Do you ever find that certain foods just don’t agree with your stomach?
If you have digestive issues, you know how challenging it can be to find yourself in pain after eating a delicious meal. After all, food is supposed to nourish you, not create pain and discomfort in your body, right?
As the holiday season approaches, you may be presented with enticing culinary opportunities that appeal to your taste buds but don’t necessarily sit well with your stomach. Fortunately, there are some simple acupressure points that can help address digestive issues.
In this blog, you’ll learn three acupressure points that can help improve your digestion. But first, we’ll address the underlying principles of acupressure.
How Acupressure Can Improve Your Digestion
To understand how acupressure works, you first need to understand meridians.
In Chinese Medicine, meridians refer to energy channels that run throughout your body. Just as blood vessels and arteries allow blood to circulate, your meridians allow invisible life-force energy (Qi) to flow throughout your being.
You can think of your meridians as highways connecting all parts of your body. Your meridians run throughout your legs, stomach, chest, arms, and even your head. When your meridians are open, energy can flow with ease. However, it’s not uncommon for your meridians to become blocked, which reduces the movement of energy throughout your body—just as a traffic jam on roads can slow down cars. This can result in a variety of health problems, including digestive issues.
Acupressure seeks to stimulate your meridians and remove energy blockages. By restoring the healthy flow of energy throughout your body, you can heal ailments and regain vitality.
Different meridians and acupressure points correspond to different functions within your body. Just like some blood arteries connect to your kidneys, and others connect to your lungs, your meridians work the same way. That’s why it’s important to know which acupressure points you should focus on to address particular health challenges.
Below, we’ve included three acupressure points connected to your digestion, all recommended by Qi Gong master Lee Holden. By activating these points, you can alleviate many common digestive issues.
Stomach 36
Stomach 36 is located on the lateral side of the shin. To find it, place your hand on the outside part of your knee and measure four cun below your knee (a cun is the width of your thumb. So, in this case, you should measure four thumb widths below the outside part of your knee). You should feel a small indentation below your knee, indicating you’ve found the right point.
Once you’ve located Stomach 36, press it firmly with your thumb and wiggle like you’re giving yourself a gentle massage. Then, tap on the point gently with the tips of your fingers.
This is one of the strongest points for improving digestion because it’s part of your stomach meridian. In fact, when Lee Holden was first studying acupressure, he used this point to treat his father when he had a terrible stomach ache. Within ten minutes, his stomach ache vanished!
CV 6
CV 6 is located one-and-a-half cun below the navel. To find this point, place one hand by your navel and move it downward about an inch.
To activate this point, rub gently with your thumbs, just like you did for Stomach 36. You can also tap the point lightly with your fingers to activate the acupressure point.
CV 6 is a wonderful point for your small intestine and all aspects of digestion. Activating this point is like ingesting your own “digestive tonic,” bringing strength and vitality to your digestive system. Also, CV 6 is also great for grounding your internal energy so you feel more centered. This makes it a wonderful point for regaining emotional harmony and balance whenever you feel upset or stressed out.
Spleen 3
Spleen 3 is located on the ball of your big toe. It’s known as the “source point” and is a wonderful acupressure point for tonifying (i.e., strengthening) your digestive system.
To activate Spleen 3, rub gently on the ball of your big toe. You can also tap on it lightly. Like the two points above, Spleen 6 boosts your digestive system and allows you to digest food more easily.
If you enjoyed these brief acupressure exercises and want to learn more practices to improve your digestion, be sure to check out our on-demand Qi Gong for Digestion Workshop.
Use Qi Gong to Overcome Digestion Issues
In our Qi Gong for Digestion Workshop, you’ll learn powerful Qi Gong practices designed to improve your digestion and reduce stomach pain, giving you your own ‘toolkit’ for overcoming digestive problems during the holidays and anytime throughout the year.
In addition to physical digestion, this workshop also teaches you how to improve your emotional digestion, allowing you to process life’s experiences with a greater sense of harmony and flow.
Because this is an on-demand workshop, you can enjoy the lessons from the comfort of your home. Click on the banner below to learn more about how Qi Gong can improve your digestive system this holiday season.