| Here's a great opportunity to learn about an amazing and relatively little-known form
of acupuncture, which was originally introduced to the West by Englishman J.R. Worsley in
the mid-20th century. Following a true holistic model, this form of acupuncture is not palliative (aimed at
merely reducing symptoms) but is restorative, striving to treat body, mind & spirit at
the same time. Not everyone who hangs out a shingle saying they're Five
Element-trained will turn out, on closer inspection, to be fully qualified: purists insist
that only acupuncturists trained by J.R. Worsley himself, or someone directly trained by
him, qualify for this honor. You can take that with the proverbial grain of salt (or
moxa, a Chinese herb you'll get to know intimately) or not; we're merely passing on the
conventional wisdom about this highly esoteric but nevertheless elegant and simply
amazing, Chinese art.
Not surprisingly, there are five elements to this form of acupuncture, which correspond
to five "seasons" observed in nature: the fall, winter, spring, summer we
normally recognize, and a fifth--Indian summer--we ordinarily might not.
A trained five element practitioner uses color, sound (tone), even smell to diagnose
your type; and relies heavily on pulse diagnosis to confirm and treat conditions.
Beware: this type of acupuncture actually hurts; but happy patients seem willing to forego
momentary pain for what they perceive as long-term results.
The following is a wonderful description of the experience of five element
acupuncture from the patient's point of view. The author of this passage
is Dianne Connelly, a leading practitioner and one of the founders of the
Traditional Acupuncture Institute.
"What goes on in the treatment room is a tapping of life as an
empowering event. Traditional acupuncture is a system of healing that looks
to all of a person and sees the entirety of the individual as an expression
of Ch’i, the life force, the essence of life manifesting. Nothing of a
person’s life is judged bad or good, it simply is. Everything is seen and
held simply as an expression of the person en route to knowing who she is,
self reaching for self. Everything in each human’s life is seen as an
integrated picture consistent with her journey. Health is a dynamic
experience of this integrity, no matter what the circumstances of the daily
life, the tasks at hand at the moment—diapering the baby, putting in the
needle, delivering a lecture, making love, washing dishes, praying. As she
taps the power of being in her own life, it is as though she has swallowed a
hand grenade with the pin pulled out, and in slow motion begins to realize
what she has done: an internal explosion occurs, and though she may look
like her old self in appearance, a transformation happens from which she
will not recover, nor will she want to. In the awesome recognition of her
homecoming, in the irrevocable acknowledgment of her Nature, she is no
longer estranged from herself. Every estrangement henceforth will point her
homeward.
It is through our nature that we master our symptoms, that we break
through habits and patterns that no longer serve us, that we change the ways
that we have ceased to be useful in our lives. We shift from being possessed
by our history and all its content to being in command of our own
homecoming. "I am more at home in myself. I have a grasp on my
struggles—I can use them. If a headache starts, I don’t automatically
dread it. I’m calmer now." These are words of a person beginning to
recognize her power to be healthy. This is a shift from a position of being
the victim of a symptom, to being in balance and harmony in relation to the
symptom. From here, the patient begins to gain her whole life, seeing
herself in the world, both her internal and external world, as a creative
force. She grows to trust her own life, to observe the varied expressions of
herself—gestures, thoughts, interactions, reactions, patterns of eating,
sleeping, emotions, upsets, symptoms; to see the relationships and watch the
tapestry she weaves in a day’s time, not as a voyeur, but as a voyager in
the kingdom of self. She opens to all of life, and gives thanks. She
realizes that her task is the same as the task of every human being—to be
home in her life, to live her life fully and authentically, knowing she is
not here alone nor only for herself. She is here for life, shepherdess for
the homecoming of human life."
—Dianne Connelly, All Sickness is Home Sickness.
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