What is Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the art and science of manipulating the bodies Qi flow through the insertion of fine needles into predetermined points on the body.

Just as Feng Shui maps out the Qi in the external environment so does acupuncture map the Qi of the inner world - our bodies, and the relationship between the two systems has always been a close one due to the belief in the maxim 'as Above, so Below'.

The late Prof. J.R. Worsley of the College of Traditional Acupuncture was one of the first practitioners of Five Element Acupuncture in the UK. Whilst this is also my background as an acupuncturist I should point out that Five Elements was but part of the acupuncture story. TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine is finding favour both here in the west and in the east. TCM tends to be more allopathic than Five Elements (in my view) and therefore more acceptable to western medical thinking, it also utilises herbal remedies along side its acupuncture practices. The College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading is a great example of the blending of Five Element with TCM.

It has been a long road to acceptance by the British Medical Association for acupuncture and happily it has finally found favour within the western medical approach, although it is still seen by many western doctors as mere pain relief. In the east it is used to treat a widening range of ailments and is commonly seen in aiding birthing and anaesthesia.

The acupuncture model accept that there are 'meridians' of energy (Qi) permeating the whole body that could be likened to a railway transport system. The acupuncture points allow access to 'switch', speed up, slow down, add or subtract energy from the various organs of the body and this has a direct effect upon those organs, the body and support networks, as well as both hormonal and adrenal cycles.

In Five Element acupuncture we believe that all illness stems from a causal imbalance in the individual and by getting to this root cause we are able to bring about healing within the client. This is a viewpoint shared with many forms of Homeopathy and other healing arts.

Acupuncture is not a 'miracle cure', whilst there are some people who seek to profit from such claims. It is simply a treatment for an illness or imbalnce within the individual, and can take as long to be effective as it took to create the problem in the first place. I find it amazing that a doctor can tell you that it will take two months to recover yet you expect your complementary practitioner to do it instantly. Reality is a sobering friend indeed.

There was a time when people didn't go to acupuncturists when they were sick, they went whilst healthy in order to stay so. It is a shame that we have lost that mentality in the west where we seem more concerned with becoming ill instead of being healthy.