Acupressure is a manual technique originating in China and Japan that is used to promote healing and recovery from illness or injury. It has been used effectively for thousands of years and has as much value and relevance now as it ever has.

Historical origins
Acupressure developed in conjuction with the Chinese understanding of reality. Unlike Western cultures, which had a tendency to understand the basis of reality in material terms such as atoms and elements, the Chinese understood reality as an ever-unfolding process which they called 'Dao.' We might translate this as 'the Way of Life' or 'Nature.'

What struck the Chinese as the most basic aspect of nature was that it appeared to be the interplay of two contrasting dynamic principles, which they named Yin and Yang. It is essential to realize that these principles are co-operative not antagonistic. The best example of the cooperative interplay between Yin and Yang is breathing where inhalation and exhalaton each mutually create the possibility of the other.

Theory
Acupressure is a manual healing technique for directing the flow of energy through the living human body. Living things, including human beings, need and use energy. Modern physics has been able to describe all energy as either electromagnetic or gravitational. The energy of life is electromagnetic and may be called 'bioelectricity.'

Every cell in the human body generates bioelectricity. Taken as an entire living organism these cells generate  an electromagnetic field which generates energy currents. The location and nature of these currents is determined by the interplay of anatomical structure (e.g. bone, muscle, nerve, etc.) and the use to which that structure is put (e.g. breathing, eating, walking, grasping, etc.)

Over the last four thousand years the Chinese and other Asian cultures have fleshed out a theory that explains, predicts and influences this flow of bioelectricity, which they named 'qi' (pronounced 'chee'). Both acupressure and acupuncture apply this theory to restore and increase health.

Treatment
Acupressure is a manual healing technique which increases the flow of energy in weak bioelectrical currents and decreases the flow in congested currents. Health is understood as intermediate between too much and too little.

Acupressure is applied with the doctor applying pressure to areas of the body susceptible to an imbalance of bioelectrical flow ('qi'). Usually both hands are used, one to calm an area (muscle and nerve) that is involuntarily overactive; the other hand stimulates areas or points where the muscle lacks good tone. It is the appropriate use of pressure (not force) that corrects the imbalance of tone which caused the symptoms in the first place.

Using acupressure is an art which requires training and skill. And, like all effective human endeavor, it requires good judgment. This judgment is needed not only to determine where and how to apply pressure but also when (and if) to start, how long to continue and when to end treatment.

The major technique used for determining the extent and evaluating the effectiveness of acupressure treatment is palpation. Palpation is listening with the hands. Specifically the doctor checks for:
     -relaxation of tense and painful muscles,
     -increased overall relaxation indicated by slowing and deepening of the breath,
     -a palpable (to the doctor) sensation of vibration or flow in the area treated and
     -increased joint flexibility.
These changes are mediated by the nervous system and occur during treatment. They provide evidence that the treatment is working.

Benefits
In addition to the immediate benefits of decreased pain and increased use there are many other benefits to acupressure treatment. These include:
     -increased energy,
     -improved digestion and elimination,
     -improved circulation,
     -deeper more effective breathing and
     -greater enjoyment of life.
The reason that acupressure can produce these more general and pervasive benefits is because its most profound effect is restoration of ease.

Most illness is a result of the stress of exertion exceeding our capacity to recuperate. Recuperation is a skill which may be learned (or forgotten). Our producer-consumer culture values and rewards the productivity of exertion while it tends to replace relaxation with diversion.

Because acupressure transports you to a state of relaxation and recovery, it creates a door through which you can rediscover the capacity to restore yourself. This self-restoration is the basis upon which exertion is possible.