Dear Friends
I wanted to share this exercise from my Acupressure toolkit with you as it is such a life saver, and also a really important mental and emotional emergency first aid tool for me. It is a quick 5 minute routine that I use daily, on my healing journey, to support me through times of mental and emotional stress and overwhelm, spiritual disconnection, as well as physical exhaustion and fatigue. It’s a routine that I came across in Donna Eden’s book ‘Energy Medicine for Women’. It works on sedating the Triple Warmer Energy meridian, which I will talk more about in another post. It really is a simple and easy routine to practise.
Like I mentioned above I will talk more about Acupressure, the Meridians and energy medicine, over the weeks and months to come. It’s a vast subject and one that I am passionate about. But to give you a basic level of understanding to help you practise this exercise I am going to some up the very, very basics of Acupressure in a short paragraph.
Acupressure & the Meridians
When I get asked about what Acupressure is, I always start by saying that it is like Acupuncture but without the needles. Acupressure is an alternative therapy that uses pressure applied, often from a finger, on specific points on the meridian lines around the body to promote wellness, relaxation and homeostasis in the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine talks about the meridians as being invisible channels in the body that carry energy, (called Chi or Qi) around all organs and parts of our body. It is said that when one or more of these meridians are blocked or out of balance, we get sick. Using Self Acupressure we can apply gentle pressure ourselves to specific points along each of these meridians to help restore balance, wellness, relaxation and wellbeing in our body and mind.
I have used Acupressure over the years to balance and calm my emotions, release stress and treat common physical ailments such as neck and shoulder tension, backache and headache. And, like I said above I have found it to be an absolute life saver for me on my journey of healing from sexual abuse.
The Triple Warmer Meridian (the very basics)
In this exercise that I am sharing with you today pressure will be applied to points on The Triple Warmer Meridian. This meridian is said to be connected to our fight, flight, freeze response and the adrenals. In times of high states of alertness and stress mentally, emotionally and physically, this meridian and the adrenals can get out of balance. Working to sedate The Triple Warmer Meridian, at these times is really useful to not only calm, centre and relax the body and mind but also ease that state of over arousal and stress in the body.
I have found this exercise extremely useful in helping me to manage the effects of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), my hyper vigilant tendencies and over active state of alertness which I developed early as a child to cope with the trauma and abuse that I was experiencing. It helps me to calm and centre my whole body and bring me back into a state of relaxation reducing the harmful effects of the constant stress and triggering of the fight, flight, freeze response that I constantly feel and experience as I continue to journey and heal from my childhood abuse.
How I find this techniques helps me
This technique is for me, by far, the most practised/utilised tool that I have in my toolbag. I use it most days, if not daily, to bring balance and calm back into my life. For me it is always the first port of call, out of all my tools, whether in moments of crisis, overwhelm, stress or just when I’m needing some calm, comfort or to relax. Without failure, for me, it brings me back to a state of balance, quickly, effectively and with very little effort.
It helps me above all to:
Calm my mind
Relax my body
Ground
Reconnect to myself when I have lost myself in and amongst all the mental and emotional processing of my trauma
Come back to my still centrepoint
Gain clarity in the midst of chaos and overwhelm
Calm and quieten my anxious and overactive mind
Re-connect when I have lost my connection to myself and life
Lift my mood in times of depression
Calm my nerves and overwhelmed or overactive Fight-flight-freeze response
What I love about this tool
What I love about this technique is how quick and easy it is to use. 5 minutes is really all you need and you don’t need anything other than yourself to do it. You can do it in most situations and places. The reason why I say most is that it does require you to be seated and to be able to take your shoes off, to practise both stages of the exercise. But even at work I have been able to manage to do that in times of need. If you really need to practise and are not able to sit down and remove your shoes then you can do just the first part of the routine and that will certainly help and be of great benefit.
So here it is…
Sedating The Triple Warmer Meridian – The Practice
PLEASE READ: Before You Practise
To ensure safe practice always start by reading the guidelines to practising acupressure by clicking on this link. Please also seek immediate advice from medical professionals, on using acupressure, before practising this or any other acupressure exercises, should you have any existing medical conditions, thank you.
How to practise The Triple Warmer Sedating Exercise
Step 1 – Locate the pressure points
Before you practise take a few moments to locate all four points that you will be working on in this routine. To help you do this I have included a video link below that explains the location of the points and also pictures and a written description to help you.
The location of the Triple Warmer Sedating Points
Source: Eden Energy Medicine
https://www.innersource.net/em/article/487-store/1202-triple-warmer-meridian-strengthening-sedating-points.html
Stomach 36. (St.36) Also called the Three Mile Point. Location: Four finger widths below the kneecap, to the outside of the shinbone. One finger width from the outside of the shinbone. If you are on the right spot your muscle should flex as you move your foot up and down
Triple Warmer 10 (TW10) is positioned on the central line of your elbow about 1.5 fingers width from the main elbow bone. To locate this point, extend or straighten your right arm out. Place the tip of your left hand middle finger on the central point or tip of your elbow. Slow and gently slide your finger upwards , staying in the central line of your upper arm, about a finger and a half width towards your upper arm. Your finger will fall into a natural dip. This is where TW10 is located.
Bladder 66 (B66) is located on the outside of your little toe, towards the base of the toe. In the inward curve where the toe meets the foot.
Triple Warmer 2 (TW2) .Is located in between the knuckles of your little finger and ring finger. It is easiest to locate with your hand outstretched, palm faced down.
Here is a useful video that helps to illustrate the location of the points:
Once you have completed step 1, come into a comfortable seated position making sure that you are wearing loose, comfortable clothing. Check that you won’t be disturbed and that you will be comfortable sitting for just over 5 minutes. You can practise this exercise sitting on the floor, on a bed, or in a comfortable chair. If practising in a chair use a footstool or pile of books to raise your feet up so that you are comfortably able to reach your knees and feet without straining in any way, particularly your back.
For this exercise you will need to be able to comfortably reach just below your right knee (stomach 36) with your left hand whilst simultaneously reaching over with your right hand to hold your left elbow (Triple Warmer 10), and then the reverse. You will also need to be able to comfortably reach both feet with the opposite hands.(For Bladder 66 and Triple Warmer 2)
Image taken from Energy Medicine for Women by Donna Eden
Step 3 – Check the 3P’s
We are almost ready to practise but before we do let’s do a final check of the 3p’s
- Points – Are you comfortable with the location of the points you are working on. You’ll often, although not always, know you are in the right spot for the point if the area is tender. Often, when there is imbalance in the body the area on the point may be tender.
- Posture – Check your posture and that you are not straining in any way, in particular your back and shoulders. Check that you can reach and hold the position of the points without staining for the duration of the exercise. Whichever position you are choosing to practise in make sure before you hold your positions for practise that you are comfortable reaching the points before you come to practise. You will be holding the points for around 3 minutes on each side of the body so make sure that you are comfortable first.
- Pressure – Check you are comfortable with the level of pressure that you are going to apply. Donna Eden speaks about the level equating to that which you would apply in order to hold a penny onto a wall.
Stage 4 – Holding the Triple Warmer Sedating Points
So now you know where the points are and how to practise safely, Here are the instructions for practise:
PART 1
- Place your middle finger of your right hand on pressure point Stomach 36 on your right leg and simultaneously cross your left arm over your body and place the middle finger of your left hand on pressure point Triple Warmer 10 on your right arm. As described above and illustrated below in Figure 3-5 a. Press down with a gentle, but firm pressure, (remember like holding a pin onto a wall) . Hold for about 2 minutes breathing deeply.
- Then repeat on the other side by placing your middle finger of your left hand on pressure point Stomach 36 on your left leg and simultaneously crossing your right arm over your body to place the middle finger of your right hand on pressure point Triple Warmer 10 on your left arm.
PART 2
- Place your index finger of your left hand on pressure point Bladder 66 on your right hand and your middle finger of your right hand on pressure point Triple Warmer 2 on your right foot. Hold for about 1 minute, breathing deeply.
- Then repeat on the other side by placing your index finger of your right hand on pressure point Bladder 66 on your left hand and your middle finger of your left hand on pressure point Triple Warmer 2 on your left foot. Apply pressure and hold for about 1 minute, breathing deeply.
- To finish, return to a comfortable position, taking 3 deep breaths, feeling the benefits of your practise before continuing with your day.
How I know the practise is working
Like I said, this routine is very simple and easy to practise. Once I became familiar with how to practise, it wasn’t long before I could feel the benefit and feel how it was working in my body. For me now I feel the benefits instantaneously and there are very clear signs that this technique is working for me, and by that I mean that my energy is unblocking and flowing once more.
I begin to yawn, and I can feel my energy literally flowing more freely within. My head feels clearer/less foggy, my vision becomes clearer/brighter and sharper. I begin to sigh as I feel my body rebalancing, letting go of excess energy and tension, calming and relaxing. I feel myself ground and literally come into my body more. I am more able to feel and inhabit all parts of my body, in particular my legs and feet in those times when it feels I exist only in my head and not below the neck. These are some of the ways that I know the practise is working for me. It may be different for you.
Like I mentioned above, this exercise comes from Donna Eden’s book entitled ‘Energy Medicine For Women’. I highly recommend this book and indeed all of her work. She is one of the leading teachers in the field of Energy Medicine.
I hope you find this exercise helpful.
Until next time
With love
Sophia Grace