Ep 27: What’s the deal with acupressure mats?

“Something like acupressure, that involves self-touch, isn’t just therapeutic; it helps you feel more present, and more rooted, and just more alive in your own body.”

Patients have been asking my opinion on acupressure mats for years. I finally got tired of saying, “I don’t really know,” so I decided to try one out for myself.

If you don’t know what an acupressure mat is…picture a thin rectangular mat, like the kind you used to lie on at nap time in kindergarten, and it’s covered with rows of plastic circles, each about the size of a quarter, and each plastic circle has several short plastic spikes sticking out of it, and you lie on it. It’s like a plastic bed of nails.

So I bought an acupressure mat, and then I thought…why stop with mats? So then I bought a whole bunch of other acupressure tools and asked my coworkers to test them out and report back.

And that’s what we’re diving into in this episode—how these tools work, and why you might want to use them for yourself. You’ll learn:

1. The fascinating history of the acupressure mat, and how I’ve incorporated mine into my daily self-care routine

2. The principles of acupuncture meridian and point therapeutics that support the use of acupressure mats

3. Uses for other acupressure tools such as rings and rollers (including special guest appearances from two of my coworkers, Ali and Sandra!)

I’ll be honest…I went into this little acupressure mat experiment a bit skeptical. I’ve seen some pretty grandiose claims on social media. I don’t think acupressure is a cure-all, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve come to love my acupressure mat. Acupressure is a safe, easy, inexpensive, and effective form of self-care, so I hope this episode inspires you to try it out for yourself!

Love and gratitude,

Your Acupuncturist

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Thanks to AudioCoffee for the music in this episode, and endless love and gratitude to my paid subscribers for contributing to the sustainability of my work!