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A few months back, I received an acupressure mat, which I’ve almost exclusively used first thing in the morning. I’d step on it, and instantly you get this jolt and feel immediately alert. While I loved the sensation, it really can be quite jarring for some people - especially those with tight fascia.

I was talking about it with a student who was just passing through town and dropped in for a class. He’d shown up super early, so we were just talking about the different props I had at the studio. He was trying out my massage gun while I busted out the acupressure mat and asked if he’d ever tried one.

“Yes,” he said, and went on to tell me that it’s the one thing that’s helped his friend, who suffers from anxiety attacks. He said when you lay on it, it disperses your weight evenly, so it’s not as intense as when you step on it. That said, it’s still not a walk in the park, and he went on to say, “You have to be 100% in the moment in order to deal with the sensation from the mat, and that’s how it helps her with anxiety because when you’re in the moment, there’s no room for feeling anxious.”

I thought it was such a creative way to deal with anxiety that I wanted to pass it along because I know how common anxiety and panic attacks are.

I’ve dealt with my fair share of anxiety and panic attacks and other things that helped me were: