ure.
M
A
cupuncture is a powerful method of healing. Its use extends back into antiquity. When the pyra- mids of Egypt were being built, acupunc- ture had already been practiced in China and the Far East for at least a thousand years. Oriental medicine includes acu- puncture, herbalism, medical qigong, nutrition, Tuina massage, and Tai Chi and qigong exercise. Of these, acupuncture is the most well known in the West. Just fifty years ago, a “Ripley’s
Believe It or Not” comic strip showed an oriental man with many needles all over his body, illustrating this “strange” practice, and portraying acupuncture as an exotic oddity. How could the western mind make sense of this? How has it come about that in just 50 years acu- puncture has become known and loved around the world? This is a great gift from China to humanity. In the 1960’s, under Chairman
Mao Tse-tung, the Chinese revised the vast legacy of oriental medicine from a scientific point of view into what now is known as TCM, Traditional Chinese Medicine. Mao sent acupuncturists to the other Communist countries – the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Cuba – where this practical and effective system of medicine was appreciated greatly. Then in the 1970’s, China sent films to the U.S. showing major surgery being performed using only acupuncture anes- thesia. Amazingly, the patient was con- scious during surgery, smiling, chatting and drinking through a straw! Western doctors and other students went to China to learn more and Chinese practitioners began relocating to the West. Today, most acupuncturists in the U.S. are prac-
24 NA Triangle
www.natriangle.com
titioners of TCM.
Since then, interest in oriental medi- cine and acupuncture has exploded. During the past 10 years, acupuncture physician John Patton of Naples, Florida, has noted a change in attitude of clients who come for treatment. “I used to see people who were mostly trying acupunc- ture because nothing else had worked. Now, clients are educated and more health-conscious,” he says. “They have come to view eastern medicine as an avenue of preventive health care and maintenance.” The acupuncture practitioner is
trained to detect and correct imbalances in the body long before they become established as disease and often long before they would appear as abnormal lab tests. Sometimes they are able to detect the imbalance even before the patient is aware of a problem. This is a true preventive modality. Chinese medicine has a very long
tradition of supporting healthy longevity. We have all seen images of elderly Chi- nese people practicing tai chi exercise in the parks, and Chinese herbalism includes an illustrious tradition of herbal formulas designed to strengthen and stabilize health as people age. Acupunc- ture is part of this preventive mainte- nance. Even for those in good health, the custom has long been to go for treatment each time the seasons change, allow- ing the practitioner to correct any subtle imbalances before they progress into ill- ness, and to help harmonize the patient with the transition to the new season.
HOW DOES ACUPUNCTURE WORK?
Just as there is a circulatory system
o
dern
By Sara Ruth Kane, L.Ac.
for blood and one for nerve energy, each branching out to every part of the body, there is also a network of pathways for the flow of vital energy, called qi (pro- nounced chee). Along these pathways, called meridians, are specific points where the flow of the channel can be influenced and where different organ systems can be affected. While qi, like electricity, is not visible to the naked eye, acupuncture points can be demonstrated using Kirlian or infrared photography. When the qi flow in the merid- ians is balanced, free and peaceful, this supports vitality and health. When the flow becomes unbalanced, excessive or deficient, illness and pain can occur. Trauma, poor diet, medications, stress, hereditary conditions, environmental factors or excessive emotional issues all can disturb the balance of qi, and lead to illness. While the body has wondrous powers of continuous self-healing, some- times stresses and burdens overwhelm it. The self-healing cannot keep up and illness develops. Treatment can help to release whatever is burdening the system so that healing and detoxification can take place, weaknesses can be fortified, and the self-healing processes can be facilitated.
Modern acupuncture employs extremely fine, hair-thin, flexible, sterile, single-use needles that the licensed practitioner places at selected acupunc- ture points. The type of treatment varies according to the style of the practitioner and the nature of the condition. TCM practitioners often utilize gentle elec- trical stimulation of the points, which strengthens the effect.
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