ACUPRESSURE FOR CLEARING HEAD, NECK, AND SHOULDERS

WATCH THE VIDEO ↑

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Need some tension relief? From hormonal headaches to a tight upper back, neck, and shoulders — Gallbladder 20 (GB20) is a great little DIY acupressure point to know!

Warmly,

Nicole

Nicole Lange

LICENSED ACUPUNCTURIST
HOLISTIC FERTILITY EDUCATOR

• VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

  Hi there. Let's do an acupressure quickie that is so good for headaches, neck and shoulder tension, and that all too common fertility slash life feeling I like to call being 'clenchy and stuck'.

  This is the clear your head, neck, and shoulders point. It's technically called a Gallbladder 20 or GB20. And before we start, do me a favor and subscribe to my channel. Now let's break it down.

  This point is on the back of your body, where your neck and your head meet. If you feel around for the two round protuberances — which is a great word, 'protuberances' — you're going to find those occipital or back of head bumps. Then you're going to use some gentle pressure and glide your fingers along the bottom, going towards the midline.

  Now eventually you're going to hit a spot where the muscles that are running up your neck attach to the base of your skull. And in the little deep point where you can't slide any more towards the middle because you hit those muscles, that our point.

  I mentioned in the intro that this point is great for headaches, be they hormonal or tension, mild or migraine. It's worth giving this point and try if you have a headache. But it's even better before and between headaches so you can prevent them from happening all together.

  This point is also great for general neck, shoulder, and even upper back tension. It's often also used to treat body aches and chills and tension when you get those chills and fever that come with a cold or the flu.

  Last, but definitely not least, for those in the thick of life struggles and fertility stress this point is just all around great for general relaxation and for moving out of 'stuck feeling'. I'm talking things like feeling pressured and overwhelmed and depressed and anxious.

  To stimulate this point you can just pinch both sides at once and squeeze and circle and massage. My faithful companion, the little nubby wooden massage tool, can also feel really good and achy and intense here. Just don't go too hard. You don't want to aggravate any nerves. But if you're the type of person who likes deep massage that kind of hurts so good, you might really love this point and this option.

  You can also use your hands or this tool and start at this point and go along the base of the skull to behind your ears, and then back to the midline. And even up and down those neck muscles. Which are technically the top of your trapezius muscles.

  Now on the other side of the stimulation spectrum, there's a device that can give you really gentle but steady pressure. And it's called a still point inducer. Here's mine. Yes, it does look a little bit like a monkey butt. But you can lay this down on a yoga mat and just lay down on top of it and put your head on it while you're lying down. It tends to line up pretty well with Gallbladder 20 on a lot of bodies.

  Now because this is really squishy and soft, it provides really nice mellow but still overall releasing and relaxing stimulation to the point.

  If you're doing more intense kinds of pressure on this point, start with just a minute or two to make sure that it doesn't flare anything up. Especially headaches. If it does, try adding some points that are further away from the head, like the getting grounded point, which has its own video on this channel. Or this really well-known web of your hand point. Just get in there on the web of the hand and squeeze around and just feel what feels achy and feels good on your body.

  If you're doing more mellow kinds of lighter stimulation, try to rest for 10 to 20 minutes. I happen to have a fabulous guided meditation that's called "When I Tell You You're Stuck" that's on this channel. That would be a great companion to lying down with this point.

  I hope you love this point as much as I do. In today's day and age, most of us have a lot of good reasons to be tense and clenched. Add some hormones and the stress of infertility and this is an extra great point to have in your wheelhouse and to regularly pull out and use.

  Leave me a comment. Let me know how this point feels for you. Your interactions definitely help this channel pick up steam and thrive, and I appreciate it so much.

  I hope you're loving what you're learning and I'll see you again soon.