There are multiple ways to help induce labor, but Qigong and Acupressure Massage are one of the most effective tools available.  

There are four primary pressure points used to help with labor.  The hoku spot is at the webbing between the thumb and forefinger.  You can grasp and massage this spot in a circular motion and it can help stimulate the uterus to cause contractions. 

The acupuncture point called Bladder 32 (or UB32 or BL32) is located in the dimple between the buttocks and the spine. When this area is rubbed for one to two minutes, contractions often begin. 

Spleen 6 is the acupuncture point located on the inside of the ankle, approximately four finger widths above the ankle bone. Massaging this spot for one to two minutes also tends to stimulate contractions.  This spot also helps induce downward movement of the baby.

Massaging Gallbladder 21 (GB 21) can facilitate the down bearing action. This helps facilitate the movement of the baby's head.   

Finally, Urinary Bladder 60, (UB 60 or BL60) is between the ankle bone and achilles tendon. Applying steady pressure to this point and area can help the baby descend into the pelvis.

It is estimated that one in every ten American adults battle with depression. People born after WWII have almost ten times the rate of depression of their parents and grandparents, and women are twice as likely to suffer from depression than men.

Depression, if left untreated, can present additional health problems due to problems with Qi flow, if left unchecked, can impact major organs and systems in your body and create these types of symptoms: 

• headaches,
• dizziness, 
  
• blurred vision, 
  
• red eyes, 
  
• confusion, 
  
• difficulty concentrating
  
• tinnitus, 
  
• high blood pressure, 
  
• nausea and/or vomiting, 
  
• reduced appetite and weight loss, or 
  
• over-eating and weight gain, 
  
• fatigue, 
  
• reflux, 
• abdominal distention, 
  
• constipation,
  
• diarrhea

But there are many things you can do to help treat depression.
QIGONG
Qigong is a very effective tool to help get your Qi to flow and relieve some of the symptoms that come from qi flow disruption. There are different Qigong tools which can help, such as  

• Qigong exercises - do them daily
  
• Qigong meditations - do them a couple of times a week
  
• Qigong sound meditations - if you are a lover of music, do these daily
  
• Qigong medical treatments
  

These tools are ways to help you get your stagnant Qi moving and nourish your vital organs with vibrant Qi.  When you get your Qi moving and nourish you body with vibrant Qi, you move towards wellness and feeling better.  

THERAPY
There's new evidence that different forms of therapies may work as well as antidepressants. A total of seven different types of therapy were compared in this study, including: 

• interpersonal psychotherapy 
  
• behavioral activation 
  
• cognitive behavioral therapy 
  
• problem solving therapy 
  
• psychodynamic therapy 
  
• social skills training 
  
• and supportive counseling.  
  

Researchers reviewed 198 studies involving over 15,000 patients and the data showed these different therapies were better at reducing symptoms of depression than usual care.  

ACUPUNCTURE
Acupuncture has been proven to be one of the most effective methods to help with depression.  Here is a resource to help you find an acupuncturist. 
There are also many articles discussing different studies where acupuncture was used and helped treat depression. Here are a few of those articles:

• Acupuncture for Depression
  
• Study Finds Using the Five Liver Shu Points Effective for Depression
  

NUTRITION FOR DEPRESSION
Using food for fuel is a must. The first thing to do is 

1. GIVE UP ALCOHOL
   
2. Eat more greens. (If that is difficult, then make yourself a smoothie and throw in some fruit)
   

Next, 
according to “Healing with Whole Foods” these foods will work well for minor depression:  

• brown rice, 
  
• cucumber, 
  
• apples, 
  
• cabbage, 
  
• fresh wheat germ, 
  
• kuzu root, 
  
• wild blue-green algai (1.5 grams one to three times daily), and 
  
• apple cider vinegar (1 teaspoon vinegar in a little water up to 3 times daily. 
  

SUPPLEMENTS FOR DEPRESSION
There are a few studies in adults that suggest omega-3 fatty acids may be beneficial in the treatment of mild to moderate depression and you can get omega-3 fatty acids from

• Fish oil supplements 

But what about St. Johns Wort helping with depression? 
So far studies have found St. John’s wort did not relieved symptoms of minor depression any better than a placebo. 

CONCLUSION
There are tools available to help you deal with mild depression; qigong exercises, qigong meditation, qigong sounds, acupuncture, foods, and supplements, and therapy. You can start right now to get on a path to feeling better and start moving away from depression. However, if your depression is beyond mild and/or you have felt depressed for a long time, go get professional help; you need more than just these tools.

There are multiple methods to try and deal with your allergies; visiting a doctor and getting prescription or injections, using over the counter medication, using acupuncture, acupressure, herbs, as well as changes in diet, and even some Qigong exercises are options available to help you deal with allergies. 

WESTERN MEDICINE
The National Institute of Health (NIH) has some information on the different types of allergies (skin, injection, ingestion, inhalation) along with some recommended treatments. This is a good resource of where to begin because it identifies different options and paths to explore, depending on what type of problem you may be having.

ACUPUNCTURE
Acupuncture is another option, especially if you want to stay away from drugs and medication. Many people do receive relief from allergies through acupuncture treatments. There was a study in the "Annals of Internal Medicine" where 422 people who tested for pollen allergies were treated with acupuncture and antihistamines.  Some were given just acupuncture, some just antihistamines, and some treated with both. Those who had acupuncture combined with their antihistamine treatments were the most improved. You can read more at Time Health and Family.

ACUPRESSURE
For those who are interested in a pure "self help" modality, another option is massaging certain acupuncture points which are associated in providing allergy symptom relief.  In this article from "Acupressure Points, The Blog of Michael Reed Gach, PhD"  you can see if massaging certain points on your body will help you get allergy relief.

HERBS
Many people use herbs to help them get through allergy season as well as cope with their allergic responses.
In an article titled "Allergy Relief with Herbal Remedies" there are many suggestions on what herbs you can try to see what works best based on the symptoms you are having.  

• These are the herbs this article recommends using to help you with allergy symptoms:
  
• Dong quai (Angelica sinensis) - Used as an antihistamine and anti-inflammatory.
  
• Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) - Reduces congestion and secretions. It is good for itchy eyes, sneezing, and excess mucus.
  
• Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) - Helps reduce allergic, inflammatory, and histaminic reactions and supports liver function.
  
• Red clover (Trifolium pratense) – Helps build the body’s resistance to allergies.
  
• Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) - Used as an antihistamine and anti-inflammatory.
  
• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) - Reduces congestion and secretions. 
  

Make a tea of one herb or a combination of herbs. Take 3 to 4 cups a day. If the herbs are in tincture form, combine several of them and take 1 -3 dropper 3 to 4 times a day

NUTRITION
Foods are often the first course to help prevent many health problems, so it makes sense there are recommended foods to help with allergies.  Most nutritionists will recommend not eating dairy, reducing or removing gluten from your diet, as well as eating a moderately low fat, high complex carbohydrates (more greens). They often will also usually recommend drinking more water, too, 

QIGONG
Qigong is a tool that may also help you with allergies, just because it is a great way to nourish your organs with vital energy and keep you Qi flowing.  Doing Qigong exercises that focus on the lungs and kidneys may also help boost your ability to deal with allergies. 

Back pain is the primary reason why most people go see a health care professional. There are different options available to help you deal with back pain; posture, exercise, acupuncture, acupressure, massage, cupping, heat, as well as qigong are some of the options you can try.  

Here are some exercises to help you reduce your lower back pain. (Unfortunately, I don't know who the source is so can't give credit).

These three simple acupressure points can help alleviate low back pain. To learn more about acupuncture, visit AcuTake athttp://acutakehealth.com/

What happens to our Qi if we eat a lot of processed foods?  Processed foods usually includes more preservatives, chemicals, fats, fillers, and sugars than other foods.  As a result, our body has to spend a lot of its energy and effort, not only to digest the food, but to break it down and get rid of what the body doesn't need.  Most of this additional work is done in the liver and the liver can't process all of it. The result is Qi getting stuck and stagnant in the liver.  In Chinese Medicine this is known as  “Liver Qi Stagnation”.  Liver Qi Stagnation is a prolific problem in the United States and is often the root cause of many health problems, such as:  

• Anger disorders
• Moodiness
• Depression
• Menstrual disorders - PMS, pain, endometriosis, almost all menstrual disorders have a liver component
• High Blood Pressure
• Headaches - all kinds
• Muscle weakness and problems
• Eye and vision problems

What is challenging about Liver Qi Stagnation is how these same health issues will contribute to even more Qi stagnation which then leads to even more health problems.  

But we can reverse Liver Qi Stagnation, and with it, reverse many of the health problems associated with it. We have the ability to purge the stagnant Qi from our liver and then get our liver Qi to flow.  The result is improved health. Here are some techniques all of us can use to help keep our Qi flowing and reverse the effects of Liver Qi Stagnation.

First – Purge the Stagnant Qi and Get Our Qi Flowing
We can use sound and its vibration to help purge the stagnant Qi and get it moving.  Couple the use of sound with some Qigong exercises and this will help get Qi to flow.  The sound of “Shoooo” is the sound for the liver.  Here are some links to get more information on sound meditation.

• How to Do a Sound Meditation  (Do the sound exercises several times a day).
  
• What Sounds to Use for Which Organs

For some, herbs may also help resolve purge and move liver Qi stagnation, such as milk thistle or the chinese herb Xiao Yao Wan.

Second, Get Our Qi Moving and Keep it Flowing
Doing daily Qigong or Tai Chi exercises helps make sure the Qi keeps moving.  Here are some Qigong exercises that can help get the Qi flowing and keep it moving.  

• Introduction to Qigong Exercises
  
• The Wuji Position
• Warm-Up Exercises
  
• Exercise to Nourish Your Organs

Third, Change the Major Problem Source - Our Diet
To improve the flow of Qin in our liver and reduce Qi stagnation, we need to eliminate processed foods from our eating habits.  We need to eat more vegies and fruits.  Here’s the list what to reduce or eliminate in our diet to improve the Qi in our liver:

• Reduce or eliminate sugar and corn syrup.
• Reduce or eliminate soda pop.  
• Reduce or eliminate dairy. 
  
• Don’t eat meats where hormones and chemicals are used on the animal
  
• Reduce or eliminate chemicals and preservatives (processed and fast foods)

Eat more of these foods.  These foods move liver Qi:

• Vegies - especially beans, beets, collards, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, radishes, turnips, watercress 
• Fruits - especially grapefruit, lemon, lime, kumquat, plum, tangerine 
• Spices - especially anise, basil, bay, cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cilantro, curry, fennel, ginger, mint, mustard, nutmeg, oregano, parsley, vanilla

Fourth, Improve Our Sleep Habits
Sleep helps our body's processes continue to work smoothly.  A good nights sleep is imperative to having good health. To improve our sleep, we need to make sure we sleep in a pitch black dark environment.  For those of us who can't do this, we may want to explore using dark satin eye patches. 

Also, we need to make sure we don't eat before going to bed.  Eating before bed affects our dream state and also puts a heavier burden on our liver as well as all organs used in food digestion and processing.

In addition, we should keep a consistent sleep schedule, as this also helps improve our ability to sleep and go into a deep sleep.  

Finally, Reduce Other Toxins and Increase Exposure to Clean Vibrant Qi
We need to be aware of what chemicals are in our environment.  This will help us to take corrective actions to reduce or eliminate unnecessary exposure to chemicals.  Besides knowing what we are eating, drinking, and breathing, we should take a look at the ingredients we place on our skin, hair, and nails. There may be deodorants and skin products we are introducing into our body and hence, our liver, through our skin. This may be contributing to Qi stagnation.  

We already know teflon causes cancer, so we should remove teflon pans from the tool we cook with.  We also know plastics have a way of getting into our body, too, so reducing how we use plastics needs to be assessed, too.

Also, it will help if we spend more time in nature.  Nature is a wonderful source of natural and vibrant Qi Allowing more opportunities to be in the outdoors can help nourish our body, mind, and spirit and help with healing.

Will We Need Additional Help?
If we continue to have symptoms from liver Qi stagnation (such as depression, anger issues, mood disorders, headaches, high blood pressure, or menstrual problems) and these symptoms are not getting resolved, the problems may progress to even more serious health concerns.  The more serious health problems from liver Qi stagnation may develop into muscle weakness, pain, migraines, chronic fatigued, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, tumors, as well as eye issues. If this happens, in addition to the usual treatments we receive via Western Medicine, we also need to more acutely pay attention to our liver Qi.  For example, we can supplement our health and wellness journey with Acupuncture and/or Qigong medical treatments from a practitioner.  A practitioner, in many cases, can partner with us to help us reach and maintain an improved state of health and wellness we may not be able to achieve on your own.  

According to Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley, CA, apple cider vinegar has lots of healing benefits. It has been used for hundreds of years by traditional healers.  It's acidic property assists your body in restoring proper pH levels and brings health and balance back to your digestive system. 

Rich in potassium apple cider vinegar helps to prevent brittle teeth, hair loss and runny noses. The pectin (from the apples) helps to regulate blood pressure and Malic Acid gives apple cider vinegar the healing properties of being anti-viral, anti-bacterial & anti-fungal.

According to Jess Ainsough in her article "7 Reasons to Love Apple Cider Vinegar", it can help with the following:

• Detoxification
  
• Promotes weight loss
  
• Helps with digestion
  
• Alleviates skin problems
  
• Gets rid of warts
  
• Helps ward of sickness
  
• Helps produce soft and shiny hair

She recommends to always use the organic raw, unpasteurized and unfermented apple cider vinegar and suggest looking for it in a glass container, (preferably dark glass), to protect it’s nutritional qualities from sunlight.  Once opened, it is important to keep your apple cider vinegar ‘alive’ by storing it in the refrigerator.

Continual stress and anxiety stagnates the flow of your Qi (chee) in your body and when that happens, it will also impact the flow of your blood. Over time, this stagnation of Qi and blood will cause health problems for you.  The organ most affected with continual stress and anxiety is your heart. 

If you want to maintain your health and keep a healthy heart, it is important to learn how to deal with anxiety.  If you have a lot of frustration and anxiety in your life, you will eventually develop cardiac problems. 

But you have the power to reduce stress that may be making you ill.  There are methods and tools you can use to be in charge of your cardiac fate. Most of us may not be able to remove ourselves completely from the major stressors in our life (we usually need money so need to keep our jobs and it's still impolite to get rid of our children).  This means you need to develop new coping strategies and methods to reduce your stress AND keep your Qi and blood flowing smoothly in your body.  If you want to be healthy or stay healthy, you MUST develop ways to relieve stress and anxiety in your life.

Here are some stress and anxiety relief tools you can try to see which are the most effective for you:  

• Qigong or Tai Chi exercises
• Massage or Tui Na
• Meditation and visualization
• Acupuncture
• Yoga
• Walks (recommend 30 min/day, 5 times a week)
• Relaxing bathes (try with candles and/or scents)
• Aromatherapy – lavender oil, lemon balm
• Herbs (kava, melatonin, and passion flower are herbs that, according to "Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database" are recognized as "possibly effective" natural herbs for anxiety)  
• Change eating habits (limit sugar, limit packaged foods, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, street drugs; eat more green vegies)
• Sleep – sleep in a pitch black-dark room for at least 8 hours
• Take breaks from work (balance fun activities with your job and family duties. Schedule some leisure time every day. Spend time with people you enjoy, including your family.)
• Keep your hands busy and occupied - make things with your hands (knit, beading, scrapbooking, etc)
• Learn something new, such as an instrument or a language
• Music - listen to music that you enjoy and connect with

You should choose several of these new tools and start using them in your life. Immediately. This is a new coping skill you are developing so you need to give it focus, time, and commitment.  

If you are experiencing cardiac problems and symptoms, you should not only incorporate SEVERAL of the stress reducing methods (listed above) in your life, you should also get regular (such as weekly or every-other week) Qigong medical treatments with a certified Qigong Medical therapist. If your cardiac problems are starting to resolve, then I would suggest Qigong medical treatments about every 3 or 4 weeks.  

Stress and anxiety can be dangerous.  Cardiac problems will eventually present themselves in your life unless you learn to manage and deal with these stressors and emotions in your life.  

You are in charge of your life and your health.  You can get control of anxiety and stress.  You can improve your heart's health.  You can make different choices.

On the TV program "Rock Center with Brian Williams," a story was featured on how a video game called SnowWorld is being used to help burn patients deal with their pain during their wound treatments.

Researchers at the University of Washington's Human Interface Technology Laboratory developed a virtual reality pain control system in a video game which provides a distraction that overwhelms the senses and diverts the brain’s attention away from processing the pain signals.  The video SnowWorld is an icy cool world designed to help sooth those who enter and become distracted from their current world and reality. 

Dr. Christopher Maani, the Institute for Surgical Research's Chief of Anesthesia, has been working on new ways to help burn patients handle the intense pain of their injuries, including using SnowWorld.  Dr. Maani explains, "The system is a virtual world where you take the burn patient away from everything that reminds them of their burns."  Think of a high definition video game tailored to make the patient forget about his burns. It's a first person game, much like shooter games such as "Call of Duty" and "Modern Warfare." But instead of hunting down opposing troops, the player runs through icy canyons, throwing snowballs at woolly mammoths and flying fish. "It's an arctic scene that takes them as far away from their burn injury as possible," Maani says. "We overwhelm their senses, overwhelm their vision and use things like noise-canceling headphones with calm, soothing music."

The video game provides the distraction that overwhelms the senses and diverts the brain’s attention away from processing the pain signals. With virtual reality distraction, you're taking a painful procedure like scrubbing off a wound and taking the person and putting them in an alternate world. And it works for as long as people seem to be in the virtual world.

The virtual reality of SnowWorld was dreamed up at the University of Washington by two psychologists, Dr. David Patterson and Dr. Hunter Hoffman where the patient concentrates on throwing snowballs at penguins and mastodons to the music of Paul Simon, instead of focusing on the painful wound care happening at the same time.

This process of using a video to help a person control their pain is similar to how meditation is used to control pain. In the video process, the use of the headphones and soothing music can help engage several senses to refocus the mind and thoughts towards a distracted activity.  Meditation engages the mind and senses to help a person become immersed in an alternate reality, too.  In meditation, you can create a world of images, sounds, colors, smells, and sounds to help you become disengaged from pain.

To learn more about about the SnowWorld videos, you can check out Rock Center with Brian Williams website, "Groundbreaking experiment in virtual reality uses video game to treat pain".  You can also check out an article in "Time" called "Using Virtual Reality Games to Control Veteran's Pain."  

Below is a short clip about this medical breakthrough.

If you stand a lot, you may be experiencing back pain.  One way to try and end the pain is to try unlocking your knees while you stand.  This process of slightly bending your knees whenever you stand, will take the pressure off your back.  The pressure will be placed where it is supposed to be when you stand; on your muscles of your legs.  This little process of just slightly bending your knees will do wonders to help your back.