What are the top five uses of an acupressure mat? 

I feel like I’ve lived the saying of being “hit by a bus” and it’s not a joke I use anymore. Nothing feels like being hit by a moving vehicle. Except a moving vehicle.

I had two years of recovery and rehabilitation, and in large part, was due to an acupressure mat that my best friend introduced me to. Using this everyday was one of the best ‘surprises’ that led me away from traditional medicine and into a new world, one where I felt more in control of my own healing.

I wasn’t in control of my personality — I began to snap at my partner, I wasn’t in control of my sleep — and a no sleepy Ravi is a Bear of a person. I wasn’t in control of my work — screens messed with my head.

My whole world was shifting under my feet, a silent earthquake.

As I chatted to a Doctor about my recovery, he kept quizzing me:

“So, what really helped you?”

“I told you, it was an acupressure mat!.”

“Yeah, you said that, but what really helped you?”

This went on for awhile.

So I went on a search to find out what else an acupressure mat to help with, and the results were pretty incredible. Here are my top 5:

1. Stress: It’s a stressful time — curse you wild, uncontrollable virus. To combat this, I lie on my acupressure mat at the end of each night and just breath. It is the only thing I have that makes me audibly and physically change my state so quickly into a calm place.
2. Pain: My neck pain, from the accident, flares when I’m under stress and right now, it feels like it’s going to crack in half. The acupressure mat, combined with a hot water bottle help tell my bodies’ tension, “it’s okay to relax.”
3. Deep Sleep: Oh, Mama. This is pure manna. I use to take melatonin consistently for sleep, and now, especially when I know my mind is racing and things are going so fast, just bringing the mat to bed and lying on it, helps induce a world of good sleep.
4. Meditation: I’m trying to be a better meditator — and having this is like a ‘bonus’ ← there shouldn’t be a bonus to meditation, but for me, an added incentive helps.
5. Balance: I know when I feel off; like when my neck starts tightening, when I am working too much, when I feel like the balance is shifting to an unhealthy area. I need the mat then; it helps bring me to a positive place.

In short, this “poke-mat” (pronounced like Pokemon, as my friend calls it) has helped me immensely — maybe it’s the time to slow down and reflect, added with the energy channels flowing easier, but it. just. works. It helped me stop snapping at my partner, sleep better and return to successful work.