Before Western medicine, there were Eastern ways of healing and many can even be complimentary to to modern Western medicine, including massage. Find out the benefits of self-massage and how easy it is to do with The Complete Guide of Self-Massage.
Thanks to Tuttle Publishing for providing me with a complimentary copy of The Complete Guide of Self-Massage: A Natural Way for Prevention and Treatment through Traditional Chinese Medicine to read, try, and review.
This book was written by Guo Changqing, an acupuncture professor, chief physician, and doctoral advisor of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, and it includes massage techniques to provide prevention and relief from 50 common ailments.
Table of contents
The book is divided into four chapters:
- Introduction to Meridians, Collaterals and Acupoints
- Acupoint Massage Techniques
- How to Find Acupoints Accurately
- Acupoint Massage for Health and Beauty
Three things I should mention:
- There are always times when seeing a medical doctor is recommended and advised.
- Be sure to read this book carefully and fully before starting any self-massage. For example, if you use acupuncture or moxibustion on facial paralysis you may cause after affects.
- What works for one person may not work for another, just as with any medical intervention.
Introduction to Meridians, Collaterals and Acupoints
The start of The Complete Guide of Self-Massage can be a little dry and overwhelming as you learn about the different meridians, collaterals and acupoints of your body and how to find them, but these are the foundations for building your self-massage. There are plenty of images to help you out.
Acupoint Massage Techniques
In this short chapter you’ll learn about 11 different massage techniques, along with photos and tips.
How to Find Acupoints Accurately
After reading about the technicalities of acupoint massage in chapter one, you’ll be relieved to learn of the 5 ways to find the correct points on your body when you need them. This chapter is only 3 pages, including a handy chart.
Acupoint Massage for Health and Beauty
This takes up the majority of the book, as it should. 50 common ailments and illnesses are covered. For each of these, symptoms are covered and there are several massage techniques given along with the corresponding target acupoints. You may notice that some of the points and techniques can be used for more than one ailment. Each illness also has an orange box that provides more helpful tips.
Some of the illnesses are:
- Stiff Neck
- Optic Nerve Atrophy
- Tennis Elbow
- Knee Pain
- Migraines
- Colds
- Insomnia
- Hiccups
- Tinnitus
- Heel Pain
- Dark Circles
- Rough and Dull Skin
- And many, many more
Listen to your body’s triggers, symptoms, alerts, and what is it saying to you. This isn’t intuitive for everyone, and it takes time. What works well for one may not work for another, and some things will work better for you at times than others. For example, I often get migraines that haven’t been able to be relieved through Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), nor through the reflexology my mother does. Medications do help a little, but not entirely, but I haven’t yet tried all of the 15 techniques for migraines in this book.
This book points out that it’s always best to eliminate or reduce the triggers that cause you to become ill. Prevention is the best cure. Eat well to avoid ailments. Seek medical treatment when necessary.
What has worked for me? Let’s see:
Self-Massage For a Toothache
Late last year I had quite a bad toothache and it was going to be about 4 or 5 days until I could get in to see the dentist. I opened up The Complete Guide of Self-Massage and read through the section about toothaches. I tried the self-massage techniques shown and it really did help. When it was time to see the dentist and I told him what I had been doing to relieve the pain, he looked at me like I was a ‘weirdo.’ But if you learn more and understand that the pressure/massage points are where nerves are located and that’s why using massage on these nerve points causes the warmth and tingling that may accompany some of the techniques and relieves the symptoms, it makes sense. As it was, I had already been instinctively pressing on certain parts of my jaw before opening the book, and I just had to refine what my body was already telling me to do to get the results I needed. Fabulous!
Self-Massage For Palpitation and Anxiety
Last summer I thought I was going along life as usual in the midst of the pandemic when bam! out of the blue one morning I had what must have been a panic attack and passed out. For months after I was in a constant state of palpitations and feeling unwell with no medical reason for them and was essentially told it was all in my head.
Coincidentally, this was just about the time this book arrived at our door so I read the section on palpitation and anxiety. I have been able to relieve these symptoms by using the pressure points on my back in the way instructed in the book. Other times when that alone didn’t work, I’d move on to the Shenmen point of my wrist or the Yongquan point of my foot. Combining these techniques with some breath work I’ve learned now often dissipates my symptoms and helps me relax when the need arises.
What I Think About Self-Massage
“Massage acts chiefly as stimulation for acupoints as part of medical treatment and preventative healthcare” (p21). Why pay for expensive massages when you can learn to do them at home (or elsewhere) on your own and reap the benefits. Learn how your own body speaks to you and how you can relieve your own symptoms for dozens of ailments with one book. Keep it on your bookshelf to refer to when needed, and enjoy the benefits of self-massage. And the best thing is that you don’t need to depend upon someone else – you can do it yourself!
If you’re interested in purchasing The Complete Guide of Self-Massage, it’s available through:
- Tuttle Publishing
- Amazon
- Great bookstores near you
If you’d like to know more or would like to follow Tuttle Publishing, you can connect with them through their website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest (and you can see our other Tuttle reviews here).
More posts about health:
The Complete Guide of Self-Massage Review
Summary
Learn how your own body speaks to you and how you can relieve your own symptoms for dozens of ailments with one book. Keep it on your bookshelf to refer to when needed, and enjoy the benefits of self-massage. And the best thing is that you don’t need to depend upon someone else – you can do it yourself!
