Breathe in Calm and Self-Love with Acupressure for Anxiety
Summer, the Fire Element, can naturally be a time of more anxiety, as we are in the Elemental season that is paired with the Heart. The Heart rules all emotions, but has a particular affinity to anxiety, overwhlem and even overexcitement. We are also in a time of staying up later with the extended daylight, socializing more and heat! All that together can stretch us to feeling ungrounded and have a hard time calming that Heart space. I talked about how the antidote to calming Fire is connecting to Water. One way to connect to Water is creating moments of stillness to balance all the movement of Fire. Acupressure and breathing a great “Yin” stillness practice to sprinkle throughout your day. Below I’ll highlight a wonderful acupressure point for connecting to the Heart and grounding anxious energy.
Acupressure is Self-Love
Acupressure itself, when done with gentleness and care, is an act of self-love in and of itself. Self-love by nature is calming to the emotional body held within us. Self-love equals safety. Use it as a time to reconnect with yourself and call your energy back to yourself, to your home base. Even just a few breaths can be an oasis of healing throughout your day. Those little moments, like drops of water in pond, over time will fill up your inner well.
Heart 7- Inner Gate
This acupressure point is named Inner Gate, as it allows us to open the inner gate to ourselves and our inner lives. Our emotional landscape is first an internal experience. It’s an expereince with ourselves that has ripple effects into our thoughts, our relationships and our world. The Heart is the empress of all of our emotions, so even though I mention anxiety here, the Heart and this point can really connect to any emotional experience you may be having and can bring healing.
How to do it:
To find Heart-7, bring your index finger to the point on the outer left edge of inner wrist crease. If you put your finger there while bending your wrist towards you, you will feel a little dip. That is the point we are looking for. It may be a little sore if you press into it.
After locating the point, use your index finger to apply gentle pressure to the point.
Slowly take 10 deep breaths in and out as you connect with the point. You may also experiment with imaging you are sending healing light into that point and see that light moving up your inner arm into your heart space, encircling and healing your heart. If you are feeling anxiety in your head or stomach you can imagine it traveling there as well. Keep breathing with the point for however long feels nourishing. Take a moment afterwards to notice how you feel. Any shifts?
Some helpful tips:
I find it helpful to connect with the image of the sun or stars and breathing that brilliant light through me into the point.
When exhaling, imagine a cloud of smoke leaving every pour of your skin, as if you can visualize yourself detoxing emotionally or physically
You can use a stone or crystal instead of your finger
Use a mantra as you breath:
Inhale Love, exhale fear.
Inhale Love, exhale fear.
Inhale Love.
Exhale and expand Love throughout your whole body.
(by Wendy De Rosa)
Try it, we never know if something will be helpful until we try it for ourselves, usually more than once. Let me know how it goes!!
May it bring you a sense of your wondrous self, the power to heal within.