Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is one system of diagnostics and treatment within the realm of East Asian Medicine. Practitioners often develop their own “style” of treatment based on their teachings in Chinese medical school and their clinical experience. This medicine can work in many ways due to its emphasis on the energetics of the mind and body in addition to the physical connections. Treatments have a cumulative effect; however, the effects can sometimes be felt immediately.
Acupuncture Is an Energetic and Physical Medicine – But What Does This Mean?
Each physical action begins with an energetic thought. If a person decides they want to gain muscle, that decision is an energetic thought. However, the only way they will gain muscle is if they follow through with the physical action of training those muscles.
Even in Western medicine, it is understood that the body contains measurable energetics. For example, the electrical impulses of the heart beating are measured with an echocardiogram (EKG), while the electrical activity of the brain is measured through an electroencephalogram (EEG).
The fascia, a lesser-known conductive tissue, is a weblike structure, similar to nylon or spandex, that wraps around every organ, muscle, tendon, ligament, nerve, spinal cord, and brain and creates an interconnectedness among them. It is made primarily of collagen, which has a triple helix piezoelectric structure; piezoelectric means it conducts electricity when a stimulus is introduced, such as an acupuncture needle, and it carries an electrical current quickly and efficiently.
The fascia can be compared to an eight-lane highway rather than a nerve, which is comparable to a one-lane road. When an acupuncture needle is introduced, a signal is sent through the fascial network to the spinal cord and brain, then back to the needle, providing instant feedback. In this sense, an acupuncturist is working to “rewire” how the brain views the tissue being stimulated bringing the body back into balance, relieving symptoms. These internal channels that develop are called “meridians,” and the energy that is conducted is “qi.”
Where Attention Goes, Energy Flows
Unfortunately, modern life is taxing on the mind and body. A person’s attention is spread thin and externally (versus internally, or within), to phones, driving, and an ever-growing list of tasks and responsibilities. For most people, downtime consists of screen time, which still places attention externally. Much like when that person on the phone finds himself in a slumped position and starts to feel a backache, that cue refocuses the attention on how he is holding his body; with that awareness, he can respond by adjusting positions.
When a person brings attention back to their body and mind, true healing can happen.
Depending on what is being treated and how long a patient has had a condition, treatment effects may only last for a few days; the body and mind will always choose the path of least resistance, especially when they are struggling for resources such as time and energy. Bad habits start to be unconsciously formed, slowly weakening the internal network between mind and body.
As the treatment of acupuncture “rewires” this network, it shunts blood and energy down the healthy pathways. The habitual pathways we have formed are still strong, so the internal mind and body default to those; however, the more treatments a person can get and the closer they are together, the stronger and faster the body will rewire to the healthier pathways. This process will begin to clear bothersome symptoms such as headaches, eczema, acne, digestive problems, and more.
Acupuncture also works with the body’s natural intelligence. If someone were to cut herself, she might support her healing with a bandage or ointment, but there is no need to tell the body how to mend the skin back together. Our body knows how to heal itself if given a chance.
Adding adjunctive therapies to a session such as internal herbal medicine, tui na, shiatsu, moxibustion, cupping, and gua sha will also aid the healing process. Furthermore, incorporating lifestyle changes around nutrition and diet, breathing exercises, sleep habits, and restorative physical exercises such as qi gong or tai chi will help keep the healthy pathways strong.
Like going to the gym a few times per week, adding acupuncture multiple times per week will help with the cumulative effect and forge healthy internal pathways so the body and mind can heal more quickly.
Briana Trudell is a CT-licensed acupuncturist and clinical herbalist specializing in skin health and wellness. She practices at Soleil Acupuncture and Naturopathic Wellness in Hamden, CT. Connect with her at 203.871.3262 or www.soleilholistic.com.