One of the mantras I can still hear my master JR Worsley telling us was: "Even a little child can understand this", and by "this", he meant the underlying principles of five element acupuncture. One of my own mantras, following on from this, is: "Find the element and the element will do the work". A person's element is the imprint which nature gives each of us as the stamp of our unique individuality. By supporting this element through treatment directed at it we are helping nature do its work, with each treatment strengthening the element and allowing it to return our patients to a state of balance and harmony within themselves.
There is never any need to reach for complex point combinations. We should rely instead on the simplest treatments, and the least number of them to help the elements. We should also avoid over-treating our patients. We should wait until we have proof that the element we have chosen confirms our diagnosis, before gradually spacing treatments out from one to two weeks, then to a month and eventually longer.
It is good to understand that each time we insert a needle into an acupuncture point this can be seen as an interference with a patient's energy, and to some extent as disempowering the elements. We should therefore interfere in the most gentle way and as least often as possible to allow the elements to regain the control over patients' energy which nature intends for them. Unnecessary treatment encourages the elements to continue to hand over control to us rather than empowering them to do their own work.
And finally, always remember when in doubt choose a command point. Unlike other points, you can use and re-use them as often as you like.
No comments:
Post a Comment