Saturday, January 22, 2011

Energy Therapies: Magnetic Ear Studs for Acupressure

Today, I am once again wearing the magnetic studs I have, which are designed to put quite firm pressure on very specific areas of the outer ear by having quite a strong magnetic field and being quite tiny for precise placement. I remember receiving my first lot. I got them out of their wrapping whilst still in the post office and affixed two to my ears. They are very small and the magnetic force and pressure they exert seems to hold well but is very subtle. 

As a general rule when dealing with the energy-systems of the body, it takes time for energy to start to re-arrange itself, then the person will feel some sensation. With some forms of energy therapy I feel a tingling at this stage, with these studs I feel a sort of heat. Each individual person will interpret the flow or change of energy in their own way: some people might describe heat, others pressure, others a flashing feeling, others a cool breeze, and I have one client who swears that when she has any kind of energy-work done she experiences it as being like sped-up film of clouds moving through the skin! When the work has been done, whatever sensation the individual feels will come to an end. With the studs that doesn't mean they need removing - from then on they are still small, subtle, colourful pieces of jewellery with delightful Swarovski crystals  that are cheerfully coloured and catch the light.

I am a great believer of acupuncture - when I was younger and needed some help on physical issues I sought the help of a Sri-Lankan-trained Australian acupuncturist as well as a chiropractor who incorporated elements of energy-work or spiritual healing into his practice, and I was very happy with the changes that I was able to manifest in myself with their help. But although acupuncture needles are far finer than injection-needles and hurt a lot less, and are in fact so fine that they often slide in between nerve-endings depending on where they are used, a lot of people are still very afraid of them.

Even if you are just anxious, it is probably not a good idea to go into an energy-therapy situation while you are feeling any anxiety - you will not be able to reap the full benefits. This is where these studs come into their own. They are not invasive, they do not puncture the skin.

Sure, they cannot be inserted into very many of the points that an acupuncturist would choose to use: back at that time, I used to have needles inserted just below my third eye, on the tiny hollow at either side of the nose, and at particular parts of my wrists and elbows as the constantly-used points, and a variety of others from time to time depending on the acupuncturist's clinical judgement.

Have you ever scratched one part of your body and felt a slight echo of the sensation somewhere else? There are energy-connections all over the body, where physical nerve-pathways do not meet. The pathways between them, where your bio-energy flows - or gets blocked - which some people call nadis, travel all over your body. And all the nadis in the body pass through a number of places: the soles of the feet (making possible foot reflexology), the hands (making possible hand reflexology), the striations in the irises of the eyes (making possibly iridology) and the outer ear, making possible the increasingly popular practice of having the ears pierced in specific places for food addictions or nicotine addictions.

But then again, people might not want to have permanent piercings in strange parts of the ears, or even the pain associated with trying to sleep on a freshly-pierced ear if they sleep on their sides. What to do? This is where these magnetic studs come in. Tiny, colourful Swarovski crystals catch the eye and brighten the mood of you and those around you as they reflect their colours into your aura, without being huge bling that might not be appropriate when you are around some people or in some situations (for instance, a job interview). They are small enough to be acceptable almost everywhere, and small enough to put pressure on very specific parts of the ear's outer structure.

I really recommend buying a really good book on ear reflexology, one based on the Chinese system, or download one of the better ear maps available on the net. As you can see from the link, there are a huge number of active points on the ear. Now, there are two ways you can use the information on an ear map. You can go symptomatically, decide what you wish to treat with the acupressure studs, then choose the points accordingly. 

That's fine, but there are two difficulties. Firstly, everybody's ear is a completely different shape and it takes a great deal of professional knowledge and experience to identify the points accurately. And secondly, Choosing something that you think is a weakness to treat is fine, but what if your symptoms are masking something else, or you have another health issue that for the moment is much more important to treat quickly? How are you going to deal with those two difficulties?

This is why I don't recommend people choose their acupressure points in the ear symptomatically, by reading off an ear map then trying to identify that point or those points in their own ears. What I do recommend is the second method: treating the acupressure/acupuncture points that most need treating at the time. Ear maps are still valuable, but more in retrospect. Having identified the points you should treat in the way I'm about to describe, you can then go back to the ear map and work out what kinds of underlying problems or areas of the body needed treating most, uncovering a whole new layer of self-knowledge for you.

So how do you do it? In front of a mirror, using the hand on the same side of the body, take a part of the outer ear between index finger and thumb, and squeeze firmly, noticing the sensation. Then move your hand just a fraction, and repeat. Do this carefully, until you have squeezed every part of the visible structure of your ear. Obviously you will have to remove any jewellery first! 

You will notice as you do this, that most likely one, two or even more places will be much more sensitive than the rest of the ear when you use the same amount of pressure. Choose the one or two most sensitive out of all of them, and relocate them by using the same method. Now you need to decide how many points to treat. If you have just one pair of studs you will only be able to treat two points: it is your choice whether you use them both on one ear, then in a few hours move them over to the other ear, or whether you use them one on each ear. I like to have a few pairs in the house - I wear pierced earrings two holes in each of my lobes and prefer not to remove them, but I find I often need to treat acupressure points high up in the ear or sometimes in the inner folds of the outer ear, and I can wear anything from zero to three pairs of the magnetic studs at a time in addition to my usual daily jewellery.



Once you have decided how many points you are going to treat, re-check the points you have identified and squeeze firmly again, identifying the one or ones that give you the strongest response. I personally find it helpful to do this in front of a mirror, and immediately mark the exact spot with an eyeliner or eyebrow pencil. Then in the hand on the opposite side of the body, hold the jewelled stud that you want to be visible to the world over that mark, jewel away from skin. With the hand on the same side of the body, hold the backing-magnet behind the ear, bring it close, and release it before it touches the skin. If you have positioned the stud correctly, it will lock it into place. If the marking you have made on the ear is still visible, pick the backing magnet off while holding the stud, reposition it, and do it again.

That's the first ear done. You may want to match up studs on the second ear exactly, so that they are symmetrical. That's fine for appearances, but it may not be the best option for health-related or emotion-related reasons. What if the studs are treating an energy-problem that occurs in - say - one hip or one kidney, and not in the other side? It would be a waste. So go through the whole process again: squeeze all the different parts of your second ear firmly, identify the most sensitive points, mark them, and place the stud or studs exactly over the most sensitive points. Often you will find that they match or almost match the positioning on the other ear. But often, too, you will require different placements on the different ears.

If you are interested in treating - say - only your kidney-points if your doctor is treating a kidney problem, or only points connected with depression, then that is fine, and the studs will bring you a real benefit with regular use. But take it from me, you will get a better effect overall, in your health and your happiness levels, if you treat the points that need it most on a given day that day, and be consistent in that practice. As your body starts to feel better and as your mind starts to relax, you'll find that a lot of problems, physical and psychological, will give you far less trouble than they had previously.

However, and this is important! Never discontinue using any prescribed medications without your doctor's knowledge! Energy-therapies are no substitute for life-saving medicines, and different forms of therapy work better in conjunction with each other, not instead of each other.

I have decided to supply these studs, and I'm careful about the ones I supply. There are quite a few manufacturers around, and the quality and price varies greatly. Some have such strong magnetic fields that they are quite painful to wear. Others have a very much weaker magnetic field, and will fall off earlobes easily. The ones I have grip on firmly without causing pain. There are also ones that are rather large, creating pressure in less precise areas, and perhaps not being universally acceptable in their appearance. There are even some which seem okay - but their crystals look cloudy and fall out of the settings after a short time. The ones I carry are not the most expensive on the market - I have seen wholesalers and pharmacies charging more than twice what I do - nor are they the cheapest around. But they do the job very well, look attractive, and seem to be well-made.

I have supplies of these colours: reflective-clear, diamond-clear, topaz-blue, ruby-red, sapphire-blue, lipstick-red, amethyst and peridot-green. Allowing a little profit for me, they cost $40 per pair Australian, including postage, far cheaper than the rates I've seen good quality ones selling for, and likely to last a lot longer than some of the cheaper ones around. Why not email me and let me know how many you would like and what colours? In my reply to you, I will send a Paypal button for ease of paying and security of your details. The appealing little studs might must be the boost you need to make those changes you've been wanting in your life!

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