Calming The Mind With Shiatsu by Jane Thurnell-Read

Tamsin Grainger, who teaches baby-shiatsu, told me about this simple technique that can be used to calm the baby. I thought this was too good a tip to keep only for babies, so whatever your age give this a try when you need a bit of soothing.

The technique is very easy to do. First you have to stimulate the heart protector/governor 8 – that’s the 8th point on the heart governor meridian (see glossary). This point goes by various wonderful names including ‘palace of the spirit’, which reflects the shiatsu understanding that, when we are agitated, our spirit is not residing in our heart but has gone up into our mind.

Here’s how you do it on yourself:

1. With your palm up, bend your middle finger lightly in towards the palm of your hand.
2. The pressure point is where the tip of the finger meets the palm – it’s slightly off-centre.
3. Place the thumb of the other hand on that point, inhale.
4. As you breathe out, lean forward from the tummy, applying perpendicular pressure to the point using your body weight rather than brute force.
5. Do this three times on one hand, and then do it on the other hand.

Here’s how you do it on a baby:

1. The point is exactly the same, but the fingers are usually curled in so that it’s difficult to get at the palm of the hand.
2. If you tickle the base of the little finger, a reflex will cause the fingers to open.
3. Quickly slip your thumb in and do a little jiggley movement, or just hold or stroke the spot. Imagine you are touching deep within the hand rather than just the surface.
4. Repeat with the other hand.

Have a look at Tamsin’s article about baby-shiatsu.