Sports massage with the acupressure mat - Through regeneration to better performance

Using the acupressure mat has a similar effect to sports massage and sauna. The many positive feedbacks from athletes show that the acupressure mat is used very frequently, many even daily. General blood circulation is increased, the lymphatic system is stimulated and toxins are flushed out of the body. Acupressure gently loosens adhesions in the tissue. Tense muscles and their connective tissue - the fascia - are noticeably loosened by the acupressure mat, also known as a fascia mat. Our customers also report permanently more relaxed muscles in everyday working life and improved joint mobility.

Better performance in sports through acupressure

An acupressure mat can help you improve your athletic performance in two ways: A short application before training can stimulate your nervous system, while a longer application can relieve pain and inflammation thanks to the endorphin release and improved blood circulation. This not only supports the recovery process, but also helps to prevent future injuries.

Another important part of wellbeing and muscle recovery is restful sleep. The body releases growth hormones during the night, restores tissue and strengthens the immune system. Extensive recovery is important for optimal protein synthesis in the body. For this reason, many athletes use the ShaktiMat acupressure mat, also known in this context as a sleep induction mat, to work on their sleep problems. Time and again, athletes achieve such successful results after a short time that they even fall asleep while lying on the mat.

Black Edition - the most popular acupressure mat for competitive athletes.

The ShaktiMat "Black Edition" acupressure mat is a fairly manufactured foam and cotton mat with 6210 sharp plastic tips. The mat stimulates the fascia and muscle tissue as well as your skin and helps to increase blood circulation at the contact surface. For example, on your shoulders, back, legs, neck, glutes or abdomen. The mat can be rolled up for transportation and can therefore accompany you to competitions or the gym in the bag provided. Sweat on the mat after training is also no problem, as you can simply wash the cover in the washing machine.

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This is what athletes & physiotherapists say about the ShaktiMat:

Gillies Kaka, NZ Rugby 7's

"I can't rave enough about my Shakti Mat. When I traveled for the World Series, I always used it before the games and in the evenings to relax. Then I had to give the mat to my grandma because she loves standing on it so much. Now I use the Shakti Mat 'Advanced'."

Tips for using the acupressure mat for athletes

For the best result of the sports massage you should use the mat with bare skin. This can be a little painful at the beginning. In this case, start with a thin piece of clothing or cloth between your skin and the plastic needles. The first few minutes are usually always uncomfortable for a short time. Deep breathing can help with relaxation. After a few minutes, the pain fades and a warm, relaxing sensation sets in.

The ShaktiMat acupressure mat wrapped around the leg promotes blood circulation in the thigh.

Before training

• 2-3 minutes before the workout for stimulation and excitation
• Intensive stimulation of the nervous system to strengthen muscle power
• Stronger blood circulation supplies the muscles better and with more oxygen
• Activation of the sympathetic nervous system ("fight or flight")

After training

• 20 minutes or longer after the workout to relax
• Acupressure relaxes muscles and promotes blood circulation, which in turn accelerates the process of muscle regeneration
• Acupressure activates, improves and accelerates the natural healing powers of the body
• Stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system ("resting and digesting")

General acupressure mats exercises

You can find a general overview of standard exercises in the article Acupressure mat - use and exercises for the body. Here is a small overview:

• Acupressure mat - back
• Acupressure mat - neck and shields
• Acupressure mat - feet and legs
• Acupressure mat - hands and arms
• Acupressure mat - abdomen and chest

Physiotherapist Pablo about the ShaktiMat

For example, there is Pablo, physiotherapist, who, as an athlete, fell in love with the ShaktiMat hat🏋️. Especially because it regulates his muscle tone and provides for Pablo's daily relaxation

How the acupressure mat makes Germany's five most popular sports even better

Sport is a popular hobby in Germany, which quite a few people have pursued from an early age with the motivation to achieve successful performances and perhaps even to compete with others. In addition to the fun of competition, we value sport above all as a means of maintaining our health in the long term. However, sport alone is simply not enough for most people to feel good in the long term.

It's frustrating when your body feels stiff and achy or you can't get a good night's sleep and get out of bed in the morning feeling groggy. Full energy reserves and quick recovery are important to get the best out of yourself. Exhaustion, tiredness and tension are unsuitable conditions for performing at the sports club, gym, outdoors in the fresh air or on the mat at home in a way that is beneficial to your health. This is where acupressure sports massage comes in:

Before tissue and the skeleton are put under new strain, the aim is to increase blood circulation by applying strong pressure to specific points, to stimulate the body's own healing powers through the pain stimulus and to achieve the release of endorphins. Regardless of the type of sport, these three factors are essential for pain-free movement and a positive overall feeling. 

The ShaktiMat provides the greatest relaxation when you lie on it with your back.

Acupressure helps athletes to release old tension and heal lingering injuries. Used before training, the mat warms up the tissue and increases blood circulation in a short time and without physical exertion. The mat can be used on almost any part of the body. You can find suggestions on how you can use acupressure for your favourite sport further down in the article.

Minimal tissue injuries, which regularly occur during sport, heal much faster due to the optimal supply of fluid and blood to the affected tissue and are characterized by fewer unpleasant side effects (e.g. hardened lactate accumulations.) This is due to the fact that only tissue that is well hydrated and supplied with blood can be optimally supplied with nutrients, as the body always transports these via fluids. The return route, namely the removal of toxins and metabolic products that can cause inflammation, also takes place via the blood, lymph and other tissue fluids. Only when these flow can our healing and cleansing system work as nature intended.

But how does it all work? The tips of the acupressure mat press deep into the tissue without damaging it and provide an - initially clearly noticeable - pain stimulus. This stimulus triggers a chain of communication within the body, which in turn stimulates the desired blood circulation and the supply of fluid to the tissue. After using the mat, the skin in the area where pressure has been applied looks clearly reddened for this reason. 

After lying on the ShaktiMat, the back is reddened due to the increased blood circulation.

Neck pain is a particularly common problem that many athletes complain about. However, this is usually related to a sedentary job, for example in the office, and less to the sport being practiced. Nevertheless, it makes sense not to separate neck pain from sport and to treat it during the acupressure session or after sport. Why is this so important?

A tense, aching neck often causes the body to adopt a kind of protective posture in which the shoulders are pulled upwards and the cervical spine is severely bent. The neck muscles atrophy and become weak. If, for example, you attempt a yoga headstand or play a header, then in the worst case scenario you will lack the necessary stability of the muscles in the neck area under this increased strain and you could seriously injure your spine. You can prevent this risk with the acupressure mat:

In the study The Benefit of a Mechanical Needle Stimulation Pad in Patients with Chronic Neck and Lower Back Pain: Two Randomized Controlled Pilot Studies from 2012, people with chronic neck pain and/or lower back pain were treated with an acupressure mat. The subjects had to use the acupressure mat for 30 minutes a day over a period of 14 days. The participants in the treatment group rated the pain as significantly less after this time.

But now we come to our acupressure exercises for the most popular sports in Germany:

Acupressure mat for runners - Better jogging and sprinting through acupressure

"When running, everything starts with your feet, so it's important that you become aware of how you walk, how you stand and how you run. An acupressure mat is a great help here."

But the acupressure mat is not only good for professionals. When it comes to recreational exercise, running in the fresh air is one of the most popular sports - especially among adults. According to a Statista study on jogging frequency from 2019, five and a half million Germans over the age of 14 go jogging frequently. As many as seventeen million go for an occasional run without regularity.

There are many reasons to go jogging, for example many people run to keep their heart healthy or to work on their stamina. Others want to lose weight or simply experience the feeling of joy that fills the body after a strenuous run. The best thing about running: It's free and variable in time of day. You can do it alone or in a group and it requires hardly any equipment. The barrier to starting running is therefore relatively low. But this is also where the biggest danger lies:

As running often seems like a simple activity for recreational athletes, many don't really listen to their bodies. Filled with the motivation to run as fast as possible, as long or as intensively as their body can handle, many people put incorrect strain on their joints, don't warm up properly, don't pay attention to their posture and push themselves beyond their limits without providing the necessary aftercare afterwards.

Regular use of acupressure can reduce incorrect strain and prevent and compensate for overloading of the muscles and fasciae. We have put together a few helpful exercises so that you know how to do this:

Standing, walking, swinging

Stand with both feet on the mat. You may feel some uncomfortable pain at first if you are new to the mat - focus on the breathing, not the pain. If you feel it hurts too much, put on stockings for the exercise. Take a few deep breaths and then begin a slow "walk" on the mat - lifting your feet alternately. Again, do this for a few breaths (for example, 5 times) and then stay in a firm stance with both feet again. Now bend forward and swing back and forth several times (for example 5 times).

Calf wrap

First, stand on one leg and wrap the mat around your calf. You can use a strap to hold the mat in place or simply hold it firmly. Now apply pressure to different points for a short time and hold it for two deep breaths before changing the point where you are pressing. If you feel comfortable with this, you can also make slight rotational movements around the leg while you are pressing to intensify the blood flow. Then repeat the exercise with the other leg.

Legs High

This exercise not only warms up your back and improves your blood circulation, but also relieves pressure on your spine, as your spine rests almost straight on the floor. If you feel that your head is tilting back uncomfortably, you can roll up a small towel and place it under the two bones at the base of your skull.

Fit on the bike - pedaling better through acupressure

In addition to cycling, such as road cycling or mountain biking, millions of Germans cycle regularly. Both professionally and recreationally, cycling plays an important role in fitness. Unfortunately, in addition to improved health, this also entails very specific injury risks:

Leaning forward, sitting and pedaling hard - the body follows a very uniform movement pattern on the bike. It is therefore susceptible to tension and overloading, which can have an increasing impact on health if left untreated.

Acupressure for road cycling or cycling is particularly helpful to support the strained muscles and fasciae, especially in the legs and arms, after an intensive training session and to minimize the consequences of overloading. The tissue area around the buttocks is also particularly stressed during training. It is not uncommon for untreated tension here to lead to long-term pain on the bike or even to a restriction in everyday life: for example, if you have a sedentary job and the body hardly experiences any compensation. With the acupressure mat, you can counteract the build-up of tension and enjoy cycling in the long term.

In addition to lying on your back on the mat to compensate after a training session and to prepare for the bent forward posture when riding, we have put together three other exercises:
Arm rolling, thigh and calf massage and breech relaxation on the acupressure mat help to relieve tension, ensure a good exchange of tissue fluid and prepare the body to withstand renewed strain in the same areas:

Arm rolls

Place the mat on a table in front of you and position your forearms and hands on it. Now very slowly rock your arms back and forth 10-20 times with pressure. If this is too painful for you, place a towel underneath. If your elbows are in the area of the tips, you can make sure to relieve them with a cloth, because the skin here can be very sensitive for many people.

Thigh & calf massage

Place the mat on a flat surface, e.g. the floor or a sports mat. Sit on the mat with your legs stretched out straight, so that your thighs press into the acupressure tips. Now stretch your legs by bending forward and trying to grab your feet and take 10 deep breaths. Repeat the same exercise with your calves on the mat.

Next, place the cross-twisted acupressure mat on top of your thighs (still sitting with your legs outstretched and leaning slightly forward) and now press the tips of the mat against your thighs using your body weight, supporting your hands or forearms.

Breech loosening

Place the mat on the floor or on the bed. Now sit on the wheel of the mat so that you just feel the tips with your buttocks. Now pull your knees towards your chest - keeping the tips of your toes on the floor - and let your back become round. Now rock back and forth so that the tissues around your rump are massaged by the mat.

With the acupressure mat in the gym - these exercises support the workout 

According to statistics from 2019, five and a half million Germans go to the gym several times a month. More than half even go more than once a week. Since 2016, the number of weekly gym-goers has increased by half a million - and the trend is rising. At the gym, many try out different machines and test out various courses, the various ways to train the body are waiting and there is usually a trainer on hand who can answer questions about the correct exercises for beginners.

The problem? Many people train enthusiastically but one-sidedly - lifting weights to get stronger, for example, but forgetting to protect their tissue from shortening due to the one-sided strain. Others practice a balance of stretching and training, but want better results and are repeatedly set back by painful lactate build-up in the muscle or other signs of overuse.
For this reason, we have put together 4 exercises for you that, in addition to warming up, will prepare your body well for strength training and protect you from injury.

Eagle wings

Lie with your back on the ShaktiMat and now move your arms ten times very slowly along the floor like eagle wings. This allows the tips of the mat to work deeply into your muscles. To extend the exercise, you can then alternately raise your arms above your head and bring them to your belly.

Acupressure meets leg stretching

Kneel down and place the acupressure mat in front of you. Now place one foot on the mat while the other knee remains on the floor. Now carefully load the foot by stretching the back leg into a stretch as we show you in the picture. Hold the stretch for several breaths and then switch legs.

Belly and pelvic pinch

Position the acupressure mat so that your abdomen and pelvis are fully supported. If you have protruding hip bones, protect your skin at this point with some fabric (for example, put stockings between the mat and the bones.) Now inhale as deeply as you can so that your belly presses into the mat. Hold the inhaled air and count down slowly from four before exhaling again. As you exhale, sink into the tops of the mat - don't clench your abdominal muscles. Repeat the exercise up to 10 times.

Po swing

Sit on the acupressure mat with both halves of your buttocks. Hold your knees firmly and lift your feet off the floor by leaning back a little. Now slowly rock your buttocks back and forth like a leaf in the wind.

Kicking with full power - How acupressure supports soccer training

Soccer is by far the most popular sport in Germany. Many people just like to watch it, but millions play it themselves, often from an early age. Whether it's a competitive sport or a game with friends, soccer demands a lot from the body. Speed, kicks, endurance and, of course, kicking the ball require full physical exertion. Acupressure can also be of great help here. It is not for nothing that it is also used by competitive athletes.

The endorphins released by acupressure spur you on to peak performance, while the increased blood flow makes the body supple and prevents strains. The acupressure mat can also do a lot of good for the joints - the knees in particular suffer quickly and are not always cured long enough after injuries. That's why the motto is clearly: prevention! If you prepare your body properly, it's easier to walk off the pitch with your head held high and your back straight instead of hunched over in pain.

Do you like to kick the ball at full power for 90 minutes at the soccer club and want to know how you can recover more quickly from your performance, warm up more effectively and do something good for your body after the game? We have of course prepared a short training program for you with the ShaktiMat acupressure mat:

Calf Biter

Place the mat on the floor and position your calves on it. You can either lean backwards or put pressure on your legs. Now move the tips of your feet alternately towards and away from you to alternately tense and relax the muscles of the calves. Take at least one minute for the exercise and do it slowly.

Lateral thigh acupressure

Lie sideways on the mat and support yourself as shown in the picture. Now alternate the pressure in a light rolling motion from further forward, over the middle to the back and concentrate on deep breathing. Try to do the exercise for one minute per side.

Thigh support

Kneel on the floor and place one leg in front of you. Place the ShaktiMat on your thigh with the tips turned towards your thigh and now support yourself with your hands on the mat. Hold this pressure as broadly as possible for one minute and then switch legs.

Foot cramp

Take the pad out of the cover of the mat and wrap the mat around your foot with the tips facing the foot. Now place your foot on a hard surface - you should already feel the pressure. Then apply pressure with your hands around the top and sides of your foot for about a minute, holding for 10 seconds at a time, before changing the position of your hands.

Knee wrap

Remove the pad from the ShaktiMat and wrap your knee in the cover of the mat so that it is surrounded by the tips. Now slowly apply gentle pressure around the knee with your hands and hold it for at least two to four breaths at each point. Then switch legs and repeat the exercise with the other knee.

David Beckham can do it - so can you!

It was a great pleasure to see David Beckham mention our mat in an Instagram Story and now become part of the ShaktiMat community.

Acupressure for hiking and outdoor sports - happy & fit outdoors with these tips

Outdoor sports are becoming increasingly popular - they combine fresh air and exercise with the satisfaction of discovering something new for the constantly wandering eye. Outdoors, breathing usually flows almost automatically and the body's blood circulation and lymphatic system are stimulated by the steady, deep breath.

Well, that sounds perfect, you might think - but outdoor sports in wind and weather bring with them completely different challenges. Cycling tours and hikes can take several days. Maybe you hike in the mountains in summer to enjoy the view and feel tension in your calves in the evening? Carried luggage seems to sit in your muscles like an overgrown rucksack even at night and it is not uncommon for your feet to be very sore due to the constant strain.

To save space in your luggage, you can put the ShaktiMat in without the inner padding - it is also easy to use this way. But be careful - the following acupressure exercises can be felt quite strongly due to the lack of padding - perhaps leave a thin layer of fabric between you and the mat:

Acupressure for hiking and outdoor sports - happy & fit outdoors with these tips

Place the cover on a relatively soft surface, such as a meadow, moss, a sleeping mat or in the bed at the hut. Now position your back on the mat and alternately bend one leg for 30 seconds at a time before extending it again and bending the other leg. You can do this exercise as long as you like - several minutes are useful.

Arm clamp

Roll up the cover of the ShaktiMat as shown in the picture and clamp it under your arm - now apply proper pressure and breathe deeply at least three times. You can then vary the position all along the upper arm - the blood circulation is stimulated both in the arm and in the muscles between your ribs, which are often painfully tense after carrying a backpack for many hours.

Fleet feet - toes, sides, heels

Place the mat cover on a hard surface and sit in front of the mat. Now place both feet with the heels first on the mat and then make a rocking-circling movement in which you press the toes, heels and sides of the feet alternately into the tips. 

Hero seat with pinch

Place the mat on the floor and sit on your feet with the front of your lower legs pressed into the tips as shown in the picture. If the pressure is too intense for you, you can put a cloth on the mat or put on a pair of thin pants.

We hope we have been able to conjure up lots of inspiration in your head as to how your ShaktiMat can help you with physical activity. If you would like to exchange ideas with other acupressure mat enthusiasts, we would like to invite you to join our acupressure group on Facebook, which now has over 15,000 members. You can find even more information about the acupressure mat here.   

Sources

The Benefit of a Mechanical Needle Stimulation Pad in Patients with Chronic Neck and Lower Back Pain: Two Randomized Controlled Pilot Studies; 2012; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3446809/

VuMA (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Verbrauchs- und Medienanalyse). (November 13, 2019). Most popular leisure activities, hobbies and sports (undertaken at least multiple times a month) in Germany from 2016 to 2019 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1043108/most-popular-leisure-activities-in-germany/

VuMA (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Verbrauchs- und Medienanalyse). (November 13, 2019). Number of persons going to fitness centers in their spare time in Germany from 2016 to 2019, by frequency (in millions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/412984/leisure-time-frequency-of-fitness-center-visits-germany/

VuMA (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Verbrauchs- und Medienanalyse). (November 13, 2019). Number of persons exercising or playing sports in Germany from 2016 to 2019, by frequency (in millions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/412934/frequency-of-recreational-exercising-playing-sports-germany/

VuMA (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Verbrauchs- und Medienanalyse). (November 14, 2018). Number of persons agreeing with the statement "I seize many opportunities to stay fit" in Germany from 2015 to 2018, by level of agreement (in millions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/412926/use-of-fitness-offers-germany/


German Olympic Sports Confederation, & DSSV. (November 11, 2019). Leading sports types in Germany in 2019, by number of members (in millions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1032946/leading-sports-types-members-germany/

IfD Allensbach. (July 11, 2019). Most popular sports in Germany according to the interest of the population in 2019 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/975658/most-popular-sports-in-germany/
Statista survey. (August 26, 2016). Where do you practice or have you practiced yoga? [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/915218/germany-preferred-places-for-yoga/

IfD Allensbach. (July 11, 2019). Number of people who go running in their spare time in Germany from 2015 to 2019, by frequency (in millions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/412951/going-for-a-run-frequency-in-leisure-time-in-germany/

IHRSA. (May 29, 2018). Health and fitness clubs in Europe membership by country in 2017 (in 1,000s) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/308836/members-of-health-clubs-in-european-countries/

Literature:

Andrews, Synthia and Dempsey, Bobbi: Acupressure & Reflexology for Dummies. Wiley Publishing, Indianapolis 2007. p. 10 ff.

Ferriss, Timothy: Der 4 Stunden Körper. 4th edition, Riemann, Munich 2011 p. 334,

Reed Gach, Michael: Heilende Punkte. Acupressure for self-treatment of illnesses. Knaur, Munich 1992. p 15 ff.

Schwind, Peter: Fascia. Tissue of life. 2nd edition, Irisiana, Munich 2015 p. 36 ff.