Massage this point on your body to relieve stress and anxiety

one of the famous doctors of traditional Chinese medicine called Dr Dong or Dong was said to have had these magic points because he was so skilled in acupuncture specifically for pain relief that just a few seconds after putting in the needle patients would say they would get instantaneous pain relief And while it is primarily known in our profession for being good for pain relief like orthopedic issues today we're going to talk about anxiety and some of the acupressure points and channels that you can stimulate press or massage in order to get some relief in let's say the next 5 minutes Hey guys I'm Dr Alex Hine board licensed doctor of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine and author of the health book Master Day So let's jump in You know when you think of traditional Chinese medicine when you think that this is practiced in hospitals and in the countryside and it's used for both acute care and chronic diseases when you look at one of these dolls with the channels and the points what does this have to do with actually fixing an illness or diagnosing an illness or symptoms This seems like hocus pocus some esoteric woo woo energy channels as people say in California What does this have to do with actually fixing your anxiety Well actually there's lots of modern research on acupuncture you know because for decades lots of conventional doctors have said it was just a placebo and it's a bunch of bull Now as interesting research comes out more and more researchers and scientists are starting to see there are very fascinating ways that acupuncture works and that it does work So what are some of those ways from a scientific point of view putting needles in these specific points can actually affect your anxiety or your stress levels So the first way that acupuncture works scientifically is that it regulates your autonomic nervous system This is why it's so good for issues like anxiety insomnia and conditions that get worse with stress like for example IBS or menstrual cycle changes You know when you look at these acupuncture channels and these acupuncture points one of the main benefits I explain to my patients is that acupuncture has been shown to shift the body from sympathetic dominance like fight or flight to parasympathetic dominance rest and digest One interesting study done in 2010 actually used fMRI technology to show that acupuncture deactivates your lyic system which is really hyperactive and anxiety disorders and it also increases your veagal nerve activity which promotes relaxation and promotes stress reduction The second way acupuncture works scientifically is that it modulates neurotransmitters So if you've ever seen someone take an anti-depressant or an anti-anxiety medication one class for example is called SSRIs because they work on the serotonin receptors and the serotonin neurotransmitter So what's crazy is that acupuncture and Chinese herbs do also Chronic anxiety is often linked to dysregulation of both the HPA axis but also key neurotransmitters like GABA serotonin dopamine and norepinephrine One study published in 2021 found that acupuncture at the top of the skull by way and also stomach 36 called zusan lee right down here actually increased the GABA activity which had anxiety reducing effects believe it or not similar to bzzoazipines like Xanax The third way that it works is that it regulates the HPA axis So when people think of adrenal fatigue what they're really talking about is the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis the interface between certain centers in your brain and your adrenals Now acupuncture is one of the best ways to regulate that non-farmacologically If you're scared of putting anything in your body you don't want to take Chinese formulas or herbs acupuncture has an amazing effect One study in the Journal of Endocrinology showed that acupuncture at a place called PC6 and Stomach 36 actually reduced your overactive HPA access function in stressed out rats and actually literally lowered their cortisol levels The fourth way it works for anxiety and for stress is that it reduces inflammation and reduces oxidative stress So one study done in 2020 found that acupuncture actually reduces the cytoines in your immune system that increase inflammation and it actually increases antioxidant enzymes which can actually decrease your anxiety symptoms as well The fifth way that it works is that acupuncture actually activates your endogenous opioid system So your body has pain relieving chemicals for example called endorphins and one of the first initial studies done on acupuncture to see how it relieves pain was studying these endorphins So what they found is that acupuncture will yes stimulate the release of these endorphins which is basically your natural anxiety relief and mood boosting one of the kinds of chemicals And a study done in 2018 found that acupuncture at what's called heart 7 and paricardium 6 nuan here on the wrist actually increased your endorphin levels in the brain reducing some anxietylike behaviors Now of course the most important thing if you're looking for where to press or what to do you need to know what is the root cause of your anxiety or your stress according to traditional Chinese medicine For example just tapping on your nose is not going to produce stress relief right Or just tapping on your arm will not make you feel better There actually is a strategy Well as someone who's dealt with this quite a lot I've put together a 1-hour free workshop on the lost Chinese practices that are quietly helping people conquer anxiety and stress So it's the first link below this video You just go to that page punch in your email and it will send you the link to a recording of this workshop I did And it goes into the halfozen or so practices from traditional Chinese medicine that I used when I had these symptoms and I currently use with my patients in my clinic in LA to actually regulate a lot of this stress response and regulate these physiological pathways that we just discussed So go download it It's totally free It's a 1-hour workshop and it will go into five or so practices that you definitely want to hear from your doctor at least a conventional doctor that can really really help So let's discuss three acupressure points that are very very effective and also have been studied in modern clinical research So the very first point is called neuan Neuan is called paricardium 6 Basically the point we'll use is if you can see on me because I have very uh low body fat you can see the tendons on the inside of your arm here If you put three fingers here nuan will be in between the tendons here Now you may have seen this for pregnant women that are nauseous It is commonly a point used for stomach issues or nausea overall But what you want to do is find the wrist crease three fingers and then you're going to find niguan in the center there Right There are various other points in the paricardium channel that are a little closer up But for this purpose three fingers and find wherever the bottom of that is And basically you want to massage the point like this Don't worry if you notice a little bit of numbness You are pressing on the median nerve So that's the normal You're going to massage like this Or you can press and release Press and release Press and release Press and release And you can do that for about 5 minutes each side Nuan is not the most comfortable point to massage because of the median nerve right underneath it You know if you get acupuncture in this point sometimes you do get a little bit of an electrical zinger but it's nothing to worry about But massaging it for 5 minutes each side can be something that's very very helpful The second point we're going to talk about here is heart 7 shenmen or spirit gate So if you find your palm it's on the pinky side and you're going to find the bump on the edge of your wrist your arm here So part seven more comfortable to stimulate than paricardium 6 You can just rub like this on both sides for 5 minutes or sometimes these kinds of self soothing motions like gentle stroking or scrubbing channel scrubbing like this Sometimes the rhythmic quality helps people relax quite a lot So heart 7 basically helps to regulate the heart rhythm and also enhances endorphine release Those neurochemicals that make you feel good right Like after you're running Now the third point we'll discuss here is called biquay or 100 meetings Biway is a little bit hard to demonstrate on myself but basically you can fold the ears and follow where they're level towards the top of the skull Biway modulates brain activity by reducing the hyperactivity in the lyic system It's also been found to increase dopamine and serotonin levels So by way very commonly used point in acupuncture and Chinese medicine What you can do from a self-massage point of view is you can either tap gently tap on bi or of course you can press and release Press and release or just gently massage Right Most people getting a head massage will feel more relaxed anyway no matter where it is uh or you can even gently scratch with with your nails and it's very self soothing on the top of the head as well Now the most important way to actually regulate these symptoms long term is of course you have to do a pattern differentiation You have to know where it's coming from and why it's happening And what I found is that there are about four or five practices that you can do daily from traditional Chinese medicine that work And I've put together a free workshop It's the first link right below this video on the lost Chinese practices that are quietly helping people conquer anxiety stress levels and this kind of adrenal fatigue So it's totally free Punch in your email It'll send you an email of the link to the workshop the recording so that you can watch it And it's an hour long goes all the way through my own story of dealing with significant health issues from this point of view and how I treated it with traditional Chinese medicine So I'd highly recommend checking out that workshop It's about an hour long Get out a notepad It'll give you some good insights for your own healing And don't forget guys I work with a limited number of new patients every month in my clinic in Los Angeles If you want to work with me in person or virtually via tele medicine just go to dr alexhind.com/cl clinic or go to the information box below this video We have the clinic phone number email and direct booking link So you can either book a consultation or a direct visit that way and my staff will reach out And then before you go I have another great video on acupressure for these kinds of symptoms right up here