Therapeutic methods for detoxifying your body of emotional and physical roadblocks that result in stress exist in several forms, with touch therapy being a strategy that many wellness practitioners recommend.
Touch therapy can be defined as a practice that involves using your hands to access certain pressure points on your body with the goal of relieving pain, reducing tension and encouraging a healthy flow of energy throughout your organs to assist in processes such as metabolism regulation. In some instances, you can have a trained practitioner, such as a masseuse or physical therapist, perform touch therapy remedies on your body rather than using the tools yourself. No matter which methods you choose to engage in, touch therapy can get you on the path to a stress-free, cleansed and healthy body.
General Wellness/Stress Relief Touch Therapy Techniques
Various types of touch therapy can be used in the treatment of general health and stress-related issues. Read on for descriptions of four common problems that fall into the above categories and the touch-oriented techniques that are effective in easing symptoms.
1. Easing Emotional Tension
With origins in traditional Chinese medicine, acupressure is a touch therapy method for relieving stress that focuses on using one’s hand or elbow to roll, press or rub areas of the body that correspond to certain ailments. The stimulation of these points, or “meridians,” clears energy blockages that cause health issues, thereby promoting healing and calmness. Acupressure can help to cleanse your body of nausea, stomach pains, headaches and more.
Another type of touch-based healing for emotional stress and tension is known as body psychotherapy. A number of techniques fall under this broad discipline, including gentle touch, specific bodily movements and posture exercises. Body psychotherapy, when done under the guidance of a trained professional, can involve your therapist applying pressure to certain points on your body in an effort to release repressed emotions and encourage new ways of experiencing a positive existence.
2. Relieving Physical Pain
Physical pain can easily lead to a great deal of emotional stress, and one way that you can explore touch remedies for both bodily and mental stress is to undergo physical therapy. Trained professionals in the physical therapy field use a number of touch-based techniques to treat acute or chronic pain, and these may include exercises to loosen joints, stimulation of soft tissue around the joints and muscle stretches that promote more rapid and thorough healing.
Consider massage therapy as well if you are hoping to alleviate stress on your body and mind as a result of physical cramps, discomfort or pain. This type of touch therapy involves a masseuse manipulating certain pressure receptors in your muscle tissues, which in turn signals your nervous system to release stress-reducing, pain-lowering brain chemicals. Massage therapy is a popular remedy for general stress relief in addition to migraine, hypertension, arthritis and lupus treatment.
3. Overall Anxiety Management
Therapeutic touch is another energy-based practice that involves a practitioner sweeping their hands lightly across your skin as a means of bringing your body’s natural healing energies into balance. This technique is beneficial if you are hoping to reduce stress that stems from overall anxiety, as the practice is centered on helping you to achieve a relaxed and quiet state of consciousness.
Designed with the specific goal of treating anxiety and stress, tapping involves re-framing your mental state in a positive manner by using two or three fingers to lightly pat emotional energy points on your body. These points include the top of your head, your collarbone, your chin, your eyebrows and under your arms. While tapping, you combine touch therapy with the repetition of statements that ease anxiety.
4. Treating Chronic Illness
Chronic illnesses and injuries are a major source of stress and emotional tension for many people. In addition to physical therapy, osteopathic manipulative treatment is a touch-oriented remedy that promotes an overall improvement in health and quality of life. Try this branch of touch therapy, which targets improved blood circulation through the stimulation of pressure points and nerve centers, if you are seeking relief from pain and tension caused by infection, bone and muscle injuries or damaged nerves.
Reiki, an alternative medicine technique with roots in ancient Japan, combines touch therapy and healing energy to ease the stress placed on your physical and mental functioning by chronic conditions.
Unlike some other touch remedies that involve deep pressure, reiki is based on light touches and involves the practitioner gently placing their hands on areas of the body that channel positive energy.
Detox/Weight Loss Touch Therapy Techniques
If you are interested in exploring touch therapy as a means of detoxifying your body and promoting weight loss, learn more about the methods that target specific aspects of these areas and try them for yourself.
1. Boosting Metabolism
Increase your metabolism, promote proper digestion and encourage weight loss by using touch therapy on your “sea of energy” point, which is located a few inches below your navel. Press on this point with your thumbs for about 30 seconds, and then stimulate the spot with clockwise and counter-clockwise circular motions.
Another touch remedy that raises your metabolism involves putting gentle pressure on your thyroid reflex area. Find this spot by placing your finger on the sole of your foot, about one inch below the space dividing your big toe and second toe. Apply gentle pressure to the thyroid reflex area, and make circular movements for 15 seconds.
2. Detoxification And Elimination
Ensure that your body is eliminating waste and flushing toxins effectively with a touch therapy technique that targets your liver, colon, kidney and small intestine reflex areas. Roll the middle of the sole of your bare foot over a rubber ball or tennis ball while balancing on your other foot.
3. Appetite Management
Regulate and manage your appetite by putting pressure on your “appetite control” points, which can be found on either side of your jaw. Use two fingers on each hand to find the spots on your jaw that sit directly in front of your ears, then press down as you open and close your mouth.
Help to keep an over-active or insatiable appetite in check by applying a touch-based remedy to your pineal reflex area. This spot can be found at the bottom inner edge of each o f your big toes. Perform circular motions with your fingers while pressing on your pineal reflex area for 15-second intervals.
4. Indigestion Relief
If you wish to detoxify your body through touch therapy as a means of relieving indigestion, you can get results by stimulating your “abdominal sorrow” points. Start at the mid-line of your body, move each hand half an inch outward, and settle your fingers directly below your bottom-most rib on each side of your rib cage. Use gentle pressure to activate these points and release energy that eases indigestion symptoms. The abdominal sorrow points are also used in touch therapy for ulcer relief and appetite control.