or<\/p>\n
“I understand that I should tonify a tonification point and sedate a sedation point, but what should I do with Luo Connecting points?”<\/em><\/p>\n No matter how it’s phrased, it really comes down to the question of proper needling technique. I know there are a number of different schools of thought about how points ought to be needled. Some of the more popular are:<\/p>\n And so on. Then, of course, there are the super complicated combination techniques. “If the point is below the waist, and the patient is female, and you are treating the extremity on the left side, turn the needle clockwise exactly seven times, then retain it for 11 minutes, but only if it’s Spring and your needle is gold and your patient is facing North.”<\/p>\n Yes, I’ve actually heard some that complicated.<\/p>\n I refer to all of the above as “designer” needling techniques. I’m not trying to disparage all these special techniques; I know many of them are extremely valid and effective. But I want to give you another way to look at the points and their proper treatment.<\/p>\n Nearly all the points recommended in AcuGraph are included in a special set of points referred to by various names including Antique Points, Five Shu Points, Command Points, Transporting Points, or Five Element Points. All located at or below the knees or elbows, these points have special energetic properties and functions related to the subcategory into which they fit. For example, using the water metaphor, these points are classified as well, spring, stream, river and sea points, in reference to the relative amount and velocity of chi flow at each point.<\/p>\n Additionally, some of these points are classified as tonification<\/strong> and sedation<\/strong> points, based on their overall effect on the channel to which they belong.<\/p>\n But here (pardon the pun) is the point:<\/p>\n I think of these points like I think of light switches. If there’s a light switch on the wall and you want light, you simply flip the switch and you get light. We can argue about whether you flip the switch with your finger or thumb, whether you do it slowly or quickly, whether you flip it just once or many times, and which direction you should face while flipping. But the end result will always be the same. If you flip the switch, you’ll get light. If you don’t you won’t.<\/p>\n Similarly, if you activate a tonification point, it will tonify the whole channel. You don’t have to do any particularly special technique designed to “tonify” the tonification point. You merely need to activate it. The same applies to sedation points and the other points used in AcuGraph. In all cases, you simply need to activate the point and it will have the appropriate effect, based on its energetic function.<\/p>\n Now, how you choose to activate the point is up to you. When needling, my personal preference is to insert the needle for about 20 minutes and manipulate until the patient experiences the arrival of the chi. When the chi has arrived, I know the point is activated, and I remove the needle.<\/p>\n I know this might not satisfy those Zang-Fu diagnosticians who love designer needling techniques. But we’re not working in the Zang-Fu world when we treat these antique points. We’re reaching for something much deeper and more primal at the basic energetic level.<\/p>\n Trust the points, trust their functions, and let the chi do the rest.<\/p>\n And drop me a comment to let me know how you like to needle.<\/p>\n Until next week—<\/p>\n Dr. Adrian Larsen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today I’d like to address a question I’m often asked about the appropriate way to needle the acupuncture points that are suggested by the AcuGraph system. If you don’t use…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practice"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"needling\"](\"http:\/\/www.miridiatech.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/needling.jpg\" "\\"needling\\"")
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