Acupuncture Principles – Page 2

Acupuncture Principles February 15, 2017

Love Qi

The energy of mid-February brings our attention to the space in our upper chest, that houses the heart. Around the traditional time of Valentine’s day, a primal energy surfaces. Historically, many of the holidays that we celebrate were conceived within pagan traditions, and chosen specifically to mark seasonal shifts. The change that we experience around this time of year is that our attention is pulled upwards. The light is higher on the horizon and the days are longer. The sap starts to flow in the trees, representing the circulation in our bodies and the awakening from the Winter stillness. In human embryonic development, a space is created first where the heart will be formed. The undifferentiated cells come together as unit and begin to beat simultaneously all at once becoming an early structure of the the heart. The form undergoes many different stages of development until the final spiral organ…

Acupuncture Principles January 19, 2017

You saved my Ass.

“You saved my Ass.” There are treatment protocols learned while in school that I never have the opportunity to try out in clinical practice. Because I need an actual patient to have that ailment at the time of treatment. A few weeks ago, I had such an opportunity. A regular patient of mine came into her appointment with a tailbone injury. She acquired this while sledding with her children less then a week prior. Symptoms included trouble sitting, pain upon transition from standing to sitting, pain while laying on her back and while twisting. There was some lower back pain. She had an adjustment from her Osteopath the day before and was preparing for the customary 6-8 week pain cycle of an injured tailbone. I got her on the table, eager to try a few points that I remember watching a teacher, way back in school needle once for a…

Acupuncture Principles November 2, 2016

Meridians

The meridians are channels of energy that move through the fascial network of the human body. The connect inside of the body to the outside world. The network formed communicates among itself on all different levels and processes all types of information, some that we are not actively aware. It is a living system, formed in-utero and of primordial origin. The acupuncture points are windows at which to interact with this web of energies. Spaces to transfer information and give directives to the somatic consciousness of the body. The healing process that unfolds as a result, is unique to each individual. It is reflected directly onto and within the life the envelopes us.

Acupuncture Principles October 13, 2016

Intuitive Healer

Two separate people in the last two days told me that I practice Intuitive Healing and Intuitive Listening. Apparently that is what people say about my practice. I still get nervous about making that kind of information public. I am cautious of getting stigmatized as a quack. The cultivation of my career over the last decade and one half has been exactly like I thought it would be and at the same time nothing like I thought it would be. I named this practice,Transpersonal Acupuncture, with a specific holistic healing process in mind. It took me about a decade to really administer the type of treatments that I had envisioned. Not that my early work was not of high quality. It is just much more potent now. I can see a lot more quickly where the work is needed, I have better people skills, and clinical experience goes a long…

Acupuncture Principles September 9, 2016

Web of Consciousness

Consciousness is an ever present energy that has existed in abundance throughout all of time. It makes an appearance at every juncture of energy transformation on the planet. The light of consciousness can be perceived anytime that something changes from one form to another. Here are a few examples: A sperm and egg uniting. Regeneration and multiplication of cells. A seed unfurling roots into the ground to absorb nutrients and sending leaves up to the surface to utilize the energy of the sun. Chemical transformation. Condensation and evaporation of water. An active imagination, the spark of an idea, dreaming. The art of loving, healing and magic. Dying and the process of decay. This energy is alive and patterned in the form of webs, that reach out through time, weave in and out of matter, and are completely interconnected. Trauma is a disruption in the continuum of consciousness, a break or…

Acupuncture Principles December 11, 2015

Serving and Healing

The popularity of alternative health care is growing. There is a lot more information about supplements and spiritual practices in the main stream media. Advertisers are using the concepts of spirituality to sell products and to promote their services. Even some Western medical practitioners are selling supplements and suggesting dietary changes. This could be seen as the long awaited integration of alternative and allopathic healthcare models. There is a lot of money to be made in the sales of health products and services. The incorporation of spiritual language is enticing to the population of people between 20 and 40 years of age. Health care providers can market themselves and their products, making their information accessible to a large consumer audience. There are authentic and non-authentic practitioners practicing. Different healing modalities can reach individuals through myriads of avenues. What defines genuine healing? The article entitled In the Service of Life,…

Acupuncture Principles December 9, 2015

Modern Healer

Published in New Awakenings Magazine September 2015 Centuries ago, women’s health care, and childbearing in particular, were a female dominated field with women healers and midwives. However events such as witch hunts in early modern Europe and North America paved the way for a different, more linear, pragmatic model of medical care. That period in history is an example of the many shifts in medicine, and the pattern of changing health care, that has occurred cyclically throughout history. The movement away from consciousness oriented healing and towards intellect dominated health management happens over and over again Advances in health care are extremely useful and necessary in our health care system; there have been many revolutionary advances in science and medicine. But what would the state of health care be in today’s world if there had not been so many historical rifts in the development of modern medicine? Would…

Acupuncture Principles April 15, 2013

The Self and The Shen

According to Jungian philosophy, “the self is a pattern of order and wholeness in the human psyche.” (Gareth Hill, Masculine and Feminine) According to ancient Chinese philosophy, the Shen or spirit initiates all transformation in the world. It is a self-creating, active principle that connects the sacred realm of non-being with the material realm and form on earth. (Dennis Willmont, The Twelve Spiritpoints of Acupuncture) The Shen exists before we are born. At the moment of our conception it unites with our Jing or Essence and begins to make its way into residence in our heart (not limited to the anatomical heart). Once the Shen fully enters the body, as the umbilical cord is severed, it extends into the physical world through personality to fulfill its destiny. The Shen functions as the emperor or empress of the body. It sits firmly on the throne and rules all the officials of…

Acupuncture Principles April 14, 2013

Acupuncture and Disease

“In the most ancient acupuncture texts it is stated that if the mental state is at peace and equilibrated the person is less, indeed not all, subject to illness… He or she will be susceptible to no disease, even infections. This proposition is quite absolute.”1 The first question that comes to mind after reading this statement is, can this be true? As an acupuncturist, I would like to think so, but in my experience I have not found it to be absolute. However, in the trends that I witness through my work, I would say that it is more true then less true. The people that I treat who are actively dealing with their emotional issues, tend to have a better relationship with their physical/internal complaints. They have a greater capacity to heal. The more blocked a person is, the more the illness can balloon. I read that acupuncture is…