Shiatsu, which in Japanese means "finger pressure," may be thought of as a cross between accupuncture and massage. The art was developed in Japan over the last 50 years by Tokujiro Namikoshi, who claims to have treated more than 100,000 patients for a wide variety of illnesses. Lately, it's been catching on in the United States.

Accupressure is similar to massage in that it stresses the importance of deeply relaxing tense or exhausted muscles. By loosening the muscles, blood flow is improved. It differs from massage in that pressure is applied much more vigorously, usually with the ball of the thumb and sometimes even with thumbnail.

With accupuncture, it shares the the concept that there are points on the body (which may be far rom the part that hurts) which, when stimulated, bring about beneficial results. Thus, pressure to the 
plantar arch of the foot is recommended not only for aching feet, but to eliminate weariness throughout the body, and even to relieve ailments of the kidneys, to which organ, according to accupressure principles, the plantar arch is closely related.

Usually, the bulb (not the tip) of the thumb is used to apply pressure. The pressure should be firm, and the force used will vary from patient to patient and from one part of the body to another. In general, according to Namikoshi, the pressure should be "sufficient" to cause a sensation midway between pleasure and pain. "The application of the pressure should last from five to seven seconds - no more. It may be repeated three to four times. A accupressure treatment from a professional may last 30 minutes or more, but for self-treatment, several minutes at a time, a few times a day, is typical.

Accupressure for the Flu and Other Ailments

If you want to give accupressure a try, a good time to do so would be when you have a cold or the flu, accompanied by a sore throat, fever, and perhaps diarrhea. To reduce the pain of sore throat by accupressure principles, work on your left thumb with your right hand. At the bottom corner of the U around the thumbnail, on the side facing toward your body, there is point located a scant one-tenth of an inch from the corner of the nail. Instead of using the pressure of the bulb of your thumb, place the thumbnail of your right hand directly over the target point on your left thumb and press vigorously. Hold the pressure about seven seconds and then release it. There should be a mark in your skin when you release the pressure. Repeat three times. Then switch hands and apply pressure to the inside corner of your right-hand thumbs with your left thumbnail.

To relieve fever and diarrhea according to accupressure techniques, move to the index finger. Here, locate the same point you are using on your thumb, which you will find just a tiny fraction of an inch from the corner of the nail, on the side facing your thumb. Again, use the thumbnail of the opposite hand and apply pressure for five to seven seconds, repeating three time on each hand.

For a headache, place the thumb of one hand into the angle where the thumb bone of the other hand meets the bone of the index finger (on the upper side of the hand). Massage in a small circular movement for about one minute, and repeat as many times as you want on each hand. Preferably, you should get someone else to apply the treatment to you, rubbing both hands at the same time. Two other headache points are located just below the occipital bone, or the base of your head. Sit down, bend your head forward, place your fingers on your scalp, your thumbs on the headache points, and massage vigorously.
 

To relieve headache: Draw an imaginary line from center of forehead to base of skull (left) and apply pressure at each point. Then press points from crown of head to temples, as shown by arrow. Press points on each side of head simutaneously. (Points are about an inch apart.) Then find middle rear of ear lobe (right) and press on points in directiion of arrows. First point is two inches from lobe, next is half the distance to center, third is center or medulla. Then follow spinal column to shoulders, pressing next to spine (not on it).

To treat the pain of  a toothache, first use the headache pints on your hands, as above. Then, if the toothache is in the upper jaw, hold your 
thumb over the middle of your ear and move it forward until it reaches the depression under the bone about an inch in front of your ear. Sit down or lie down, and press hard. If the toothache is in the lower jar, place the thumb on your jawbone at the point where it angles toward the front of your head, and massage vigorously.

For drowsiness, bite the tip of your tongue and then swallow the saliva. For bed-wetting, use the nail of the thumb to press hard in the joint crease that's closest to the tip of your little finger. If this doesn't do the trick, move down to the second crease, closer to the hand, and press hard there. Repeat often on both hands.

Accupressure and Sex

Practiced by a man and a woman, accupressure can be used to overcome sexual problem and enhance the enjoyment of sexual relations. To help the male partner, the woman should press lightly on various points along  the base of his spin, from the coccyx, or 'tailbone,' up to the waist level. At each point, she should press for three seconds and give ten applications. Also recommended is pressing with three fingers into a point located directly on the midline of the abdomen and just an inch or two under the breastbone. This is said to promote sexual energy. Still another place suitable for relatively gentle pressure is located at the top border of the pubic hair. Finally firm pressure first around the anus and then on the perineal area, between the anus and the genitals, is said to stimulate response.

All this may sound rather exotic to Westerner, but apparently it doesn't grab the Japanese that way. According to Namikoshi, "squeezing the testicles firmly - a japanese proverb says once for every year of your life - proves particularly invigorating as one grows older."

For the woman, the man should apply firm but gentle palm pressure to the area where the woman's leg joint the hip. Pressure along the sacrum, or the very foundation of the spine, between the buttocks, is also recommended.