I remember when I was just starting out in my studies of acupuncture, I visited an herbal pharmacy in Boston's Chinatown. In the back, an older gentleman sat at a card table and took pulses. He spoke no English, and just took my pulse for a few minutes. Then he jotted down an herbal pharmacy in Chinese characters and handed it to me. I took the paper over to the several people who were busily measuring out raw herbs and handed it over the counter to them. They quickly made me up an herbal remedy, handed it over to me, I paid them, and I left. And the herbs worked quite well for me!
At the time, this seemed like magic. How on EARTH could someone just take a pulse, and from that alone come up with an herbal formula - without asking any questions?!? Now, many years later, I understand how such a thing is possible. It requires only 3 things, and the most elusive of them for many practitioners is a reliable system of pulse diagnosis that expands with the needs you place on it so that you can get as much or as little information as you NEED for clients presenting with patterns of greater or lesser complexity. The system presented in Simplifying the Pulse will do just that, and can be used equally well with herbal diagnosis as with acupuncture diagnosis.
By request, I will be covering the basics of how to use the pulse this way during the upcoming class. The principles discussed can be applied to different styles of practice so that you may set up a patent, powder, or raw herb formulary to complement the work you are already doing, with the pulse being the central diagnostic method. One common difficulty faced by practitioners who are trained in both TCM and meridian-therapy styles is how to easily use herbs in their meridian-therapy style practices without having to shift mental gears and do a full TCM-style intake. I will discuss ways to overcome this problem and how meridian therapists can set up a pharmacy to complement the patterns they see and treat in their practice. However you think about your acupuncture work, you will learn how to feel the qualities in the pulse that will allow you bring herbal medicine, dietary supplements, and food prescriptions seamlessly into your existing practice.
For meridian therapists who have special interest in this facet of pulse diagnosis, I suggest picking up a copy of the book The Practice of Japanese Acupuncture and Moxibustion, by Ikeda Masakazu, as recommended reading before the coming weekend. While I do not find everything in this book applicable to my own practice or suitable for my clients, it is one of the best sources for expanding what is usually taught as meridian therpay in this country and understanding how to translate between traditional acupuncture meridian patterns and more modern herbal categories of treatment.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Evolving Art of Acupuncture
This groundbreaking system will guide you through a progression of deepening connections to the energy physiology of the body and help you uncover YOUR unique gifts as a healer!
Join us as we take an entirely new and nuanced look at the acupuncture system of medicine. First, we’ll break down the pulse to make diagnosis effortless with our clear, comprehensible system. We will explore the topography of the body and elucidate proven methods to find the best points for optimal treatment. We’ll discuss the angles called vectors at each acupuncture point, and how harnessing their intrinsic potential can multiply the efficacy of treatment. And we will enter a world of needle techniques that will enhance your practice way beyond just “tapping” insertion to an elegantly simple, gloriously effective skill. Upon completion, you will appreciate Qi not just academically, but through your direct connection and embodied experience.
With plenty of opportunities for Q & A, as well as considerable practice time, you will be amazed at how easy it is to integrate this material into any style of acupuncture you use.
“A system that we can use right now in our practice…simple and very user-friendly! I highly recommend taking a class with Zach. He is extremely knowledgeable and presents the information in clear, precise, and fun ways. Thanks Zach!”
-Adrienne Martin, Lic. Ac.
Click links below for class descriptions:
Simplifying Pulse Diagnosis: Saturday, 5/14 & Sunday, 5/15
Understanding Points and Vectors: Saturday, 6/11 & Sunday, 6/12
Point Release and Appropriate Insertion: Saturday, 7/30 & Sunday, 7/31
Energy Signature and Vibration Technique: NEW DATE: Saturday, 9/24 & Sunday, 9/25
Non-Inserted Needle Techniques: Saturday, 10/22 & Sunday, 10/23
Your tax-deductible investment: $295 practitioners/$250 students
+ 12 CEU/PDA points for each weekend
** Attend four classes and get the fifth one FREE!! You save $295 and learn a whole lotta good stuff in a joyful, supportive atmosphere **
All classes will be held from 9:00 - 4:30 at 62 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA
To register, email: thesilverneedle@gmail.com, or phone: 781-860-8808
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Formatting Difficulties
Sorry, folks. I am having some formatting difficulties with the blog tonight. I hope to have it fixed by tomorrow.
Simplifying Pulse Diagnosis
May 14-15, 2011
Join us this weekend to boost your pulse taking skills and remove the guesswork from your diagnosis. The material in this class will enhance your ability to diagnose with the pulse, and bring you greater ease in recognizing individual pulse qualities and combinations of multiple qualities.
A clear and well-defined system will be presented, allowing you to break down any pulse in the clinic to find as much or as little information as you need to treat your client. You will learn how to think about the pulse in determining a treatment strategy, suitable stances for best results, and correct hand pressure skills. We will talk about how to deconstruct the 27 classical pulses so that you may more easily learn to apply them in your work, and will also discuss the basics of how to use herbs in your practice with the pulse as your primary diagnostic tool. You will leave feeling confident that you can recognize any pattern in the pulse.
This class is an opportunity for students and practitioners to integrate all the pulse teachings they have had in the past, and make sense of any inconsistencies or difficulties they encounter taking the pulse in their clinical practice.
From beginning students to experienced practitioners, all are welcome.
Join us this weekend to boost your pulse taking skills and remove the guesswork from your diagnosis. The material in this class will enhance your ability to diagnose with the pulse, and bring you greater ease in recognizing individual pulse qualities and combinations of multiple qualities.
A clear and well-defined system will be presented, allowing you to break down any pulse in the clinic to find as much or as little information as you need to treat your client. You will learn how to think about the pulse in determining a treatment strategy, suitable stances for best results, and correct hand pressure skills. We will talk about how to deconstruct the 27 classical pulses so that you may more easily learn to apply them in your work, and will also discuss the basics of how to use herbs in your practice with the pulse as your primary diagnostic tool. You will leave feeling confident that you can recognize any pattern in the pulse.
This class is an opportunity for students and practitioners to integrate all the pulse teachings they have had in the past, and make sense of any inconsistencies or difficulties they encounter taking the pulse in their clinical practice.
From beginning students to experienced practitioners, all are welcome.
2011 Class Schedule
The class schdule for 2011 is ready, and will be posted as soon as I have time to put in the hyperlinks to class descriptions. Look for it by tomorrow (Monday)!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Learning the One-Handed Needle Turn?
To those of you who have come here looking for the video tutorial on the One-Handed Needle Turn, welcome! The links to the two videos can be found on the right side of the page, if you scroll down a little. I have been told that the links are sometimes working and sometimes not, so if you are having trouble loading the video here, just copy and paste the following address into your web browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1ix-C1HJKk
There are two videos uploaded about turning the needle: the Parallel Variation and the Side Variation. If you are learning this technique for the first time, I recommend you start with the Parallel Variation. The link above will take you to that video. When you get that down, your acupuncture skill will benefit greatly from taking the time to learn the Side Variation as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH3xMKKoKgY
HOW will you benefit? The One-Handed Needle Turn is one of the single most beneficial foundation skills you can practice to improve overall needle technique and the ability to feel and manipulate Qi with your hands. Look over these past posts for nine things you can expect from just practicing this one movement:
http://thesilverneedle.blogspot.com/search/label/One%20Handed%20Needle%20Turn
The key word with the One-Handed Needle Turn is “practice.” The Turn is a foundational skill, and as such, you can think about it like scales if you play the piano. Even concert pianists do scales every day, and you will see the best results if you practice your Turn every day. When I started learning the Turn I practiced with each hand whenever I had a break in my schedule. I also got into the habit of doing this technique before inserting every needle during an actual treatment. I have performed a One-Handed Needle Turn with virtually every needle I have used in the past 10+ years. It has helped me learn a great deal about where I hold tension in my body, how Qi flows through my hands, the ability of different needles to conduct Qi to and from the point, and changes that occur at acupuncture points in different clients. It is, truly, a marvelous technique.
I hope that you will enjoy using the One-Handed Turn in your own work as much as I do. Please read the past posts, watch the videos, and practice, practice, and practice. If you have any specific questions, please comment below! I would love to hear from you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1ix-C1HJKk
There are two videos uploaded about turning the needle: the Parallel Variation and the Side Variation. If you are learning this technique for the first time, I recommend you start with the Parallel Variation. The link above will take you to that video. When you get that down, your acupuncture skill will benefit greatly from taking the time to learn the Side Variation as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH3xMKKoKgY
HOW will you benefit? The One-Handed Needle Turn is one of the single most beneficial foundation skills you can practice to improve overall needle technique and the ability to feel and manipulate Qi with your hands. Look over these past posts for nine things you can expect from just practicing this one movement:
http://thesilverneedle.blogspot.com/search/label/One%20Handed%20Needle%20Turn
The key word with the One-Handed Needle Turn is “practice.” The Turn is a foundational skill, and as such, you can think about it like scales if you play the piano. Even concert pianists do scales every day, and you will see the best results if you practice your Turn every day. When I started learning the Turn I practiced with each hand whenever I had a break in my schedule. I also got into the habit of doing this technique before inserting every needle during an actual treatment. I have performed a One-Handed Needle Turn with virtually every needle I have used in the past 10+ years. It has helped me learn a great deal about where I hold tension in my body, how Qi flows through my hands, the ability of different needles to conduct Qi to and from the point, and changes that occur at acupuncture points in different clients. It is, truly, a marvelous technique.
I hope that you will enjoy using the One-Handed Turn in your own work as much as I do. Please read the past posts, watch the videos, and practice, practice, and practice. If you have any specific questions, please comment below! I would love to hear from you.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Local Ordinance
I have had so many students over the years tell me that they ran out of time trying to squeeze one more local treatment into a session that I am going to go on record stating Zach’s First Law of Local Treatment. It says: “Any local treatment you do in a clinical setting is most likely going to take you 15 minutes. If you think you can fit two local treatments into 15 minutes of clinic time, you are probably wrong.” (And yes, this is all meant tongue-in-cheek, but there is some good advice to follow).
I should define here what I mean by “local treatment.” I am using the term to mean any group of needles that you add after your core, root, or systemic treatment is in with the goal of focusing the treatment effect on a specific area of the body; and also any adjunct technique other than needles, such as moxabustion, gua sha, massage, cupping, etc.
This Law is meant as a guide for students and new practitioners. If you are planning on doing two local treatments and you only have 15 minutes planned, do not be surprised if you run 15 minutes over. Getting around this Law usually requires that you be well practiced at a local treatment. By “well practiced,” I mean that you do the specific technique many times a day for several years until you get your time down to 10 minutes or, if you work very hard on a few forgiving techniques, 5 mintues.
So when you are in the clinic, and are faced with only 15 minutes of time left and you want to address your client’s arthritic thumb AND treat a scar on her abdomen AND burn some moxa, my advice is to take a breath, pick the local treatment that you think is most important for today, and do only that one treatment. If you only have 5 minutes of time left, skip the local treatment for today or make peace with the fact that you are going to run late. If you find that you are running late often, I would suggest three possible remedies…
One: change your schedule so you have the time you need at this point in your career to do your best work. If you need an extra 15 minutes to get your best treatment in, take it! And don’t just sneak it in. Book your clients so you have that 15 minutes for every client. Structure your practice so you can more easily do your best work. When you have enough time, you will not be stressed or rushing, your clients will get better faster, and your practice will flourish.
Two: practice! If you enjoy using moxa in the clinic, for example, make time to improve your speed and technique. If you have a cancellation or an empty slot (which has been known to happen from time to time in a new practice), use the time to make cones and burn them so you train your hands and get more efficient. Figure out what you will need to work more quickly, where you need water placed in each of your rooms, which incense or lighter works best for you, how much moxa you want on hand and how it can be most easily accessible, and so on. Be sure to always set out your moxa equipment at the start of each clinic shift, so you don’t have to waste treatment time setting it up. As I said before, with a lot of practice over several years you can really cut down on the time you need to perform specific local treatments. Being able to shave 5 minutes off your average treatment time is a big deal! So if you have one local treatment you like and want to use more often, start practicing now.
Three: consider streamlining your systemic treatment. There are several ways this can be done, and I have touched on a few of them here. If you get faster and more efficient at balancing the organ-meridian system as a whole, you will have more time to add in whatever local treatment you wish. Again, every 5 mintues you can take off your treatment time while still doing your best work is something to be celebrated.
I should define here what I mean by “local treatment.” I am using the term to mean any group of needles that you add after your core, root, or systemic treatment is in with the goal of focusing the treatment effect on a specific area of the body; and also any adjunct technique other than needles, such as moxabustion, gua sha, massage, cupping, etc.
This Law is meant as a guide for students and new practitioners. If you are planning on doing two local treatments and you only have 15 minutes planned, do not be surprised if you run 15 minutes over. Getting around this Law usually requires that you be well practiced at a local treatment. By “well practiced,” I mean that you do the specific technique many times a day for several years until you get your time down to 10 minutes or, if you work very hard on a few forgiving techniques, 5 mintues.
So when you are in the clinic, and are faced with only 15 minutes of time left and you want to address your client’s arthritic thumb AND treat a scar on her abdomen AND burn some moxa, my advice is to take a breath, pick the local treatment that you think is most important for today, and do only that one treatment. If you only have 5 minutes of time left, skip the local treatment for today or make peace with the fact that you are going to run late. If you find that you are running late often, I would suggest three possible remedies…
One: change your schedule so you have the time you need at this point in your career to do your best work. If you need an extra 15 minutes to get your best treatment in, take it! And don’t just sneak it in. Book your clients so you have that 15 minutes for every client. Structure your practice so you can more easily do your best work. When you have enough time, you will not be stressed or rushing, your clients will get better faster, and your practice will flourish.
Two: practice! If you enjoy using moxa in the clinic, for example, make time to improve your speed and technique. If you have a cancellation or an empty slot (which has been known to happen from time to time in a new practice), use the time to make cones and burn them so you train your hands and get more efficient. Figure out what you will need to work more quickly, where you need water placed in each of your rooms, which incense or lighter works best for you, how much moxa you want on hand and how it can be most easily accessible, and so on. Be sure to always set out your moxa equipment at the start of each clinic shift, so you don’t have to waste treatment time setting it up. As I said before, with a lot of practice over several years you can really cut down on the time you need to perform specific local treatments. Being able to shave 5 minutes off your average treatment time is a big deal! So if you have one local treatment you like and want to use more often, start practicing now.
Three: consider streamlining your systemic treatment. There are several ways this can be done, and I have touched on a few of them here. If you get faster and more efficient at balancing the organ-meridian system as a whole, you will have more time to add in whatever local treatment you wish. Again, every 5 mintues you can take off your treatment time while still doing your best work is something to be celebrated.
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