Merina Ty-Kisera - Acupressure with Essential Oils: A Self-Care Guide to Enhance Your Health and Lift Your Spirit

Copyright 2019 by Merina Ty-Kisera. Photographs copyright 2019 by Ron Morecraft. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the written permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books.

Published by

North Atlantic Books

Berkeley, California

Cover art by gettyimages.com/Anna-Ok

Cover design by Jasmine Hromjak

Book design by Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Printed in the United States of America

Acupressure with Essential Oils: A Self-Care Guide to Enhance Your Health and Lift Your Spirits is sponsored and published by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences (dba North Atlantic Books), an educational nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, that collaborates with partners to develop cross-cultural perspectives, nurture holistic views of art, science, the humanities, and healing, and seed personal and global transformation by publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature.

North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: The following information is intended for general information purposes only. Individuals should always see their health care provider before administering any suggestions made in this book. Any application of the material set forth in the following pages is at the readers discretion and is his or her sole responsibility.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ty-Kisera, Merina, author.

Title: Acupressure with essential oils : a self-care guide to enhance your

health and lift your spiritincludes 24 common conditions / Merina

Ty-Kisera, MBA, L.Ac.

Description: Berkeley, California : North Atlantic Books, [2019] | Includes

bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018048511 (print) | LCCN 2018049193 (ebook) | ISBN

9781623173258 (ebook) | ISBN 9781623173241 (paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Acupressure. | Aromatherapy. | Mind and body therapies. |

BISAC: HEALTH & FITNESS / Aromatherapy. | HEALTH & FITNESS / Acupressure &

Acupuncture (see also MEDICAL / Acupuncture). | BODY, MIND & SPIRIT /

Healing / Energy (Chi Kung, Reiki, Polarity).

Classification: LCC RM723.A27 (ebook) | LCC RM723.A27 T95 2019 (print) | DDC

615.8/222dc23

To the late Emma Tiebens

I dedicate this book to you with deep love, appreciation, and thanks for being in my life and openness to me being in yours.

Your loving heart, big bright smile, and sisterly inspiration moved me to create and speak up.

For that, I am eternally grateful.

I LOVE YOU!

As an acupuncturist, I have the advantage of looking at any condition with which patients come to me from both the Western and Eastern perspectives. I find it fascinating how the two interpretations differ as well as how they overlap. Ive taken these perspectives and incorporated them into this book. As you read about the ailments in Part 2, you will find the Western explanation of the condition as well as the Chinese medicine approach.

I hope you find that this book opens you to understanding a little more about Chinese medicine, and if you havent already had any experience with it, I hope you will be open to trying it out. It is a profound medicine and, with its long history, is remarkably effective.

I currently practice Classical Five Element Acupuncture in Asheville, North Carolina. This form of acupuncture focuses on the emotions and spirit of the person and I feel brings one to deeper harmony and balance. From that perspective, Ive taken to essential oils to further the goal of helping patients become empowered to bring healing to themselves and their families.

I studied with the developers of Aroma AcuPoint Therapy over the course of three years and from that, I developed Aroma Acupressure. I teach this acupressure with essential oils technique in the local community and am developing online classes.

I am a health crusader and teacher at heart. Since childhood Ive been researching everything and anything that would help me, my family, and every friend who would listen stay healthy. While in college, I was elected as program director of the local radio station and an anchor on the college TV station where I developed a program series, For the Health of It, to educate college students on ways to stay healthy for better grades and athletic performance. After college I worked at a major Los Angeles radio station and wrote health tip clips and commercials for local advertisers.

Finally, after twenty years in business and the corporate game (mostly, I confess, to please my dad), I decided to go pro and formalize my health hobby and passion into a profession by getting my license in Chinese Medicine. At long last, I found my dharma. I felt as though lifetimes of knowing came through and my senses came alive. I was able to tune into the psycho-emotional issues of my patients quickly and could help them see different perspectives about where they were stuck in their lives. Coupled with the use of Five Element Acupuncture, I would help them release their holding patterns, which would free them up to make different choices.

In spite of how powerful and profound my work with acupuncture is, the prospect of acupuncture needles was a barrier to dramatically increasing my patient base. So I began applying acupressure with essential oils to the points and to my surprise patients progressed quickly and were able to sustain the treatments for longer by bringing the oils home. Thats when I developed protocols for patients to incorporate into their daily routine. Demand grew, and classes emerged, which ultimately led to the development of this book.

I hope it brings you as much healing and joy to you and your family as it has to mine.

To my mom, who allows me the freedom to be myself.

My father, whose love and support allowed me the time and space to create.

My essential oil upline with DoTerra, J., and Pancho, who are unrelenting in their passion and drive and who opened the door to my journey with essential oils.

My Aroma Acupoint Therapy teachers and mentors, Tiffany Carole and Peter Holmes, who, even though they dont know it, provided such inspiration through their passion and understanding of the oils from the Chinese medical perspective that they opened my heart to exploring them further.

Lisbeth White, my editor from North Atlantic Books, who found me and encouraged me to reach for my dreams and let myself be heard through the written word.

Celene, my niece, who, in the early phases of this book, provided insightful feedback and edits that helped clarify my direction.

Rayne, Justine, and Chelle, my amazing housemates, who provided loving support, food, friendship, massage, and feedback for this book.

My amazing patients who provided valuable feedback and the willingness to go out on a limb and try this modality. Without them, this book would not have been possible.

Last but not least, my photographer, Ron Morecraft, who stuck with me through thick and thin. His wisdom and experience got me to a final product that I really love.

Part 1 provides an explanation of acupressure with essential oils along with a brief background of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory it is based on. It also includes an overview of essential oils and their role in Chinese medicine.