The Acupressure Glossary collects the terms used when 📝Acupressure appears in a Somatic Realignment Therapy session note or self-care homework, defined in plain language for clients; the traditional terms are offered as the map the work uses, not as medical claims.
Glossary
A
- 📝Acupoint — a specific point on a meridian where pressure is applied.
- 📝Ashi Point — a tender spot pressed wherever it is found, whether or not it sits on a mapped meridian.
C
- 📝Cun — the traditional body-relative unit used to locate points, about the width of the thumb at the knuckle.
D
- 📝Deqi — the dull, spreading ache traditionally taken as the sign a point is engaged.
G
- 📝GB20 (Fengchi) — the hollows at the base of the skull, used for headache and neck tension.
- 📝GB21 (Jianjing) — the top of the shoulder, used for shoulder and neck tension; avoided in pregnancy.
H
- 📝Hold Time — how long a point is pressed, usually thirty seconds to two minutes.
L
- 📝LI4 (Hegu) — the web between thumb and index finger, commonly used for head and neck tension; avoided in pregnancy.
- 📝LV3 (Taichong) — the top of the foot between the first and second toes, used for tension and irritability.
M
- 📝Meridian — one of the traditional channels along which qi is said to flow, the map used to choose points.
P
- 📝PC6 (Neiguan) — three finger-widths above the inner wrist crease, used for nausea and settling.
- 📝Point Pressure — steady, perpendicular pressure with the thumb or fingertip.
- 📝Pressure Quality — firm enough to feel purposeful without sharp pain.
Q
- 📝Qi — the traditional idea of 📝vital energy moving through the meridians, shared with 📝Energy Work.
R
- 📝Release — the point softening or the spreading ache fading as pressure is held.
S
- 📝Self-Acupressure — points the client presses at home, given as homework between sessions.
- 📝Shiatsu — the Japanese finger-pressure tradition closely related to acupressure.
- 📝ST36 (Zusanli) — below the kneecap on the outer shin, a general point for energy and digestion.
T
- 📝Tonify and Sedate — the traditional distinction between pressure meant to strengthen a point and pressure meant to calm it.
Y
- 📝Yin and Yang — the paired qualities traditional theory uses to describe balance in the body.
- 📝Yintang — the point between the eyebrows, used for settling.