Massage: Orbit Acupressure

Massage

Orbit Acupressure

Classic pictures of acupoints for the conception and governor vessels.

Given that "opening the orbit" is generally recognized as important in Taoist work, it's surprising that, in a Taoist discussion-site poll, only one person in eight had practiced orbit acupressure. Its one of those approaches that is so obvious that no one thinks of nor tries it, yet it's one of the most effective - both for initial opening of the orbit and for maintenance.

I find it especially out-of-place that people usually enter popular forms of Taoism in the interest of transforming the most physical energies in the body, yet they often exclusively use mind-only methods of opening channels. That approach just doesn't make sense.

Easy: Explore

An effective start of orbit acupressure can be done by hand (plus some inexpensive massage tools), with no special knowledge; all that's needed is a sense of curiosity, of exploration. Its not initially necessary to know the formal names, locations, functions of the acupoints. Simply massage the places that you can reach, all along your front & back center lines, and feel for places that are a little tender or sore, or that you are curious about. You want to create a flow through the orbit, so massage several areas, not just one. Yet, it's not only about flow...

Points of Transformation: Are your acupoints happenin'?

People often talk about "opening" a channel and "opening" an acupoint merely in terms of getting from a condition of "stuck, won't flow" to "flowing through". While flowing is certainly much better than jammed up, it is still missing much of what channels and acupoints are about.

Per Chinese medicine, blood and qi doesn't merely shwoosh through channels: specific things happen that transform the quality of energy, particularly at the acupoints. The acupoints are places of transformation, where lanes merge, connections are made to other channels, organs, and layers of the body. Two or more things mix at an acupoint and the result is increased harmony and health. Most of the alchemy of channels occurs at acupoints, and merely flowing energy past an acupoint doesn't necessarily activate that point. So, how to activate an acupoint?

Pulsing: The Yin~Yang of Acupoint Massage

A major trick to activate an acupoint is to massage with some sort of rhythmic compression ~ expansion. This might be a light tapping of fingertips on the skin. It might be a gentle deep massage that repeatedly massages ~ releases, or an electric massage gizmo whose vibrations create micro expansions ~ contractions. Some sort of movement is much more effective than just steady pressure because rhythmic compression ~ expansion enhances the pumping of blood and qi. This often results in a sensation of pulsing at the acupoint.

But not always.
Not always at the point, sometimes the pulsing is felt elsewhere.
Sometimes you're massaging away pain-tenderness at an acupoint.
Sometimes you don't feel anything right away, but persistence opens channels in the long run.

finger-tip tapping twiddling tapping

Try gently tapping several places along your orbit until each pulses.

The belly button is often forgotten. It's a very powerful acupoint (ShenQue, Ren-8) that can be activated by gently tapping it until it pulses. I suggest that you do this only very rarely and not before sleep. You might have to do other balancing practices for a number of days after activating the bb, so this is not for beginners.

Serious Studious

By massaging away pain-tenderness and/or producing pulsing, an acupoint is activated - and it does what it does. Each one is different and if you'd like to study about specific acupoints then I recommend the book, A Manual of Acupuncture; it is the English-language resource. If you don't have a background in Chinese medicine then a fair amount will be incomprehensible but some things can be gleaned by the new-comer and knowledge adds up.

For instance, the acupoint DaZhui ("great vertebrae") Du-14 is located on the back at the base of the neck, in between the seventh cervical vertebra and the first thoracic vertebra. It is a "meeting point of the Governing vessel with the six yang channels of the hand and foot". Now, you might not know all of the yang channels of the arms and legs are, but at least you'll know that many channels converge at DaZhui so it's an important acupoint on the orbit to massage. (I find it effective to lightly tap it with finger-tips.)

The Integral View: It Ain't Just the Orbit
Additionally, reading about the acupoints will give you a deeper appreciation of how things are interconnected. The microcosmic orbit does not stand alone, but is part of an interdependent web of channels, vapors, fluids, and structures. The body is wonderfully complex and it's a rich life-long study.

for long term, balanced, thorough, healthy progress

gradually open all of the channels

Easy-to-reach acupoints for activating all 8 extraordinary vessels.

Helpful Tools

Several massage tools can be helpful. (There's various other tools in the massage section if you're into it.)

the twiddle method

s-l-o-w-l-y

.. can be used anywhere you can reach: from the back of the neck, up, around, all down the front, and up the back from the sacrum to ming men (between the kidneys). Twiddle your thumbs at a lazy pace (not fast like the picture) on acupoints until you feel a pulsing. I know it sounds silly, but it's one of the most effective methods.

Click picture for essay.

Back roller. Perhaps the best versions of a back roller are two & four old tennis balls in a sock.

Click for how-to.

Inexpensive vibrating massage gizmo. Great for deep abdominal massage.