(Photo by Walti Göhner/Pixabay )
Acupressure and reflexology are two great ways you can relieve natural pain from all over your body. According to the American Academy of Reflexology, both acupressure and reflexology fall into the category of touch therapies called reflex therapies, but they each work under very different energetic principles and extremely different reflex point locations.
Acupressure, the Academy said, deals with over 14 long thin energy lines called meridians that run most of the length of the body. There are more than 800 pressure points along these lines, it said, and fewer than 30 of these are found on the feet and the hands. There is only one meridian acupressure point on the bottom of the feet; similarly, there is just one meridian even coming close to the ear, in the crease behind the outer ear.
But the Academy said that, in contrast, reflexology has an entire reflex map of the body on the feet, and a second complete reflex map of the body on the hands and yet a third complete reflex map of the body on the outer ear. While acupressure therapy will help relieve tension as well as promote the body’s production of endorphins, or natural pain killers, reflexology is a type of massage that involves applying different amounts of pressure to the feet, hands, and ears.
The Pasadena Senior Center wants to teach you more about these two techniques, so they’re conducting a virtual class for you on Friday and Saturday, February 5 and 6, with Joe Altmark, who has been a Shiatsu acupressure and reflexology therapist for 23 years. The class will then go on every Friday, at 2 p.m., and Saturday at 11 a.m., up to February 27.
In this webinar, you will learn how to use acupressure and reflexology in order improve your life’s quality on a physical, emotional and spiritual level.
A therapist at Bodywork in Pasadena, Joe Altmark will offer participants the opportunity to ask questions regarding specific issues about reflexology and acupressure, and about touch therapy in general.
To register for the class, visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org/lectures-events/online-events/3415-acupressure-and-reflexology and click on the Register Online button. Register using both buttons on the page to receive the Zoom links for Fridays and Saturdays.
