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Acupressure is a fascinating health study because at times it can work before your eyes. It is also because of that power that a thorough research is necessary. Is acupressure for me and mine? How can I achieve optimum results? Though there is much more to learn about acupressure, I've whittled the 'rules' down to 10 points so you can judge for yourself if acupressure is for you. 1. You shouldn't treat yourself directly before or after a meal. 2. You'll notice that sometimes the thumbs won't reach a targeted point. You can use other fingers, a golf ball, a pencil eraser, your knuckles or even your the heel of your hand, depending on the point. 3. Approach your targeted point on your body at right angles. 4. Moderate pressure should be used. The touch should be firm, but not so you buckle in pain. This is not a see-how-high-my-pain-threshold-is test. 5. During the pressure, concentrate on breathing deeply. This helps you relax, focus, and enhance healing benefits by circulating a free flow of oxygen. 6. Hold the pressure for about one minute to start out with. Never hold one point for more than 10 minutes, and never work on one part of the body more than 15 minutes. 7. You can perform treatments daily, several times a day, even after you've received relief. Or you can treat yourself a few times a week. 8. There are different application techniques for relaxing and for stimulating. Basically, to relax, gradually apply pressure, hold, and then gradually release. To stimulate, apply pressure for a few seconds, release and repeat the process for about 30 seconds to a minute. When learning about the individual points, you'll learn which technique to use. 9. Do not apply pressure on a new scar. 10. Take time to relax after your session. Enjoy a cup of herbal tea. The healing forces of your body are turning themselves to the ailment you addressed. Hence, your body temperature drops. So keep yourself warm. A treatment When you can't sleep at night, the house is quiet and all kinds of regrets come to haunt you, imagine you're lieing on a raft and the sway of the water is lulling you to sleep. At this point, I use any 3 of the following points. The Spirit Gate--This is located on the inside wrist crease in line with the little finger. Hold for 1 minute breathing deep and long. Do one hand, then the other. Sea of Tranquility--Locate the bottom of your breast bone. This point is 3 thumbs up. (This one may be very sensitive.) Hold one minute. Third Eye Point--Use 2 fingers to target the point between your eyebrows, where the forehead meets the nose bridge. Hold one minute. Joining the Valley--(My personal favorite for what ails me) Locate the highest part of the muscle between thumb and forefinger, when the 2 are brought together. Relax them when applying pressure for one minute on each hand. There are more points for insomnia and that which cause it, like anxiety, stress, and high emotion. Finding and using these can be exciting. Another testimonial: My son complained of knee pain. We had been working hard getting a lot of apartments ready for move-ins. Since he's the tallest of the family, he had certain duties that would aggravate his knee. Since we were pressed for time, I couldn't give him a full treatment on the spot. All I did was target 3 points on his knees, on both legs. (About 3 minutes) After the treatment, he was able to continue his work without the nagging pain. Personally, I love it when something I've done works to bring my family relief. Try it. You'll like it, too.