According to traditional Chinese medicine, imbalances in your appetite can mean that your qi or vital life force isn't flowing as abundantly as it should. Acupressure can help your digestive system distribute the energy you get from food more efficiently, and in turn ease food cravings. Combine acupressure with a healthy, qi-rich eating plan to help you feel energized, nourished, and in harmony with the seasons.
Theory
In TCM, food isn't simply a source of calories and vital nutrients. It is the primary way your body acquires qi. In addition to drawing qi from your environment, your body derives 70 percent of its qi from food, notes Joerg Kastner, M.D., acupuncture practitioner and author of "Chinese Nutrition Therapy." Use acupressure to stimulate the flow of qi through your digestive system and your entire body, but make sure you're eating the right foods and getting adequate rest, too.
Key Concepts
If you're not just hungry, but suffering from junk food cravings, you might want to examine your emotions, according to Michael Reed Gach, founder of the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, California. In his book "Acupressure for Emotional Healing," Gach notes that anxiety and depression can leave you feeling undernourished on a spiritual and emotional level, which in turn can cause food cravings. An acupressure plan that soothes you emotionally can help you keep your food choices on track.
Considerations
Among the most common causes of excessive appetite is qi deficiency in the spleen. When it's functioning well, the spleen distributes energy from the food you eat to the rest of the organs and your limbs, says Anasuya Batliner, Asian bodywork therapist, on her website My Body Wisdom. Spleen qi deficiency symptoms include excess weight gain, bloating in the abdomen, fatigue and weakness in the limbs. Any foods that are easy to digest, are warm in temperature, and seasoned with warming spices like ginger, chilis or cinnamon will help your spleen function more smoothly and deepen the effects of any acupressure you receive.
Research
Acupressure can help maintain modest weight loss, according to a 2007 clinical trial published in the "Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine" by Charles Elder and colleagues at the Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon. Study participants followed a 12-week group weight-loss program called Freedom from Diets. Mean weight loss during this program was 10 to 14 pounds during the 12 weeks. Patients who used the Tapas Acupressure Technique regained only 0.2 lb. in the 12 weeks following the completion of the Freedom from Diets program, despite having trouble maintaining weight loss in the past.
Try This
To help your digestive system function more efficiently, massage the top of your shoulder muscles, four finger widths from your neck, with firm downward strokes for one minute. Apply firm upward pressure to both sides of the bridge of your nose next to the inner corner of each eye for one minute on each side. Place your middle finger on your forehead between your eyebrows, massaging with upward strokes for one minute. Press the center of the hollow between your nose and upper lip, massaging with downward strokes for one minute. To ease emotional tension associated with any digestive issues, massage the tender point in the center of your chest. Locate the point by tracing a line level with your nipples. Apply upward strokes until any tenderness is gone, advises Acupressure Online.
References
- "Chinese Nutrition Therapy;" Joerg Kastner; 2009
- "Acupressure for Emotional Healing;" Michael Reed Gach and Beth Ann Henning; 2004
- My Body Wisdom: Spleen Qi Deficiency---A Nutritional Perspective
- "Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine;" Randomized Trial of Two Mind-Body Interventions for Weight-Loss Maintenance; C. Elder et al.; January-February 2007
- Acupressure Online: Weight Loss
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