Acupuncture Health Care
Everything is made of one hidden stuff.
Acupuncture is one of several ways in which Asian (Chinese, Oriental) medicine helps people of all ages (yes! including children). In acupuncture tiny stainless steel disposable needles are put into special active points on the body, called acupoints. These occur in groups along meridians or channels. A professional acupuncturist studies 3 – 5 years to master the pattern of points and the art of using them to support good health and to treat a wide variety of complaints.
Acupuncture care is extremely safe, gentle, and highly effective. The research data supporting this remark are easy to access→ search websites such as www.acupuncture.com or www.medline.com. On my site be sure to read the handouts in the section called ‘Please Help Yourself’, and, consult my ‘Professional Links’ as well.
Besides being effective, acupuncture care is pleasant to receive! People worry about the needles, but in fact the needles are tiny and patients often forget that they’re there. Typically, patients become very relaxed; some even often sleep on the table. Relaxation shows that the nervous system is coming into balance (homeostasis) → the body is resetting itself, beginning to heal itself.
How does that happen? A good way to explain is to offer a metaphor. The idea behind acupuncture is that life energy circulates everywhere in nature and in your body—that’s why I chose that quotation to begin this section. The hidden ‘stuff’ of nature is called Qi in Chinese practice, and Ki in Korean and Japanese practice. It is the movement of this life energy that acupuncture manipulates with needles.
If there is not enough life energy circulating in your body, or if the energy circulation is interrupted, there will be dysfunction. Think of a river flowing. If its flow is smooth and steady, everything that depends on that river will also thrive—the fish, the plants, the frogs, the butterflies. Now suppose a dam blocks the river—maybe a storm dropped a tree across the river, or maybe the dam was built on purpose. Now the river’s flow is interrupted. Above the dam water piles up, a lake forms. Below the dam there is just a trickle of water. Everything that depends on the steady flow now must deal either with flooding or with drought.
So it is in your body. If something interferes with the smooth flow of Qi, you are likely to experience areas of excess and stagnation, and other areas of deficiency. Consider stagnation: suppose you live a high stress life, eat on the run, eat too fast and too much. Soon you may get symptoms such as burping, reflux or heartburn, bloating, constipation or too frequent bowel movements, cramps…or you may find that you are irritable, can’t fall asleep, feel tired yet wound-up. A professional acupuncturist will press reflex points on your abdomen and you might say “that hurts!” The little needles release this stagnation, and in the next 24 - 48 hours you feel your symptoms gradually disappear.
Of course, people respond to stress differently, so not everyone would get digestive symptoms. Some might get migraines, or skin rashes, or menstrual cramps, or any of a range of other discomforts. Whatever the set of symptoms, a professional acupuncturist looks below the surface to find how and where your energy is blocked…and then releases it so your personal “river of life” can flow freely.
Symptoms of deficiency are different. A person suffering from deficiency might complain of cold hands and feet, achy dull headaches, too-frequent colds or allergies, fatigue that sleep doesn’t heal, foggy brain or depression or difficulty making decisions, or even hot flashes. Again, a professional acupuncturist sorts among all your symptoms to find how your energy is not flowing properly, and then uses the needles to normalize flow.
Acupuncture needles are extremely fine solid stainless steel needles, sterile, and used only once (disposable). Acupuncture care can also be delivered without needles! I offer my patients (especially children) non-needle treatment with laser, acupressure, or heat. But even people with needle fear can usually adapt to acupuncture. That’s because the needle experience in acupuncture is completely different from receiving an injection with a hollow syringe needle.
Other treatment methods in this Medicine include herbal therapy, massage therapy such as tuina, diet therapy, moxibustion (warming herbs on acupoints), and moving meditations like tai chi and qi gong.
For more information, see the Handouts on this website, and try the links listed above.
