Facial Acupressure & Pranayama

Gather essential oil and almond oil, or any lotion you like, and be guided through gentle facial acupressure, to release tension and open the nasal passages. This massage prepares you for more effective alternate nostril breathing. You'll feel open, at ease, and balanced!

Transcript

Welcome.

Today we are going to use essential oils to apply some very gentle pressure and offer release into our face,

Into the muscles of the face,

And then we'll begin with some pranayama.

Just a nice way to open the nasal passages and to massage that area to create more potential,

More ease for our breath practice.

So please have one or two essential oils,

A blend,

Anything that you have at your disposal.

And if you don't have essential oil,

Anything that you would feel comfortable putting on your face,

Lotion,

Cream,

That kind of thing.

I like to use essential oil and then like a carrier oil and olive oil,

Almond oil,

Coconut oil.

So just rub a few drops.

You can rub it on the palms,

But especially on the fingertips to start.

And we're going to open up our third eye.

So please place your fingers at the third eye center,

Particularly the middle and the ring finger,

And that space between your forehead.

Press into the forehead and then it's as if you're trying to open that third eye.

Peel it open and move your fingertips toward your temples.

And then repeat that.

Bring the fingertips together at the third eye and then slowly slide the fingertips along the forehead,

Above the eyebrows,

Down toward the temples.

And just let's repeat that a few more times.

Again,

Just gentle pressure,

Opening this third eye point.

Okay,

One more time.

We're going to take the middle fingers and place them right at the beginning of your eyebrow,

Top of the nose,

Where your sunglasses would rest.

We're going to press right into that place where the brow begins.

And then keep pressing and then offer that light pressure and come down the length of your nose and underneath the cheekbones and out toward the front of the ear.

And then we're going to do that again.

So middle finger right at the brow bone,

Press lightly,

Or maybe even a little more than lightly.

And then drag the finger along the nose under the cheekbone and in front of the ear.

Do that a few times.

This one in particular,

Because we're going along the nostrils,

It is helpful if you have a eucalyptus,

A peppermint,

Something that really opens up that passage or those passages,

Especially for our Nadi Shodhana practice in just a minute.

Let's do that one more time.

So now we're going to take the middle and maybe the ring finger above the lip.

So similar to opening up the third eye point,

We're going to do that same thing.

We're going to drag our fingers down our lips,

Kind of down along the jaw,

And then split the middle finger and the index finger and massage up and down in front and in the back of the ear a couple of times.

And then we're going to do that again.

So the middle and ring finger come to the top of the lip and slowly spread the lip open,

Massaging,

Light pressure going along the jaw.

And then the index finger rubs behind the ear in the middle and maybe the ring in front of the ear.

You can move up and down a few times.

And then again,

We bring the middle and ring finger to in front of the lip underneath the nose,

Slowly open that space,

Moving along the jaw and rubbing at the ear.

And we'll do that one more time.

Opening up the space above the lip,

The jaw,

And then in front and back of the ear.

So now rub the hands a little bit.

If there's any excess in the palms,

Try to get them on the fingers.

I want you to pinch your chin.

Thumbs are at the bottom of the chin.

The other four fingers of each hand are right on the top.

And you're going to squeeze.

You're going to keep squeezing along the length of your jaw.

And then again,

You can kind of rub in front and back of the ear and then come back to pinching the chin,

Running the fingers along the jaw and ending at the ear.

Do that two more times.

And then if there's anything else that you think on your face could use a little massage,

A little opening,

You take your hands along your cheeks,

Maybe rub whatever excess oil,

Pressure at the eyebrows again.

That always feels really nice.

And then just rub the hands together.

And then lower the hands for a moment.

Before we begin our Nadi Shodhana alternate nostril breathing,

First get a sense for the relief and any sensations that you now pick up from this light acupressure.

And we'll begin our Nadi Shodhana.

So please,

With your right hand,

Rest your right thumb right at the at the outside of the nostril and right at the tip where your nostril meets the cheek and the face.

And then your ring finger rests that on the left nostril.

And you could bend your index and middle finger in if that feels comfortable or you can leave them out.

Whatever is going to be the easiest for you.

And then just rest both fingers on the nostrils,

Not closing them off just yet.

So please inhale through both nostrils.

And exhale through both nostrils.

And then we're going to close off the left nostril ever so slightly and inhale through the right.

And then with the thumb,

Soften the right nostril and exhale through the left.

Inhale through the left.

Close off the left,

Exhale through the right.

Inhale through the right.

Right thumb now closes the right nostril,

Exhale left.

Inhale left.

Close off the left nostril,

Exhale right.

Please continue for just another minute.

And being very gentle with the closing off of the nostril,

It remains open slightly.

Just a few more cycles.

Receiving a nice rebalancing of the nervous system.

But also a nice bonus of inhalations of this lovely oil that we've used.

Letting the qualities of the oil that you've used enter into the system as well.

And then next time you inhale through the right nostril,

Release the hand and exhale through both.

And just rest with your hands,

Palms up on your thighs.

Inhaling through both nostrils,

Hopefully feeling more evenness through the nostrils themselves,

But also to your energy level.

For just another minute,

Continue to feel the effects of just a few minutes of Nadi Shodhana,

Alternate nostril breathing,

Paired with very light acupressure on the face with oil.

Feeling open,

At ease,

And balanced.

Keeping all of these qualities within us,

Please bow your head slightly as you bring hands into your heart center.

Bowing to your higher self,

The higher self who shows up for your practice,

Who you are utterly devoted to.

Offer her a namaste.

Reviews

That was such a wonderful practice, Melissa! It was perfect to combine acupuncture pressure with pranayama✨ I even paused the recording halfway through and did some face yoga before starting the breathing. I feel very balanced, calm, and released. Thank you so much for your wonderful creation, I'll go back to this practice again.

A wonderful break in the middle of the day!
Thank you 🙏

I loved how she walks you through this. I didn't realize all the pressure pain I was holding from my congestion until she helped.

Thx Melissa - that was amazingly intense … I have used the GuaSha for face massage bevor, find this more intentionally. Going to include this in my morning practice- Love 🌈💫✨🙏Astra

Hello beautiful 🎀🌸🎀🌸🎀Thank you so much for the acupressure and breathing session 🎀☮️🎀I’m feeling wonderfully with sweet smiles
🗺️have a blessed day 🕉️Namaste

A unique experience & it was led in a soothing way. Would love to see this same meditation in a longer format!

Simply wonderful. You do an amazing job of guiding this practice with your verbal cues. Immediate benefit. Thank you!

Great. I loved this and will return to it. Thank you!

🙏🏼

Relaxed

One of my most favorite experiences.

Beautiful! 🙏🏻