Acupuncture is more than just needles
I consider myself an herbs man, primarily. During my first year in school, I decided that I was going to try to focus as quickly as possible. Now, granted, I need to learn as much as possible about the medicine as a whole. I need to know points, channel theory, point combinations, herbs, formulas, modifications, general theory and all its subdivisions, patient-doctor communication, business management and all the rest. I need to know where to access resources when I need them and I need to be a competent overall practitioner. However, this medicine is so vast that it is extremely dangerous for a person as enamored with it as I am to operate without a particular focus. Having focus will allow me to increase my abilities in my chosen field while helping me to avoid overwhelm and avoiding becoming a jack-of-all-trades. It will also help me choose a thesis topic, mentor and help me to know who to work with in clinic. Not everyone takes this view, and I realize that.
Regardless - I love my herbs and I love formulas and I feel uncommonly blessed to be at NCNM - home of so many incredible scholars of Classical Chinese herbalism. However, this term I am learning a deep love and respect for acupuncture as well. Although some have argued that NCNM does not have a Classical acupuncture program, I beg to differ. We do learn points as other schools do - memorizing them and learning what sorts of standard actions are commonly ascribed to them by the profession at large. However, this teaching is mediated by a much broader and more Classically based view of channel theory and, most importantly, techniques. Currently in our classes with Dr. Youping Qin we are learning the principles of Shen management as well as a host of Classically based needle manipulation techniques. It’s freaking AWESOME.
I’m especially interested in the Shen management portions of lecture and it has done a lot to change the way I needle. These are the five things I’ve taken from those lectures. I’d be delighted to hear your thoughts in the comments.
1. You must needle without distraction.
The most important point I’ve taken away from the lectures so far is the vital importance of focus. This is, at least in part, the process of focusing your Shen completely on the needling. The idea is to focus everything on the tip of the needle, sensing the tissues and energies around it. When you get this kind of focus, you can drive the Qi, you can sense whether you are dealing with evil or even Qi and your treatments will be more effective overall. When I started marshalling all of my resources and not thinking about irrelevant things or even thinking about my performance, I found my insertions improved greatly and I grabbed the Qi much more quickly.
2. You must self-cultivate.
This partly follows from the last point. Focus doesn’t always come easily. You have to be able to step outside your problems or at least let them live somewhere else for a while. You have to be able to be totally present for the patient. Even some of my most beloved doctors have trouble with this, but I do think it is very important. Being needled by a doctor who is wholly focused on the treatment and not on talking to me about the latest football game score seems far more effective on the whole. Self cultivation will also enhance your ability to correctly access and interpret Qi, and probably increases the efficacy of your manipulation. That’s on top of all the other benefits.
3. You must have good contact with the patient and maintain that throughout the visit.
In more than one class we have talked about the fact that the treatment actually begins with your very first contact with the patient. Even the most practical of doctors have to admit that the conversation between the doctor and the patient - including your body language and speech quality - have a sometimes huge influence on the treatment effectiveness. Given that eyes are the windows of the Shen, having good eye contact is quite important in the Shen management part of any given treatment. I have to admit I am a little confused about this part - the pragmatist in me wants to reduce it down to easily analyzable behavioral actions and reactions. But somehow I know that it’s more than that.
4. You must study technique as well as point location.
As usual, I take from my studies a strong urging to study. The greatest needle manipulation techniques in the world aren’t going to matter much if you don’t hit the point. Regardless of recent studies that indicate that “sham” acupuncture is as effective as “real” acupuncture - good location and excellent understanding of channel theory are a huge part of great treatments. I can’t even imagine how you would go about challenging this - one simply needs to get a few treatments from someone only recently trained, or hastily trained and then turn to someone who has been practicing and improving the health of patients for 30 years… you’ll see the difference. However, beyond knowing points and channels it is also vital to learn techniques for manipulating the Qi and actually USE them. We have learned reduction and tonification techniques, and this week began to learn “joined needling” and “joint needling.” I needled through my partner’s ankle! It was awesome! The more I learn about techniques and apply them in my limited experiences the more I see their power.
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Tags: Acupuncture, channels, chinese-herb, Learning, Personal Development, study, theory-to-practiceRelated posts
Living in Harmony with the Seasons: Part III - Thriving in Autumn
Tags: autumn, Classical Texts (general), dietary-therapy, fall, seasonal-living, Seasons
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8 Reasons you should do Qigong even if you don’t want to
I just got back from a QiGong retreat this weekend. As part of our program at NCNM, we learn Qigong within a specific lineage that we are privileged to access via one of our program founders, Heiner Fruehauf. It’s an amazing addition to our education. We take a practicum each term where once a week we learn from a teacher and are encouraged to have our own practice outside of class. We learn many forms as well as therapeutic applications of various movements that we can teach our patients. But the crown jewel of the Qigong portion of our education is the Qigong retreats. Once a term (so about every 3.5 months) we go to a beautiful natural area for three days with our teacher and our classmates and do Qigong for many hours a day. I’ll go into the retreats in another entry, but this time I’d like to talk about something else. Before you read, you might want to check out my recent entry discussing the nature and practice of Qigong.
The prevailing problem that I have, and I’m sure I’m not alone, is maintaining a regular practice outside of class and retreats. Our program is a challenging one and I have a lot of extra-curricular activity that, along with my family and personal commitments, pushes me to the limits of tolerance. So sometimes doing Qigong can seem like an impossible “extra” that is simply unnecessary. After all, noone is grading me on whether I do Qigong every day! So I thought I would offer my list of reasons why it is important to maintain a rock solid Qigong practice even in the face of intolerable schedule chaos. Many of these reasons will pertain to people who do some other practice, or people who aren’t in the field of Chinese medicine.
1. Personal cultivation is the foundation of authentic Chinese medicine practice.
In numerous Classical sources, personal cultivation is seen as the ground from which great practitioners are grown. We have been told by many professors how important it is to cultivate our own energy to a high level in service of increasing our sensitivity and proclivity as acupuncturists. Even in herbalism, a calm and refined mind will serve us well. Of course, Qigong isn’t the only practice that can help us in this regard - but given that it has both moving and still forms, uses visualization and internal silence for meditation and keeps the channels open and flowing it seems a particularly ideal practice.
2. Qigong helps keep your body healthy.
The forms that I learn combine stretching, isometric work, deep breathing, core strengthening and some cardiovascular elements. All of these elements are balanced quite well and while some forms may leave you quite breathless, you never feel pummeled or exhausted like you might with some more popular forms of exercise. Combine this with the fact that most forms focus on the opening of channels and removal of stagnation from problem areas and you have a program for total physical wellness. Definitely a good thing for Chinese medicine students that are forced to be sedentary much of the time.
3. You can use some forms of Qigong to study, if necessary.
Again for Chinese medicine students, and perhaps for other students, you can use Qigong as an addition to your study techniques. I have already discussed how you can use Qigong to help you study acupuncture points and channels. However, you can use Qigong - especially any repetitive portions of a form - as a way to more deeply integrate knowledge about the human body. If you are studying muscles, for instance, you can focus on each muscle you are using in a particular form as you are using them and try to remember the origin, insertion and action. If you can think of any novel uses of Qigong in studying, please do let us know in the comments.
4. Qigong is an effective stress reducer.
Perhaps a bit redundant, but it’s important to note that I have found Qigong to be a very effective reducer of overwhelming stress. When my practice is regular and fully engaged, I don’t notice little things and I certainly don’t worry about them. I don’t get headaches, I don’t crave so much sugar and caffeine and I think my academic performance improves. You may not notice ALL of these benefits, but I would be surprised if you didn’t experience some of them. This effect may come from the opening and coursing of the channels, it may come from the spiritual benefits of diving deep inside or it may simply be a by-product of taking some time for myself.
5. The more you repeat a form the better able you will be to teach others that form.
One of the goals in learning Qigong in our program is gaining the ability to teach forms and parts of forms to others. Why would we do this? Well, as practitioners we might teach the forms to our patients or to a class in order to help them gain all the benefits I am discussing. We might also teach specific techniques to patients experiencing particular symptoms - such as high blood pressure or headaches. I have heard students discuss offering free Qigong classes in the morning at their clinic as a way to extend or intensify acupuncture and herbal treatment. Many people find that when they practice Qigong in addition to getting regular treatment from a practitioner, they get better faster and the effects are longer lasting. Practicing the forms often will help you to give these benefits to your patients in the future.
6. It’s a great way to wake your body up and ready yourself for the day.
I like to do simple forms in the morning as an alternative to coffee. Some of you coffee-heads are laughing right now, I know, because I used to be one! You may think you can’t live without your coffee, but I bet you can. Just for one week, try doing a 30 minute Qigong session BEFORE your coffee and instead of going directly to brew up a pot just go inside and see if you really need it. I bet 9 times out of 10 you will find that you can forgo the cup of joe. While I don’t demonize coffee consumption like some people do, I think it’s a mistake to allow your body to become dependent on too many substances. We’re already dependent on carbohydrates, protein, minerals, vitamins, water and oxygen - why add yet ANOTHER thing you can’t live without?
7. Failing that, it’s an excellent way to let go of the day and ready yourself for sleep.
Sometimes I don’t manage to get up early enough to do a morning form. Sometimes I can’t find time for it through the day. If this happens, I always always find time to do a simple and non-energizing form in the evening. For my friends on the Qigong retreat this weekend - I think you know what form I’m talking about. *wink wink* Seriously, though, doing one of the sitting forms or simply standing in Universe stance after some brief movement can really help me settle down from the day. If I’m feeling particularly energized, sometimes I do a walking form around the yard and imagine all my cares and thoughts going out of my feet and into the ground. Nearly always this helps me go to sleep and stay asleep.
8. It’s a multi-purpose way to attend to your spiritual health.
Although I try not to find my spirituality in my medicine, Qigong is a great bridge between the two. It can be part of the medical system, is based on the same principles and definitely helps you cultivate your inner awareness of spiritual dimensions of reality. As I’ve said before, it can be a method of meditation and also can be seen as a form of prayer. Sometimes I will do a physically intense form and follow that with a deep meditation session. Because my channels are open and my energy harmonious, I can sit for longer periods and find myself to be much less distracted.
Do you do Qigong? Do you have a regular practice? Tell us how you manage to keep to it in the comments.
Eric
Tags: Acupuncture, Classical Texts (general), classical-chinese-medicine, deep-breathing, education, habits, Learning, meditation, Personal Development, QiGong, spiritualityRelated posts
What is Qigong?
It occurred to me today that although I have made frequent mention of Qigong in articles, I’ve never really discussed the nature of this important pillar of Chinese medicine practice. I guess it’s one of those situations where you don’t know what others don’t know and so fail to explain things! Qigong has become such a normal part of my life that I forget that many people don’t know about it!
I am in no position to provide an even incomplete history of Qigong, nor am I knowledgeable enough to provide a complete description! The best I can do is offer a brief explanation and my observations - I hope it is useful. I’d be happy to hear about your experiences with Qigong in the comments.
Basic Explanation through Chinese character etymology
Many people start their explanations of Qigong with a comparison to Taiji (also known as Tai Chi). While this comparison is certainly useful, I’d rather start with a little etymology. Qi Gong : 氣功 is made up of two important characters. The first, Qi 氣 is ubiquitous in Chinese medicine texts, but has a wide variety of interpretations that have sometimes been the subject of controversy. Most dictionaries list Qi as having the following set of meanings: air, vapor, energy, vital energy and spirit. The character is composed of two portions, the uppermost 气 a picture of steam rising or simply air moving. The bottom portion of the character, 米 is a picture of rice. So many interpretations suggest that the first understanding of Qi developed from this idea of vapor rising from something cooking. What does this mean? For me it evokes the multiple meanings of Qi. Qi is nourishment, but it also has ethereal qualities - it is vaporous, but not simply air, but air with something IN IT. Palpable air. It is moving and warm. It is in an “in between” state between fully material and fully etheric.
Gong, the other half of the term Qi Gong, is a very simple character but is likewise full of meaning. It is composed of two portions, the leftmost being 工 which is often simply translated as work or labor. Some sources suggest that it is a picture of a tool used to flatten earth. The right portion of the character 力 is usually translated as strength and is a picture of an arm doing something that uses muscle. So Gong as a total character refers to work that involves strength, or work that creates strength. Put together, Qi Gong simply means work using and/or creating strength that involves the Qi. You could think of this as work with Qi, so to manipulate and strengthen the Qi but there are certainly other interpretations possible.
How Qigong is practiced
Just as with other martial arts, Qigong has many many schools. I don’t know the exact number, but one of our professors suggested that there are many thousands of schools of Qigong in China. Some of these may be practiced only by one family, passed along from generation to generation. Others are published in books and DVDs! Originally, as with most martial arts, Qigong knowledge was passed from Master to Student and often involved an element of secrecy. Qigong has been and can be used for a variety of purposes from increasing longevity to dispelling particular elements of disease to simply exercising the body for general health purposes. As with many martial arts, the packaging and distribution for mass consumption almost always removes many elements that make it most effective.
For this reason, if you are interested in Qigong, I suggest you search carefully and find a Master who you can study with in person. Find out from the teacher or other students the nature of the Master’s background and their connection to the lineage they are teaching. Qigong practitioners can vary widely in personality and temperament, but you should feel comfortable with the instructor and the form they are teaching.
There are forms of Qigong that are quite strongly moving and will give you a workout. On the other hand, there are sitting forms of Qigong that focus on internal movement and meditation. The lineage that I am privileged to learn has the full range of sitting, standing and moving forms. Qigong seems to almost always involve the intentional opening and moving of Qi in the acupuncture channels. This may involve stretching, striking of the channels with the hand, shaking or even simply internal focus on the movement of energy through the channels. Qigong is also often a very balanced activity. If you do quite strong motions they will often be followed by something quieter. If you do a lot of activity with the upper body it will often be followed by a lower body focus. You get the idea…
My experience with Qigong has been wonderful. I have done quite a bit of Yoga and Taiji in my life, but didn’t do Qigong until I came to NCNM. While I still enjoy both Yoga and Taiji, nothing has been as wholly positive as Qigong. I find it really helps to keep my energy flowing, boosts my productivity and serves as a convenient vehicle for me to do my daily meditation. I am quite fortunate to have access to the very special form I have access to - but I know that others have had great success with other more widely available forms. I hope this brief introduction will encourage you to seek out a Qigong practitioner in your area. If you have any questions, suggestions or personal stories please do contribute to the conversation in the comments - no registration is necessary.
Edit: If you cannot find a Qigong class near you that you are interested in - you can consider learning from DVD. It’s not ideal, clearly, but I do know of one great product: Master Wu’s 5 Elements Qigong DVD. This incredible man is a true master and used to teach at NCNM. Check it out.
Eric
Tags: Acupuncture, Character, chinese-medicine, classical-chinese-medicine, deep-breathing, erics-habits, etymology, Personal Development, QiGong, stress, studentsRelated posts
Exploring the World of Classical Chinese Medicine
Please enjoy this guest post by my friend and classmate, Christopher Thombs, Candidate, M.S. in Oriental Medicine at NCNM.
Reprinted (in abbreviated form)in Oregon Acupuncture Association newsletter, Fall2007
Classical Chinese medicine celebrates bian hua, or the breath of nature. Only through unrestricted movement of breath will the body and spirit function optimally. Bian hua is a river flowing freely, the energy of spring surging up from seed, and the ebb and flow of the seasons. Our bodies are simply an expression of nature and our environment. As practitioners of Chinese medicine, it benefits us to lay the paradigm of natural processes over the landscape of our bodies. In modern Chinese medicine we have diagnostic and treatment protocols that are the products of studies, past recorded successes, and organized systems devised by doctors in China in the mid-twentieth century based on ancient knowledge — but we have lost something important to the ages.
In his college youth, Mao Tse Tung believed that China was isolated from the outside world, particularly the west, both in terms of cultural growth and social progress. By the late 1940’s, the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) had systematized thousands of years of medical knowledge. This enormous task aligned itself with a cultural revolution that saw the streamlining and regulation of everything from farming techniques to automobile axles and road widths. China wanted at the very least to compete with the rest of the world. Many of the practices and sources of information regarded as esoteric and ethereal in the context of the modern industrial world were simply deleted. Nature and its processes — the very foundation of the medicine — were all but forgotten.
Today, Classical Chinese medicine is a tenuous term, utilized mostly by those in the west seeking to reclaim the missing knowledge. There is, in the mainstream Chinese medical establishment, almost no institutionalized distinction between modern and classical perspectives, yet the classical teachings and treatment protocols do exist in the form of transmissions between student and teacher. Relatively speaking, a classical approach seeks to restore to the medicine the holism of nature and the holographic notion that our bodies are simply an expression of nature: there is something greater than ourselves, and we are a part of it.
Classical Chinese medicine is not exclusive, but rather embraces all the traditions and schools that existed for thousands of years either before relative popular decline or systematic elimination by the PRC in the 1940’s. It is important to understand that classical Chinese medicine recognizes the Wen Bing school, the canonical Shan Han Bin Lun, Six Conformation differentiation, the Bagua and medical I-Ching, and Taoist medicine, just to note a few sources. Additionally, much of the cosmological significance and symbology have been removed from most schools in the medicine, although many of our modern practices are based on this seemingly esoteric information.
Most classical Chinese medicine schooling in the west provides a platform to study and explore classical Chinese medical texts, texts which the majority of modern practices stem from. In Larre and Rochat de la Vallee’s series of publications about the organ systems and meridians, they examine in detail the symbology and cosmology of the Chinese characters in the medical classics in order to reveal valuable pathological and diagnostic information. Several translations of the Su Wen Nei Jing and other medical volumes are also accompanied by commentaries that explore the meanings and place them in a contemporary context.
At the National College of Natural Medicine, the goal of the School of Classical Chinese Medicine is to provide students with a strong classroom and clinical education in modern practices based on classical canonical medicine, while promoting a mentorship program of learning with individual doctors. It is the hope of the school that students gain as much from the transmission between teacher and student as from their books and studies. A number of students are also involved in extra-curricular projects and organizations, from student governance and AAAOM, to websites and publishing projects with individual doctors.
To say that classical Chinese medicine is one thing or another is to open a political can of worms. One thing is sure: we can never have too much knowledge. Problems arise when we mute or curtail knowledge to meet desired results. We can take courses in Chinese medical astrology and calligraphy or translate the Jingyue Quanshu, improve ourselves as practitioners through qigong and taiji practices, and study herbs and nutrition with great depth. Ultimately, however, it behooves us to acknowledge the inherent relationships between the parts of the whole and the natural processes at work in our bodies that have been embedded in these traditions from their inception, and are part of nature forever.
- Christopher
Tags: Acupuncture, Character, classical-chinese-medicine, guest-post, professional-development
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