I have been practicing acupuncture for 7 years now and to be honest I feel as if I am only just getting good at it. That might sound like quite an admission - and it is, but I need to put it in context.
Five Element Acupuncture addresses the spirit and through the spirit it addresses physical issues. I think my problem in the past was that I didn't actually have enough faith that this is true. When clients came with physical problems I would often put my analytical head on and try to fix their problems in a physical way.
Now I tend to listen to the client in a different way. I am asking myself what is his/her spirit saying to me. As I listen to them I get a feel for the acupuncture points that will address their immediate need.
I am more and more convinced that it is the spiritual needs of a client that are more important than the physical aspect. After all if the spirit is strong it can cope with life much better. Here are two examples of this:
Last week a client came for his 5th session. He has been feeling much better but was still complaining of feeling oppressed by his emotions towards his parents, whom he feels tried to take advantage of him and manipulate him when he was ill.
I decided to use an acupuncture point called "Spirit Burial Ground" which addresses heaviness of the heart and depression. It is located either side of the chest between the mid line and the nipple line, in one of the intercostal spaces (i.e. between the ribs). It helps that place in the centre of the chest where one can feel heaviness, dullness or emotional pain.
After I treated the points the client felt the need to have an enormous stretch - as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep. As he stretched he reported that he felt as if a heavy weight was lifting from his chest and at the end of the session he was smiling and looking more relaxed than I have ever seen him.
Later in the week another regular client came to see me and he too seemed quite down. He reported that his head was full of thoughts that kept on churning around and around. I felt inspired to use Spirit Burial Ground again, since it seemed his spirit had been buried under all of the worry.
Again the point worked its magic. This time there was no stretching, but at the end of the session I saw a peace and relaxation on my client's face that said it all. He looked happier than I have ever seen him during the 3 years he has been coming for treatments.
I am not averse to using needles to release pain - from a sore knee or ankle for example, but more and more I am seeing the value of addressing the spiritual needs of the client first and foremost.
I hope you enjoyed my musings for today. If you need to know more, please contact me on health@altmedic.co.uk.