Acupressure for Family and Friends

Hi, my name is Carol Joy and I'm one of the nurses on the Integrative Medicine team here at University of Maryland Medical Center. And today I have with me Becca who is helping me participate in this protocol to show you how to give an acupressure session to someone in your family who is either lying in bed or on a massage table or a dear friend of yours who may be in need of an acupressure session. So thank you Becca for being my participant. So a little bit about this protocol that I'm going to share with you today. The name of it is called SEVA and it is spelled S-E-V-A. It comes from the language Sanskrit and the word means compassionate service. It was originally designed for the rescue workers of 9-11 specifically so that they could receive it from acupressure practitioners giving it to them while they were sitting in chairs as they came up for breaks and they didn't have to take all their gear off. But it can also be used for someone lying on a table. And we here at University of Maryland Medical Center have been using this acupressure protocol for our patients, family members, and staff members for a number of years to help with the stress relief and to help everyone come to a deep sense of peace and calm. It helps so much on a healing level. We have found it to be extremely beneficial which is why we have decided to make this particular video today. So that's a little bit about what this protocol is. It takes about 15 minutes to do it. The amount of pressure that is used is something that we call interface, meeting the person where their energy is. So if you think of a piece of string holding one end of string and someone's holding the other end of the string, you don't want it to be so taut that the string breaks or so loose that there's going to be a lot of slack in that string. So in essence, I'm going to meet Becca where her energy is today. I'm not going to push too hard, I'm not going to push too light. I'll just meet her where her energy is. And as you get used to working with the person in your family or a close friend of yours that's on the table, you will get used to their energy and you will know how deeply to push or if it's just a very gentle touch. And sometimes that's all it is with this particular acupressure. Also know that you always want to hold two points at the same time. If for some reason you can't reach the two points that are designed at that particular part of the protocol, then find another point to hold because energy flows from one point to another. So for those of you that have tubes or drains or dressings and we can't get to a particular point, we'll just work around that. We'll talk more about that as I work on Becca. So the first part of this protocol actually starts with what we call a leg stretch. And if the person lying down is unable to do a leg stretch, I'll show you something else that we can do instead. But for right now, we'll start off with the leg stretch. So just put your hands beneath their ankles and gradually begin to lift their legs and imagine a little bit of a bend to their legs as you lift towards you. With a little bit of that curve coming underneath their legs as you're pulling towards you, you might see that person take a gentle, deep inhalation with this leg stretch and you may not. That's okay. Gradually let the legs down and just hold for a few seconds. Hold that energy and that space. If it turns out that the person that is lying in the bed or on the massage table is unable to have their legs stretched, that's okay. You can just come in and start off either by just holding their feet this way or you can even go to the very bottoms of their feet and take your fingers and just hold gently right underneath each foot. It's another way of starting this protocol if they're unable to do the leg stretch. Although the leg stretch is really the optimal way to start it. So we have started off with point one of this acupressure protocol. This protocol is called SEVA. It is spelled S-E-V-A. And the word comes from the language Sanskrit and it means compassionate service. And that is actually what you're doing for this person that's lying down, helping them to come to a deep sense of healing and peace as you're holding these acupressure points. As you begin to hold these points, know that you always want to hold these points at the same time. Notice that I'm holding Becca's feet, but I'm holding both of them, not just one, because energy flows from one point to another. If for some reason I was unable to reach both of these points on Becca, then I would hold one point here and another point somewhere else on her so that the energy could flow from one point to another. So this is point one. And as you're holding this point, you want the person that you're working with to begin to come fully into this moment. Stay with the point for a little bit of time. And then we will gradually move on to point two. So now I'm going to go and show you point two as if someone's lying in the bed or on the massage table. There are two different ways to approach this. The optimal way is to approach point two at the same time from both the left side of the body and the right side of the body. And that is sliding your hands in underneath that person's back and using your fingers. I generally use this finger because it's easiest to reach the point, but sometimes you might want to use two fingers or just the one finger. Whichever works for you is just fine. So we are going to the middle of Becca's back on either side of the spinal cord. If it is difficult for you to reach around that person and get to those two points, the alternate way of doing this is to hold point two and point three together on one side and then on the other side. And I'll show you. There are a total of 16 points in this protocol, and right now we're at point two. So point three, if I were doing this properly the way the protocol calls for, would be to move down to just behind the knees. However, I'm going to show you how to combine point two and point three together. If you are unable to reach point two like this, then just pick one side of the body, hold your hand under that person's back, take your other hand and hold it underneath their knee. So now you have point two and point three. In this particular case, I'm on Becca's left side. So I would hold these two points for a little bit on her left side, and then I would move to the right side. And for the camera's purpose, I'm not going to physically move, but you could move around the table or the bed and then hold these points. I just wanted to demonstrate to you that that's an alternate way to do this. But let's go back so that Becca can really feel this acupressure protocol, and let's go back to point two the way it is designed to be. So as you're holding these points, give that person some space to feel the support that is coming from your hands to their back. And allow that person to just settle in and feel that wonderful support that you are providing for them. You may want to hold this point until you feel a pulse, and you might feel that pulse become equal on each point. Or perhaps you don't feel a pulse, but you just hold it for maybe 30 seconds, maybe a minute, maybe longer. You'll know and you'll get a sense when it's time to move on to the next point. So again, just allow the person that you're working with to rest back and be supported while you're holding these points. So now I'm going to show you point three, which also repeats itself later in the protocol as point 12. They are right behind the knees, so you can slide your fingers in behind each one of the knees and just hold those points. Again, just hold them gently, softly, knowing that you're supporting the person by holding these points for them and allowing them to soften and relax as they continue to come fully into this moment and they rest back and are supported by your touch. Just allow for that deep softening and deep relaxation as you continue to hold these points for the person that you are working with. Nice and quiet, peaceful and calm. If you choose to have music on during this time, choose something soft and calming. You can also do it without the music. It's deeply relaxing in the quiet. So again, this is point three and it repeats later as point 12. We are now ready to move on to point four, which is right up here at the very top near the shoulders and the upper back. I'm going to show you two different ways of approaching this point. So one is from the side, and that is if you can't get behind the bed or behind the massage table, then you're going to have to do it from the side. The other and the more optimal way is to be behind the head here. Just take your thumbs and gently hold down right here. I'm going to rest my fingers on her shoulders or in the front, but the points are actually right here that I'm going for on Becca. For now, there is nothing you need to worry about or make any decisions about. Just rest back and feel the gentle peace, the gentle calm, and the rest and relaxation that comes to you as these points are being held. And from point four, we will begin to move down to point five, which is going to go all the way down the arms to the fingers. Again, there's two different ways of approaching this. If you are able to stand in the back of the table or the bed, you can start both of the arms at the same time with a gentle squeeze coming down and stopping midway at the elbow, right where the crease is when you bend the elbow, and holding those points right there that I'm showing you now because those points help to boost the immune system. We are then going to continue down each arm, which I can't do from the back of the table, so I will do each arm individually. So I'm going to move to this side of the table. If for some reason I couldn't start from the back, I would start with each arm individually up here and move down and then hold this point and then continue down very gradually. I oftentimes will stop around the wrist. There's some very important acupressure points around the wrist, both sides of the arm, so it's good to just hold that space and then continue down to the fingers, each individually. I generally go to the thumb first and then work my way over to the pinky, but it doesn't matter, just so long as you use all of the fingers. If you're working on someone that has tubes or drains or dressings anywhere on their body where these points are and you are unable to get to the points because of those dressings or drains or tubes, just skip over them and don't worry about it. It will still work, particularly the arms, oftentimes there's lots of IV lines in the forearm right here. And so, when I get to that point, I just move over to the point where I can then get to and I'm able to reach without dislodging the dressing or any of those tubes or drains. And it works just as well for the person as long as you keep working the protocol. I like to stay for a little bit with each hand, just hold that energy. And as you're holding this for the person that you're working with, know that you are helping them to release what is no longer theirs to hold on to. is no longer useful to them. For the purposes of the camera today, I'm going to show you moving down Becca's right arm from this side of the table. However, it's probably most ideal for you to actually move to that side of the table and work that side of the arm just as I had worked her left side of the arm. You can still work this way. It's just a little bit more cumbersome for the person that's giving it. And we stop halfway and hold that point on the elbow where the elbow crease is to help boost the immune system. And again, working down gently and slowly to that person's wrist and then to each one. Again, knowing that you are helping this person to release what is no longer useful to them. And now we are going to come up to point six. There's two different ways of approaching point six. If again, you are unable to get to the back of the table, the best way is to slide your hand underneath the back of that person's neck. And the point is right at the base of the neck at the very top of the back. Holding that point with one hand, taking your other hand, and ideally sliding it up the back of the head, although that is oftentimes difficult to do from the side. And sometimes you might be working with someone that has dressings around their neck or cervical collars, in which case you can't even get to this point on the back, which is okay. You just skip it. So remember, you always want to work around that. So you can bring the energy up while you're holding the point with one hand in the back up to the top of the head and off the crown of the head. And you can hold the other side of the head and gently sweep the energy up and off the top of the head again. This is oftentimes how we have to do it in the hospital because it's almost impossible to get behind the bed and do what I'm about to show you, which would be very nice if you had a massage table or if you were able to get behind the bed at home. And that would be to slide your hands underneath that person's head. Again, if they have a cervical injury, you would never do this part. You would skip this point. You might just gently bring your hands up the sides of their head like I just showed you, but you would not touch the neck. But in this case, you would just touch the very top of their back, hold that point for a little bit, and gently, very gently bring your fingers up the back of their neck, very gently, dragging gently, slowly, slowly, softly up their scalp through the very top of their head, just gently allowing their hair to just fall gently as you come through and you bring that energy up. And then you very gently come back to their forehead with a brow sweep, a very slight touch. This is so deeply relaxing that if you want to do it again, you can. Oftentimes, the person that you're working with will tell you that they really love this point, and you can go back and do this point again. It's such a wonderful point that it repeats itself twice in this protocol. It's number six and number 14, although when you get to number 14, the person that you're working with is so deeply relaxed. This is a very different feel to it once you get to it, and you'll see as you begin to work with the points. So gently hold at the top of the back, and again, bring your fingers up all the way through the back, slowly, softly, and you have that nice brow sweep. And from this position, it is very easy to go right into point seven, which is right here. I am beneath the clavicle, halfway between the sternum and the shoulder blade, right here. It's point seven. If I couldn't do it from behind the bed, then I would approach it from the side. Some of you may have dressings or ports that are right here or right here, in which case you do not want to use the acupressure point there, so you want to modify. And remember, because energy flows from one point to another, if you're able to get to this point but not this point, perhaps you just hold the energy here, really anywhere on the body. You could hold the arm over there, you could hold the head, whatever worked, whatever is comfortable for you and for the person that you're working with, so that you're still holding the energy at least on one of these points. But the optimal position is to hold both of these points at the same time. So this is point seven. And as you're holding point seven for the person that you're working with, know that with every breath they take, you are allowing them to become more calm, centered, and whole. And from point seven, we're going to move on to point eight, which is two points. One is right underneath the armpit, and the other is at the base of the pinky on the wrist side. So we have the base of the armpit right here, and the base of the pinky on this side. Both of these points make up point eight. Again, right here, the middle of the armpit, and the base of the pinky on the wrist side. You can hold it with two fingers if you want, or just one. These acupressure points are heart points on the heart meridian. So you're actually helping this person to be guided by their own heart as you're holding the energy of these points. And again, for the purposes of the camera, I will show you the same exact points from here while I hold Becca's arm on this side of the table. But it would probably be better if you moved to the other side of the table while you were giving this to someone. So we're going to go, and in this case, it's easier for me to reach it with my thumb. And I'm sliding in from this side of the wrist, holding the same points on her other arm. Same two points on the heart meridian. For those of you that don't know what a meridian is, it's an energy pathway. And that's what the acupressure uses, the energy pathways that flow through our system. And as we are finishing up with these two points, we're ready to move on to point nine at the center of the chest. And the best way to do this is, well, as you're working on someone, there's two ways. One way is taking your hand and making a little teepee out of it, putting your hand right in the center of the chest, putting your other hand over it. The alternate way, if you're able to slide your hand under them, and I'm going to slide my hand under the sheet here, slide it right under the back of their chest, right under the back of the middle of their chest. And so you meet the energy with the front of the chest and the back of their chest. So the energy is actually going right through. So if you can do that for the person that's lying on the table or in bed, that's one way. The easier way, of course, is to just put your hand like a little teepee and the other hand over it. And either way works just fine. So here we have point nine. And because we're so close to the heart, this is a really powerful point that can bring a lot of deep healing to people. So as you're holding this point for them, know that you're holding the space and allowing them to be kind to themselves and to others as you're holding this energy so very close to their heart. Point nine. And you can hold this longer. I'm going to move on and show you point 10, but know that you can stay with this point longer, especially point nine, because it's so close to the heart. It's such a beautiful point. Point 10 is just below the rib cage. And the best way of doing this, especially since so many of our patients have dressings here or drains, if that's the case, I would not even put my hands over the dressings or drains. I might just hold the energy right over there. Or I might skip point 10. But if there were no dressings or drains there, I gently just rest my hands below the rib cage, knowing that I'm holding the energy for this person to feel at home within themselves and for them to trust their inner wisdom. Feel at home within yourself and trust your inner wisdom. So now I'm going to show you point 11, which is actually right beneath the knees. There's three points involved here. The first point is actually right about here on the inside of the knee. The second point is about here on the outside of the knee. So we have point 11. And as you move into this point, you want whoever it is you're working with to feel stable and supported as they move forward. Just stay with this point. Very peaceful and calming. And allow them to feel the energy of these points as you help them to feel stable and supported. Point 11. The first few times that you do this for someone, it may feel like you're waiting a long time. But you're really not. Because as you're supporting this person on the table or in the bed, they are going into a very deep state of relaxation. And they are allowing these points to help them reach that state. So it's okay to stay in that quiet state. From 11, we are going to move on to point 12, which is a repeat of point 3, which is behind the knees. So we go to point 12. And as we hold these points for the person that you are working with, we ask that their endeavors flow with ease and with grace. Just stay in that quiet space, allowing their endeavors to flow with ease and grace. And now we are ready to move on to point 13. So as we move on to point 13, know that you have been creating a peaceful and calm space for your person laying on the table or in the bed. We will move to 13. 13 involves holding the toes of each foot, just as we did earlier with the fingers. You can hold the toes individually at first with a gentle pressure to each toe. And you can see that I have two hands on her left foot right now. Even though I'm only really working with my left hand, I'm still holding the energy with my right and allowing the space for her to feel the energy. Moving on to her other foot, holding each toe individually, just like we did with the other foot, gently holding all the toes together. And again, just staying in that space and allowing for that moment of support to come through for the person that you're working with. So we are ready for point 14, which is a repeat of six. As you'll recall, slide your hand under the very top of their back, center, top of their back. And then you can begin to gently bring the energy up to the top of their head, if you are only able to reach them from the side. Or again, if they have dressings there or tubes or drains and you can't do the other motion, which I will show you in just a moment, which is a repeat of number six again. And if you're able to get behind the table or behind the bed, by this point, whoever you're working with is going to be so deeply relaxed that they most likely will not even help you raise their head. So you'll be supporting them completely. Hold that space behind their back. Gently bring that energy up across the brow. So number 15, oftentimes when I do this in the hospital, in fact most of the times, and probably most of the times when you do this at home, the best way to do this is to hold the energy space between here and here. However, the way I have been taught and the more optimal way on a massage table for a client who has been pretty healthy and out walking around, pretty busy in their daily lives, is to slide your hand underneath their back with the sheet underneath to help pull until you reach the coccyx, the very tip of the spinal cord, with one hand, in this case my left hand, and then the right hand at the very top of their head or just off their head. So you're holding all of this energy that you've just worked with, with all of these different acupressure points, and allowing for the deepest healing to occur at the very end of this protocol. So whether you hold it like this or you hold the energy space like this, it works just as well. This is actually easier for the person that's giving it, and it works very well for many of our patients. This is number 15. So in many cases you might actually feel a pulse while you're holding this space. It's the energy, it's the pulse of the energy that you are actually holding. As strange as it sounds, I have felt this many times working with patients, and it is a deeply healing experience for them just holding the space, even though it looks a little unusual or a little odd. For us to be holding this space in the So just hold it and be with that space and know that you are helping them to feel the ground beneath them and the sky above them as you hold this deep space for the person that you are working on. And then we're going to finish with point 16, which is the same leg stretch that we started off with on point 1. So instead of just dropping the energy, I gradually let it just kind of move out as I continue to hold that energy for that person. Gradually let it be, and we are going to finish the SEVA protocol now with a final leg stretch or just holding the feet. If it's a leg stretch, again, just a gentle pull up and then down. Hold that energy for a little bit longer. And then to disconnect from the energy from the person that you've been working with, cross your hands and then just step away. If you don't do the leg stretch and you're just holding the energy in their feet at the very bottom, either this way, or you're holding these points at the bottom of their feet, you still want to cut off the energy that you have connected between each other at the very end. So they are in their own energy space and you are in your own energy space, which you have been throughout this whole protocol. But this is a nice way of cutting it off. Just cross your hands again, step back, and that is the SEVA protocol that we use when we're actually working with someone lying down. I hope this has been helpful to you and to your loved ones that you may be giving this to. If you have questions, we will have a diagram that will be up with the points on a sheet of paper so you can look at them in addition to everything I've gone through. And I hope you find this deeply healing for yourself as well. Thank you.