Tuesday 19 May 2015

change and master acupuncture


 

Welcome everybody,

I am currently working at a retreat - www.amchara.com - in the mediterranean, where the strap line is "change for good". 

Retreats are great places for making lifestyle changes, both short term and long term.



Getting away from the habitual, from the everyday routines and responsibilities that shape our lives, is a sure way to begin the process of change, whatever those changes might be. 
Of course, it's not the only way, but more often than not we do need support to make those changes that matter to us.

It's so easy for us to get into 'ruts' in our lives, to accept the status quo or to indulge in the 'comfort zone' that we might have spent a lot of time and energy (not to mention money) in creating for ourselves. But after a while, perhaps even a long while, there comes that niggling feeling that this is not enough. We could be bigger and better, and we know it!

Sometimes we just know that without a break, a change, our lives are in danger of unravelling, whether from exhaustion or being under pressure or simply by not being selfish enough. And a holiday is not the answer, it wont do it for us, something more radical is needed!

At the retreat this help is straightforward. Our guests have already made the decision to change.

Being primarily a detox retreat, master acupuncture supports the cleansing process by firstly offering the 'four gates' treatment. This treatment works on tonifying the large intestine and sending energy down to encourage toxin elimination. It also tonifies the liver, which has to work hard in the first few days of detoxification. Together, needling these four acupuncture points increases yang energy  and in so doing reduces the pain of change!

Secondly, master acupuncture treats any health issues that our guests may be experiencing. These may be as a result of the detoxification process e.g. there are two acupuncture points that when combined together reduce the cravings from giving up comfort eating; there is an acupuncture point for increasing willpower, lessening the agony of change; there are acupuncture points for increasing energy levels should lethargy set in, etc. Quite often guests will bring with them other health issues, ranging from pain conditions such as knee pain to more systemic problems e.g. high blood pressure, asthma, etc. Master acupuncture can help by initiating treatments that focus on such conditions that can then be continued to be resolved on returning home.

Thirdly, master acupuncture offers balancing treatments, balancing the five elements as a preventative measure when it comes to maintaining a healthy and harmonious body/mind/soul. According to oriental medicine, dis-ease and disharmony result by increased degrees of imbalance. The master acupuncturist is able to work out everyones five element imbalances from birth and is able to restore a degree of balance, thereby promoting health and harmony.

Here at amchara the emphasis is on detoxification and weight loss. However, whatever your situation, when it comes to making changes, master acupuncture can help.

Master acupuncturists know that the organic energy responsible for determining what's good for you and what's not good for you is the small intestine energy. Often people will unconsciously tune into their small intestine energy when mulling over whether to go ahead with a particular action or choice! The last point on the small intestine energy meridian is SI-19, with the name 'listen to your heart'. It is found on the face, just in front of the ear. See how many people rub this area up and down with their forefinger when contemplating something put to them. 

The small intestine, in oriental medicine, is intimately connected with the heart energy (indeed it is referred to as the yang of the heart). Using the point SI-7, with the name 'gate to the heart', is a powerful tool for the master acupuncturist, promoting a deep change in the personality that encourages 'change for good'.

A course of acupuncture treatment can make the all the difference between succeeding or failing in your heartfelt desire to ring the changes for your own health & harmony.

Wednesday 18 February 2015

happy new year of the wood goat








happy new year everybody, the chinese new year begins on february 19th 2015.

actually, master acupuncturists know that there are 3 chinese new years every year!

the first is on january 20th 2015, and is known as the celestial new years day. it always falls on the 20th or 21st january every year, when the constellation of aquarius is at 15 degrees to the earth.

the second, known as the terrestrial new years day, always falls on february 5th. this is the first day of spring according to the cycle of the four seasons.

the third, known as the human new years day, is the one we all hear about, falling on the second new moon after the winter solstice. this is the one that affects each of us as individuals and all of us as a race.

so, in a nutshell, there is a new years day in heaven (the celestial sphere); on earth (the terrestrial sphere); and in man (the human sphere).

what all three new years have in common is the same vibrational quality and quantity, determined by the cycles of life. the cycles of life repeat every 60 years (a sexagenary cycle) and they are the basis for master acupuncture practice.

so, let's have a look at the vibrational quality and quantity associated with the year of the wood goat. by doing this we can gain an insight into what to expect over the coming year, and how we might be affected!


the chinese name for a wood goat year is 'yi wei'. yi relates to the yin of wood and so in this new year there is a deficiency of organic energy, and the quality of this organic energy is calm and flowing. if you were to look for an example of this kind of organic energy you would do no better than to observe the flow of river currents. the flowing strength of the river symbolises the energy of yi in nature. wei relates to the symbolic energy of the goat. now any goatherder knows the tawny strength of the goat, able to climb surefootedly in hostile terrain, able to digest anything edible, calm by nature until provoked!

so, in putting these two energetic scenarios together - calm, powerful, flowing energy and strong, nourishing energy - results in a relationship that produces a calm, pleasantly enjoyable and benign strength of nature, with the odd flare up from time to time!

a closer look at the deficient energy of 'yi' shows that, in the cycles of life, it is trapped within a ring of metal energy.

alchemically, as all master acupuncturists know, deficient metal energy allows fire energy to increase along the five element reverse ke cycle, and in so doing creates energetic heat and the occasional flare up.

if this is the energetic nature of the host 'yi wei', the wood goat year, then we as guests would do well to harmonise with our host. as each of us has our own unique enegetic nature (our personal energy signature) this action can be easier for some than others! if you don't know whether you're a water dragon or an earth dog etc. then follow the link and simply key in your date of birth www.birthdayoils.com and find out.

it can all be worked out i.e. the relationship you already have with the new year, energetically speaking. and as we know (it's a universal law) energy creates, controls and sustains our forms i.e. our body/mind/soul/spirit forms. all this knowledge creates a possibility for master acupuncturists to harmonise the guest and the host, throughout their time together, by practicing the four 'change of season' treatments. you can access this treatment protocol at www.masteracupuncture.co.uk

medically speaking, in this new wood goat year, the missing organic energies of the water element mean that the kidneys and the bladder are at greater risk during this year. this is especially so for the kidneys in the autumn i.e. the metal season in a deficient metal year. so, hydration is going to be particularily important then, and to a lesser extent throughout the whole year.

the climate in a 'yi wei' year is naturally drier than usual, summer being hotter than usual with the occasional heatwave. volcanic activity increases whilst earthquake activity decreases, however those earthquakes that do happen are likely major events.


The 'yi wei' year brings a welcome relief from the turbulent 'chia wu' year just past.


HAPPY NEW YEAR