Acupressure for sleep
Did you know there is a power in your hands? Self-care acupressure is something accessible to everyone and easy to learn. It is a form of massage. I integrate acupressure into my bodywork sessions, I teach classes on self-care acupressure, and I practice it on myself all the time! During this unprecedented time, I’ve been having trouble falling asleep at night and I’ve found using acupressure to be a valuable tool to help me fall asleep. I will teach you three acupressure points in this article that you can use for restful, peaceful, sleep tonight.
Acupressure is a healing art. As with any artform use your intuition and creative flow to feel what is best for yourself. A safety precaution is to not press on injured areas of your body. If anything doesn’t feel right, trust that feeling and let go of the point. When I hold points, I use light to medium pressure because I can feel more when I’m not pressing hard. The acupressure points I describe below are on both sides of the body. You can hold them bilaterally or just one side. When holding acupressure points, treat it as a meditation, focus on breathing deeply and relaxing your hands. Hold the following points for 1-3 minutes each or as long as you need to feel relaxed and sleepy.
Acupressure points for restful sleep:
Bladder 10 Heavenly Pillar: This point is located ½ inch down from the occiput and ½ inch out from the midline of the back of the neck vertebrae in the erector spinae muscles. When holding this point, I like to hold both sides of the neck at the same time. I have found it easiest on my shoulders to make my arms like butterfly wings and prop my elbows on pillows. B 10 is also a point for headache relief and connecting to your 5th chakra, your voice, expression, and throat.
Pericardium 6 Inner Gate: This point is located on the inside of the forearm, 2 ½ finger width below the inside of the wrist crease, in the midline of the inner arm. I usually use my thumb of the opposite hand to hold this point and rest my hands on my abdomen. P 6 is also a point to keep in mind to relieve nausea and an emotional balancing point to help with issues of the heart.
Kidney 6 Calm Sleep: This point is located directly below the inside of the inner ankle in the small hollow. Since I use this point when I’m in bed, and I don’t want to sit up, I use the big toe of the opposite foot to hold the point. Yes, you can use your toes to hold points too! K 6 will also help with ankle or foot pain and helps restore the body.
Hold any of these points: Bladder 10, Pericardium 6, or Kidney 6, any time you find yourself unable to fall asleep. Take deep breaths and imagine any stress melting away in the earth. Self-care acupressure is an accessible, safe, and easy tool to create relaxation and easy in your body!
I have a free/donation-based class ready to watch in my online studio called: Yin Yoga and Acupressure for Restful Sleep. In this class, I teach these points and a few more! Then I guide you through holding the points while you are in yin yoga poses. This class is donation class to raise awareness for the Covid crisis in India. Any donation I receive will be given to GiveIndia. Click here to watch the class now!
I would like to thank my teachers for sharing the gift of acupressure with me. I attended the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley CA from 2007-2014 and this time has shaped and created my love of this healing artform.