Acupuncture as Energy Medicine


8/2/18
Acupuncture as effective energy medicine
Acupuncture is definitely effective energy medicine. Acupuncture can help restore qi flow and balance the body’s meridians. And it’s when we achieve a greater sense of balanced qi flow harmony and vitality is restored. I feel like in order to help others with this as an acupuncturist, we first need to work on unblocking restrictions in our own bodies. I believe there are a variety of ways of doing this and the way one goes about doing this may be different for each of us.  Yiquan is a martial art developed in China that I recently learned about. I’ve been working with this for a short time so far and have felt the benefits in my body. When I practice Yiquan I can feel the qi begin to flow in my body and I feel more balanced. I work with a teacher who incorporates cranio-sacral therapy in her acupuncture practice, I would say she relies on certain palpatory techniques to guide her practice. There are various “listening stations” on the body, the feet for example, where she listens to the meridians of the body and can sense where the blockages are or where the qi is not flowing. I recently listened to a podcast with Dan Bensky who also talked about palpating the meridians. Engaging Vitality is a acupuncture and palpation workshop developed and taught by Dan Bensky, Chip Chace and Marguerite Dinkins. The workshops teach methods to sense core restrictions, detect heat in the body, sense specific points which are most available for treatment and their locations and to dialogue directly with a person’s qi. The palpation techniques are used as a diagnostic tool. In the interview that I heard, while as practitioners we all want to make sure that our patients are leaving the treatment with a sense of relief from pain, he said it is even more important to have the skill to palpate the meridians and feel that they are open and flowing. According to Dan Bensky, this is an important factor in a long lasting, effective treatment. I am interested in developing my skills of sensing the subtle energy of the body. I agree that this is an important tool and needs to be a part of one’s acupuncture practice.


(www.engagingvitality.com to find out more about the workshops and blog about palpation)
 

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