An atlas of acu-points designed for bodyworkers Includes descriptions of all acu-points, their location and their traditional use along with charts of all twelve organ meridians, and including all eight extraordinary meridians seldom seen in acupuncture charts.
Why use an acupressure atlas instead of an acupuncture atlas? Bodywork is different from needling. Acupuncture charts are designed for finding the precise location of the acupuncture points, but an acupuncturist doesn't need to know the exact location of the meridian itself. Because of this, most acupuncture charts show a simplified version of the path of the meridian.
In acupressure, along with working on points we typically "trace" (massage) along the course of a meridian to clear blockages and promote Qi flow.The Acupressure Atlas charts include the actual course of each meridian, including the branch pathways not included in most acupuncture charts.
Similarly, an acupuncturist has no need to locate the six extraordinary meridians that have no points of their own, but in acupressure it can be very helpful to trace these meridians.
In addition, the normal method of measurement in acupuncture is the cun, a measurement based on the width of the thumb at the first joint. This makes sense if you are measuring where to put a needle. But in acupressure, we are measuring from one finger placement to another. Measuring the distance between points in this way removes your fingers from the points, which doesn't make sense. For this reason, point locations are shown in finger distances, where you have your fingertips on each point.