All she had to do, Arlene found, was to stand up with feet about twenty inches apart and rub her hands together until the palms were warm. Then, using her warm palms. she was to lightly stroke her face from brow to chin 30 times in the same direction.
Next, still standing, she was to partially close her eyes, look down at her feet, and continue to hold this stance throughout the exercise. Following this, she was to extend her arms out in front at waist level with fingers touching. Then she was instructed to swing her arms back behind her until her fingers touched, and then to swing her arms out in front again. She was to do 100 of these arm swings. Throughout, she must keep her awareness focused on her toes and not allow her thoughts to wander.
Before the count of 100, Arlene realized that the awful pain in her head had completely disappeared. Since then, for more than a year, she has practiced Li-Shou every morning before breakfast—and she has not had a single headache.
Li-Shou, which means “hand swinging” in Chinese, is highly effective because swinging the arms shunts blood away from dilated arteries in the head and into the arms. Simultaneously, the exercise releases endorphins in the brain that also help to relieve pain.
As additional blood is drawn from the head into the hands and arms, the arteries dilate and the hands and arms become warmer. This is the same effect as that achieved through biofeedback. By keeping the awareness on the toes, this condition is then transferred to the feet, which also become warmer.
After practicing Li-Shou for two or three weeks, arteries in both hands and feet remain dilated throughout the day. By redirecting the blood flow away from the head, the Li-Shou method makes further headaches almost impossible.
Li-Shou works well for both tension and migraine headaches, both as a prophylactic and to abort a headache which has already occurred. As. ^.prophylactic, it should be practiced once a day. When stroking the face, avoid touching the eyes. Simply stroke the flat of the face lightly with your palms. Don’t rub or press hard on the face. Naturally, if you have any ill effects from the exercise, you should stop at once.
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