Where’s the Research in Acupressure and Alternative Therapies?

I was searching for documented alternative therapy cases for an article.  That turned out to be a lot of work and not much reward.  Over and over I read, “results could not be reliably duplicated,”  “results could not be confirmed.”  

When a new drug comes onto the market it has been tested and reviewed ad nauseam - and a lot of money has been poured into that process.    There is a lot of research and development around drugs for the simple reason that drug companies have a lot of money to invest (and a lot of money to gain) from successful testing.  

There isn't a lot of money to invest in acupressure research.  First of all - where would you start?   There are so many modalities, all independent and often independently developed, that the research and "reproducible" elements required for documentation would have to categorized and put into a clear, concise format used by all practitioners.   That alone would require a major organizational effort, but inroads are being made.   The benefits to the health care system are easily recognized – less cost, fewer negative side effects, and increased general well-being. 

Slowly alternative therapies are being included in doctors’ rehabilitation plans.   Our local hospital, Clarinda Regional Health Center, now offers massage therapy and hypnosis, and we are investigating ways to add acupressure to the list.  This is good news on many levels, not least being that there will be more clinically documented results as hospitals and clinics around the country add more alternative therapy options.

My point is that the lack of research isn’t lack of results -  just complications in documentation.   Be your own judge and try acupressure today!

Comments to share?    Just click on the “Comments” button at the bottom,   or do you have a story to share?   Email me at  bethsteeve@gmail.com    I’d love to hear from you!

Beth Steeve, Licensed Acupressure Practitioner

Acupressure Access and Hands-On Health

www.acupressure-access.abmp.com

Every Breath You Take......

Breathing. We do it unconsciously - unless we don’t.  When we’re thinking about breathing, it’s usually because something is wrong.  But how does it really work?  Just a quick primer.   The inhale floods the lungs with oxygen which is then absorbed by the alveoli (tiny air sacs) and ultimately transported throughout the body via the blood in the circulatory system.   This oxygen exchange is the energetic foundation of life. Our molecular bodies are bundles of frequencies, from the low, denser frequency of bones to the highest frequencies which are comprised of our emotions and thought processes.  John Veltheim explains in The Body Talk System® that with every exhale the brain scans all of the body systems held within the lower frequencies.   As we inhale the higher frequencies are scanned. This scanning process alerts the brain to malfunctions within the frequencies of the body, and the brain sends healing to the malfunctioning area.   If this sounds futuristic, Veltheim has a lot of support in the quantum physics camp.   Since I know nothing about quantum physics, I will plod on.   When in pain,  a person tends to breathe more shallowly, which in turn short circuits the scanning process and the brain does not get the message of malfunctioning so it can send the troups to start the healing cycle.  So why am I going on and on about this?   Take a few moments every day and consciously breathe.    Mary Burmeister of Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. advocates 36 conscious breaths a day - all at once or in 4 series of 9 throughout the day. (See my note on Facebook/Acupressure Access.)  Deep breathing is the key to better health and the natural healing process that is our birthright.   For more information, this process is explained in depth in the book The BodyTalk System available on John Veltheim’s website   www.bodytalksystem.com  In my sessions, I've found BodyTalk®, an innovative light-touch therapy, to be an amazingly effective addition to my work.   For more information, call or email me:   bethsteeve@gmail.com or (712) 542-1100!   Come see for yourself!

Acupressure for Weight Control

Happy Valentine’s Day!     That first flush of love often overwhelms our food addictions.    Unfortunately, as we settle into daily routines together, it is easy to slide back into our food cravings and generally bad eating habits.    Today as we celebrate love, we also tend to regret our general “valentine shaped” outline.   A lot of people ask me if acupressure will help them lose weight.   The answer is complex.   Acupressure helps bring your body chemistry to balance.    Food cravings are a factor of chemical imbalance.  Your body has lost its connection to accurately gauge what it needs, which sends the “hunger messenger” spinning out of control.   Acupressure helps the body reconnect directly to its needs, this reduces cravings and helps you make better food choices.   The first thing I always tell people to do to help bring their body back to balance is to  “sit on your hands.”   Sitting on your hands (tuck your hands right under your sitz bones) activates a powerful regeneration point in the body.  Mary Burmeister, the founder of Jin Shin Jyutsu in the United States, recommended sitting on your hands for 20 minutes twice a day to control eating.   Another self-help point is under your cheekbones next to the nose.   This is a stomach point that helps your stomach settle, and recognize that it is full.    Using these acupressure points will also increase your energy level which in turn contributes to healthier living for long – term weight control.

Oatmeal. Feed your body – feed your skin.

Oatmeal - good for what ails you!

Winter Hideaway

The sun is shining on glistening beautiful pure white snow.   It is -1⁰.    Thinking about something to fuel my body, I remember that oatmeal commercial, “Cccccold ccccereal…..brrrrrr.”    Exactly.   Quick oats take only a minute to cook, a little honey, maybe some cinnamon.    Mm mm good.  

Oatmeal offers a lot of benefits beyond warming your stomach in the morning – although that is nothing to scoff at.   Warm food warms your stomach, enhancing digestion, and warming you from the inside out.  But oatmeal offers a lot of other benefits, too.  Its nutritional benefits include antioxidants, B vitamins, fiber, proteins, trace minerals, and soluble and insoluble fiber. Both soluble and insoluble fiber bind to toxins in the body and carry them away, resulting in reduced skin blemishes and the development of new skin cells.

Speaking of skin…..   Not only is it the largest organ in the body, but it is your first line of defense against infection, cold, heat, and it also helps the body rid itself of toxins.   Oatmeal nourishes the skin, helping it maintain that youthful radiant glow.  Oat proteins include collagen and elastin, which are essential to skin health and constitute the cement that binds skin cells.   Antioxidants and trace minerals promote healthy collagen, which in turn promotes skin rejuvenation and slows the aging process. B vitamins are also essential for ensuring cellular regeneration, protecting skin from environmental stressors and infection.
Oatmeal not only strengthens skin from the inside out, but it has the ability to strengthen skin from the outside in. It is used in moisturizing products to help reduce rough, peeling, and cracked skin. Oatmeal can keep skin properly hydrated and moisturized. As an exfoliant, it also removes dead cells and reduces redness and irritation by removing dirt and oil from pores.

On the inside/out nutritional front, the health benefits associated with oatmeal include its cancer-fighting properties (antioxidants) and reduction of risks associated with diabetes and heart disease. You have probably heard that recent studies show oatmeal helps reduce bad cholesterol (LDL), while raising good cholesterol (HDL.)

 Are you confused by the options at the grocery store?    “Quick” and “old-fashioned” seem fairly easily explained, but what are these “steel cut” oats?   Here’s a quick shopping guide.   “Instant” is prepackaged and presweetened usually in single serving packets.   Quick oats cook in one minute.  Old fashioned cook in five minutes.   “Steel cut” cuts the whole oat, rather than flattens it as in the first three processes.   Not surprisingly, there are also variations in nutrition in the different processing.  As a rule, the more processing, the more nutrition is lost, and, as in “instant” the more additives.

So, go ahead and enjoy a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast on a cold winter morning.   Don’t be afraid to add honey or maple syrup to sweeten it, or milk or juice for variety.  Your skin will thank you!

What are we as human beings?

We are all divine creatures.  We are creatures of spirit anchored in matter.  Traditional Chinese Medicine tells us that the blood anchors our spirits to the body.  Therefore, 'life blood' is not an idle observation.   May you all have a divine 2011!

Why Acupressure?

Acupressure:  the Portal where Mind, Body and Spirit Connect.

 Many alternative healing practices have been in use prior to the birth of Christ.   All alternative therapy forms -  whether it is acupuncture, acupressure, aromatherapy, herbology, reflexology or massage -  have survived many changes in political and social climates and the associated validation, or not, by those in power.   
 Currently there is an up-swelling of interest in alternative medical practices for many reasons, including but not limited to, the absence of negative side effects as well as a whole-body sense of well-being.  
 If your symptoms respond to an acupressure treatment, it is a gentle therapy that doesn’t hurt, doesn’t require your liver or kidney to process a medication, doesn’t conflict with another system in your body, doesn’t create an addiction for which you must suffer withdrawal – to name only a few benefits.  If you request treatment for a backache, you may find that your diarrhea also goes away, or a nagging leg cramp disappears.   Don’t be surprised if you complain of shoulder pain, and your shoulder is never touched in the treatment.   The definition of “pressure point” is a place in the body that has a direct link to, or acts on, another part of the body.    It is time for our medical community to take a serious look at Acupressure as another healing alternative.