In my clinical practice, I’ve helped hundreds of women conceive using fertility acupuncture. I’ve also helped women conceive by teaching them how they can use fertility self-acupressure.

Naturally many women ask me, “Should I do both acupuncture AND acupressure to help me get pregnant or is one better than the other?”

My answer is…they are different.

Each method works by harnessing your body’s innate healing power using the wisdom of the Chinese medical energetic mapping system; meridians and acupoints.  However, each method offers its own unique benefits.

Ideally, I suggest using both methods.

Not everybody is willing or able to get acupuncture, in which case acupressure is wonderful and effective option.

Benefits of Acupuncture:

1.) Partnership and Accountability

Acupuncture requires that you partner with a health professional to reach your fertility goals.

Experiencing a healing energetic exchange with a purposeful intention as guided by the acupuncturist in and of itself is powerful.  Two minds and two hearts partnering for the same healing intention builds momentum.

By working with a health professional who guides you in reaching your pregnancy goal, he or she holds accountable for your choices. He or she can offer an objective perspective bringing awareness to your health patterns that you alone may not be aware of.

2.) Emotional Support

Working with an acupuncturist provides you with additional emotional support during a challenging journey. I often find this is to be one of the primary reasons a woman continues to work with me and one of the most beneficial.

You may not have another person in your life that you feel safe and comfortable talking about your fertility issues with.

By choosing to work with an acupuncturist you like, you’re allowing yourself to be nurtured by another caring person. Choosing to receive from another is an added healing benefit to the acupuncture treatment.

3.) Potency and Power of the Acupuncture Needle

I think acupuncture needles should be called antennas instead of needles, for that’s really the purpose they serve. The word “needle” is such a loaded word in our culture and can instantly trigger fear. The fear of needles may come from a traumatic childhood experience.

But acupuncture needles are much different than the needles that traumatized you. They can hardly be categorized as the same.

The acupuncture antenna conducts electric energy or qi into the body thereby stimulating the acupoint with increased electrical activity. Specific messages are relayed to the brain through the nervous system as a result.

A long metal pin is the most efficient and effective way to conduct energy and stimulate an acupoint.

4.) Customized Treatments

When seeing a fertility acupuncturist regularly, he or she who knows the specifics of your situation and designed a treatment plan to reach your pregnancy goals. She then customizes each treatment as she monitors your progress.

Benefits of Acupressure:

1.) Acupressure as an Effective Alternative

Getting acupuncture simply isn’t possible for everyone.

As much as you’d like to benefit from fertility acupuncture, you may not be able to get over your fear of needles.

You may not have a fertility acupuncturist in your area.

Or maybe regular acupuncture treatments aren’t in your budget.

Fertility self-acupressure is an equally effective alternative to acupuncture. You stimulate the same acupoints on the same acu-meridians that an acupuncturist does to send messages to your body.

It’s painless, free and accessible!

2.) Convenience and Privacy

You may choose not to get acupuncture because it’s simply not convenient enough. Maybe your schedule is already packed tight with doctor’s appointments, work duties, and social obligations, making it next to impossible to include regular acupuncture into your fertility regimen.

Or maybe you’re not ready to involve others in your path to conceiving. Trying to get pregnant is a personal issue and not everyone is comfortable discussing the details with others, even a healthcare practitioner.  

The beauty of self-acupressure is that it can be practiced at your convenience in the privacy of your home. You can fit it into your busy schedule and do it while you’re relaxing on the couch on a Friday night with your sweetheart.

3.) Consistency is Key!

When making health changes and using therapeutic modalities like acupressure and acupuncture, consistency is key.

Acupressure and acupuncture work by treating the underlying root of your health imbalance to create lasting change. The effects of each treatment build on the ones before it so that the more consistent you are, the better results you’ll get.  

When you have a deep rooted condition that may be a result of years of imbalance, change isn’t likely to happen overnight.

To bring your body into balance and keep it that way, you need to continually encourage new patterns by sending the body consistent messages and support.

Because of the convenience of using acupressure, it’s easy to maintain consistency with your efforts.

4.) The Power of Self-Nurturing

While acupuncture offers the benefit of receiving nurturing care from another, acupressure requires that you nurture yourself.

By choosing to practice self-nurturing, you’re reinforcing your intention to heal. You’re affirming to yourself that your health and wellbeing is a priority.

This act of self-love is healing in and of itself. You’re also more likely to maintain other health choices in your life that support your pregnancy goals. 

5.) Relaxing and Stress-Relieving

Unlike many of the other steps you must take to get pregnant, acupressure is relaxing and relieves stress.

Everyone tells you stress is bad for your fertility, but half the things you need to do to get pregnant are stressful!

Acupressure is stress-relieving by nature. You can do it to yourself or ask your partner to do it on you while you’re lying in bed or on the couch. Stimulating the points is soothing and many of the points produce a calming effect on the mind and body. It’s even a great tool to use before bed to sleep better.

6.) Be the Expert of Your Body

By learning about the acupoints and experiencing the effects of each point as your stimulate it, you gain a deeper understanding of your body’s subtle energetic system.

The more in tune you with your body you are, the more control and influence you can have over your health. By practicing acupressure, you also grow more aware of the mind-body connection.

7.) Don’t Depend on Others to Heal

I’m a believer in not being dependent on others to be healthy and to heal.

My goal as a healthcare practitioner isn’t to make you “my patient” and forever dependent on me to heal you.  

I’d rather teach you how to maintain your health on your own and use me only for added support when needed.

Sure there will be times you need someone’s support and expertise, but I want to facilitate your own ability to be as healthy and free as possible.

Most people aren’t aware of the power that’s at their own fingertips to heal themselves with acupressure.

But acupressure is a great way to literally take your health into your own hands.

8.) Enhance the Effects of Your Acupuncture Treatments

Using your fingers to stimulate the points may not be as efficient as using a needle, but you can make up for the efficiency by stimulating the points daily or multiple times throughout the day.

Traditionally in China, acupuncture treatments were given daily to more quickly and effectively heal a patient. In modern times that frequency just isn’t possible.

For the purposes of getting pregnant with acupuncture, I recommend getting treatments at least once a week, if not twice as an effective treatment plan.

Acupressure can be used to supplement the frequency of acupuncture treatments.  It can also be used in addition to regular acupuncture treatments to enhance the therapeutic effects and make faster progress.

As you can see, I’m a big believer in using both acupuncture and acupressure to achieve pregnancy success. If for some reason acupuncture isn’t a viable option for you or if you want to enhance the effects of your acupuncture treatment, now you know that acupressure is a painless, free and convenient choice.

P.S. Save your seat: Join my FREE Online Masterclass: Learn my 5-Step Fertility Reset Plan

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