Should You Do Acupuncture?
I want to answer this very important question that people ask us all the time, should you do acupuncture?
The answer is yes, acupuncture’s going to benefit you no matter where you’re at in your cycle, no matter what your diagnosis is, and no matter, what outcomes you are hoping to achieve.
What can we do to move energy? There are lots of different ways we can do this. Acupuncture is one of many ways.
The focus of acupuncture is on the bioelectrical aspect of your being. We focus a lot on the biochemical in terms of nutrition, targeted supplements, and creating the cellular environment that is optimal for health and fertility. We very rarely talk about the bioelectrical, the energetic aspect, and how can we support that in us.
The History Of Acupuncture.
We know acupuncture has been practiced in China since the beginning of China’s history. When there is an imbalance in society we collectively seek solutions. When people are getting sick we look for solutions. And that’s exactly from my understanding is how Chinese medicine evolved. It evolved out of a need created from disease, pain, and people suffering.
And so looking around, what can we do to support, to regain health in our body, mind and soul, spirit, consciousness, whatever you wanna call it?
Another thing is we can’t be a thousand percent sure and say that it started in China, because what about Tibetan medicine, right? We know that in places elsewhere outside of China, Tibetan medicine has its own focus.
A big debate is whether Tibet is part of China. We’re not gonna get into that. Tibetan medicine has its own focus. Acupuncture is part of it. It has a much more evolved spiritual component.
After the cultural revolution in China, you know, obviously, they did away with the psychospiritual part of Chinese medicine, and it was basically just focusing on the physical, part, which is fine. So my point is maybe it really started in Tibet and was exported into China.
The same with Egyptian medicine. When we look at history at looking at mummies, some mummies were found with acupuncture points that had been stimulated, or the mummies had tattoos. There was prominent recognition of meridians and points. So acupuncture goes way back. Here is what is also interesting. Chinese medicine, let’s say it started in China, wherever it went it migrated to Australia, to Europe, to the United States.
Wherever it goes, it takes on the flavor of the culture that it’s in, it’s adaptive. For example, in South Korea, the Chinese medicine that’s practiced there is much more based on mugwort moxibustion, which is heating the body up.
Four Branches Of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
There are four branches of traditional Chinese medicine. They are herbology, acupuncture, manipulative therapy, otherwise known as tui-na, and food cures, which are very interconnected to herbology using food as medicine and putting the herbs into the food cures.
So within acupuncture, we have needles, which I’d prefer to call filiform so people don’t have such a strong aversion. We have cupping, which a lot of you have had, they’re literal suction cups, which I’m gonna do a whole talk on that, the benefits, what happens, and how it facilitates healing. (Subscribe to my newsletter to stay connected and read my future blogs.) And then we have Moxibustion which is using a plant called mugwort in a variety of different ways to heat up the body to create change. And it’s doing more than heating. It’s like, it’s the original laser therapy, it is red light therapy. And so it’s photobiomodulation.
When Chinese medicine went to South Korea, it adapted to the culture there. And as we know, a lot of South Korean food is very hot and spicy, and they eat that really spicy kimchi. So it would make sense that they would say, oh, we’re going to use the hottest part of Chinese medicine, the spiciest part here, and use that to facilitate change in the body. Fast forward to now. People ask me all the time, well, if this is the case that Chinese medicine adapts to the culture that it’s in and it’s practiced very differently in Japan versus China, then what style do you practice? And I always say that I practice American style, which means that I am going to adapt to where you are at.
Some people love strong simulation, they really wanna get the job done in one or two sessions. The dry needling technique can be very strong. Some people really have an aversion to needles. They’ve had needle trauma, whether it’s in this lifetime or another, and don’t want a strong electrical sensation. So we can adapt to where you’re at to support you.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a wonderful day. Remember to be kind to yourself so that you can be kind to others. It is not hard to care.
Jennifer Waters, Dipl.Ac., L.Ac.
Expert in the field of acupuncture and light therapy.
Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Jennifer Waters and her office co-mates, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. Jennifer Waters and her team encourage you to make your own healthcare decisions based on your research in partnership with a qualified health professional.
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