on the back of the neck, throat region and the palms, as they support the body. Most of the points related to thyroid problems, cough and cold and eyes etc are located in the areas which are pressurized during the asanas. No wonder Sarvangasana is helpful in illness related to Thyroid, cough and cold, sore throat etc apart from many other diseases.
2. When we practice Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose), we use our palms to support ourselves. Cobra pose strengthens the back, and relieves back pain. There are certain points on the base of the thumb which are used in Acupressure for back pain, which are pressed during this pose.
3. In Janu Shirasana(Head on Knee Pose), which is good for Liver, the “Liver point” which is just below the ribs on the right hand side is also pressed.
There are many other examples which we can find. Though more research needs to be done on this. Though both are independent therapies, there is some evidence that there may be some common ground between these. One more thing to notice is Asanas complement the Acupressure treatment, but the reverse may not be true, but at the other hand Acupressure treatment can be taken by people who may be too ill to practice Yoga Asanas. To conclude, we can safely say that practicing Yoga asanas, may be benefiting us in more ways than we may be aware.
Related Posts
Yoga Insight - How To Make Progress In Your Asana?
