What do you do to relieve....?

Have you ever found yourself instinctively knowing what to do to relieve an ache or pain?

Maybe you have found yourself rubbing your temples when trying to sort out something that is stressful and challenging.

Or have you ever pinched and rubbed the bridge of your nose when your eyes are feeling strained and you are at the start of a headache?

And just about any parent will have rubbed their child's tummy to give them some relief when they are feeling under the weather.

When I first started studying acupuncture I was amazed at how many points were naturally used y people to press or rub to give them relief.  When you have a pain it is natural to rub and gently massage the area and more often than not it works.  I shouldn't really have been surprised as acupuncture developed thousands ago simply by practitioners observing what helped their patients.

The point between the inner tips of the eyebrows that you will often press when feeling stressed is known in Chinese medicine as Yintang.  It is the point a practitioner may needle if they want to calm the mind, relieve frontal headaches or help with insomnia.

Rubbing around the abdomen covers many points on the Chinese Ren channel and will also connect and stimulate powerful front points that will help bring relief.

There are also may points that you can press and rub to give relief that are not quite so obvious.  If you press the point I know as Large intestine four it can bring rapid relief of headaches.  You will find it between the thumb and first finger just below the side of the bone that leads down to the first knuckle of the first finger (the first metacarpal if you are into medical language).

There is also a brilliant point on the inner wrist that will really help the feeling of nausea caused by travel sickness or even morning sickness.  You will find it on the inside of the wrist, right between two tendons that run down towards the centre of the wrist.  You need to be about three finger widths up from the wrist crease.  Try pressing and rubbing the point firmly to relieve the feeling of nausea.

I'd be really interested in hearing if you have any go to points that you press or rub instinctively.  Comment and describe the place you like to rub and will see if your favoured instinctive remedy is actually an acupuncture point.