Headaches and backaches – have you ever tried to sell with one? There is something you can do to remedy these problems. It’s called Shiatsu. Shiatsu is a Japanese pressure point technique like acupuncture except in Shiatsu you use your fingers. “Shiatsu” in English means finger pressure. The wonderful thing about Shiatsu is that you can do it on yourself as well as on other people. You won’t need anyone else around to take care of your own headache.

It is extremely fast, too! Usually, the headache treatment will get rid of a headache or hangover in 1 1/2 minutes and the lower back pain treatment will work in less than 2 minutes. It is much faster, more effective and safer than products sold over the counter in drug stores.

The way Shiatsu works is by exerting a hard pressure on specific spots mainly using your thumbs. This causes extra blood to circulate through the area. The theory is that blood acts as the natural cleanser of the body, bringing antibodies and oxygen to the area and removing waste products and carbon dioxide.

There are two other theories as to why Shiatsu works. One is that Shiatsu stimulates the acupuncture meridian lines, motivating the body to heal itself. The other is that the hard pressure may cause beta endorphines to be released in the brain. Endorphines block the transmission of pain signals throughout the body. Morphine, acupuncture and jogging are methods to cause the release of endorphines.

I’ve taught this treatment to over 200,000 people across the U.S. and Canada and I have personally done the treatment on over 2,000 people. I’ve found its effectiveness level is in the range of over 99%.

Since the key to Shiatsu is the amount of pressure you are applying, it is important to understand that the correct pressure is actually described as a cross between pleasure and pain. This means that you have to exert a hard, steady pressure through our fingers. In doing the treatment on yourself, if you cannot reach any point with your thumbs, as an alternate you can place your middle finger on top of your index fingernail. Applying pressure in this position will give you an equally hard pressure.

When doing the treatment on someone else, please exercise caution. It’s hard for your to tell if someone is experiencing actual pain. Therefore, it’s important to instruct that person to say “ouch” immediately if he or she does feel pain. If they do say “ouch,” immediately release that point, go on to the next point and continue the treatment. So long as you follow the person’s pain level, you cannot cause any problems or hurt a person with Shiatsu. Most people experience no pain at all when you do Shiatsu on them.

In this issue, let’s go through the treatment for headaches. This treatment will also get rid of late afternoon fatigue so you can keep making those sales calls. It’ll even get rid of a hangover. All this in only 1 1/2 minutes.

The headache treatment is for any type of “head” headache. There are different yet equally effective Shiatsu treatments for “eye” headache, migraines and sinus headaches.

The following instructions are written as if you are working on someone else. In parentheses will be the different technique if you are working on yourself. Also, the instructions have been written for right handed people. Left handed persons should simply reverse the side they stand on and the hand they use if that is more comfortable for them.

Press each point three seconds.

1. The person should be seated upright, glasses off, eyes closed, in a comfortable position.

2. Stand on the left side of the person. Support the forehead with your left hand. (No support needed when working on yourself.) With the fleshy part of your right thumb – the ball of the thumb – press at the hairline in the center of the forehead. Move backwards one inch and press again.

3. Continue pressing points about an inch apart in a straight line, from the hairline to the hollow at the base of the skull. The hollow is the medulla oblongata. Press it also. (When working on yourself, if these points are hard to reach, remember to use the alternative methods mentioned earlier.)

4. Move slightly to the front of the person. Position your thumbs at the very top of the head, the highest point. Press with your thumbs, going down inch by inch on both sides, simultaneously, to the front middle of the ears.

5. Stand to the person’s left again. Now you’ll be using your right thumb and middle finger, working at the back of the head. (On yourself, use both thumbs.) Find the middle of each ear. From there, go straight in toward the medulla, 1 1/2 to 2 inches on each side. There you’ll find a pair of lumps, little nodes. Press them simultaneously with thumb and middle finger. Move half the distance in towards the medulla on each side. Press. Then place your thumb on the medulla and press.

6. Come down the neck 1/2 inch from the medulla. Place thumb and middle finger on both sides of the spinal column, about an inch apart. (On yourself, use both thumbs.) Don’t press on the spinal column; press right next to it on both sides. Press three or four pairs of points, depending on how long the neck is. Just go straight down; points are an inch apart. Stop at the shoulders.

7. Repeat entire process to make one treatment. If the pain has not disappeared, go through the points a third time. (On yourself you may need to do it four times.)

*Editor’s Note: For severe or chronic incidences of pain, please contact your physician prior to undertaking this or any other programs such as described in this article.