What is Acupuncture?....The Energetic Explanation What is acupuncture? To answer this question one must first answer the question of “Qi”. What is “Qi”? These 2 questions are inseparable. “Qi” has been described in various ways depending on the root assumptions of a given culture. It has been associated with words such as energy or vital energy, spirit, electro-magnetism or even an invisible life force that binds everything in the universe. It is commonly defined as "energy flow," and is often compared to Western notions of vitalism as well as the yogic notion of prana. The literal translation is "air," "breath," or "gas”. Qi is all these things but it is also much more. In Chinese medicine, the physical body, the emotions, and the mind are not seen as a mechanism but as different densities of Qi interacting with each other in their various manifestations to form the living organism. Qi is not static. It is dynamic and ever-changing. Is it energy? Yes. Is it your body? Yes. Is it your emotions, your thoughts, your spirit?....yes. It is all these, stemming from the same source Qi….a Qi that is dynamic and transmutable by intention. Thought may be invisible to our basic senses but the Qi of thought can congregate and manifest into a physical representation. And just so, it can also dissipate like steam from boiling water into a density once again invisible to us. All material, all substances are but manifestations of varying degrees of Qi. One of the most comprehensible yet simple explanations of Qi comes from the book, “Foundations of Chinese Medicine”, by Giovanni Maciocia where it states, “Qi is an energy that manifests simultaneously on the physical and mental-spiritual level. It is in a constant state of flux and in varying states of aggregation. When Qi condenses, energy transforms and accumulates into physical shape; when Qi is dispersed, it gives rise to more subtle forms of matter”. Disease therefore is the detrimental congregation of stagnant Qi or stagnant energy. This can be caused by external and internal factors. One, external pathogenic factors, potential disease causing influences from our environment can break through our defense system, a weakened defense system in particular. Two, internal factors, such as emotions when not expressed properly can cause this stagnation and lower the body’s defenses thus increasing the potential to allow outer negative forces to enter into the body. Through my knowledge and practice in Eastern medicine, I cannot deny the power of the mind in the permitting of and even the creation of disease. Emotions and thought turn on processes that release neuro-peptides and other physical chemicals representative to what type of thought or emotion the individual is experiencing. Emotions therefore, when improperly expressed can become the root of disease. They can, I feel, cause or in the least allow stagnation, stasis or even cancer to come about. To cure a disease, therefore, one must move the stagnation and dissipate the negatively conglomerated Qi and bring this pathogenic Qi back to its source which is of a dynamic, free, light and balanced nature. Back to a state of pure potential. There are many ways to do this in the holistic arts….Tai Chi, Yoga, meditation, exercise, chiropractic work and also another very effective modality called acupuncture. This brings us back to the original question. What is acupuncture? From the point of view in discussion it is the art and medicine of moving and dispersing stagnant Qi and its obstructed pathways. Stimulating specific points on these pathways alleviate certain ailments a patient may be suffering from including physical, mental, and emotional blockages as well. The instrument used for the removal of these obstructions is the acupuncture needle. The needle creates a small injury so to say and an inflammatory response to it thus creating the movement needed for healing. In and of itself, acupuncture does not directly heal the body. It does something even more powerful—it releases and frees obstruction, allowing the body the power and ability to do what comes very natural to it…..the magnificent and highly skilled ability to heal itself.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 22:09:34 +0000
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