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.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
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.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Hello Again!
Hello, everyone! I have been away for the past few months teaching, writing, and most of all getting ready for the birth of my son. It seems that while I have been busy elsewhere, the good people at Blogger have also been busy. When I logged on today to the blog, I discovered a host of lovely new tools for making the blog tres chic. I hope you all like the new look as much as I do. I will be tweaking things in the weeks to come, as I have a slew of new things I want to put up here.
Let me know what you all think of the changes as they happen. I am setting a schedule now for more regular posts. I have had requests for more information about energy/Ki/Qi dynamics in the clinic, and also requests for more information about the I Ching. I will be adding these topics more regularly into the posts. If there are any other things you would like to hear more about, bop me an e-mail and let me know.
Also, if you enjoy the blog, please join the community to follow it. It takes a second for you, has no nefarious strings attached, and helps me a lot in becoming more visible on the internet. The number of followers I have for this blog affects the ease with which I show up on search engines.
Cheers! See you all again soon.
Hello, everyone! I have been away for the past few months teaching, writing, and most of all getting ready for the birth of my son. It seems that while I have been busy elsewhere, the good people at Blogger have also been busy. When I logged on today to the blog, I discovered a host of lovely new tools for making the blog tres chic. I hope you all like the new look as much as I do. I will be tweaking things in the weeks to come, as I have a slew of new things I want to put up here.
Let me know what you all think of the changes as they happen. I am setting a schedule now for more regular posts. I have had requests for more information about energy/Ki/Qi dynamics in the clinic, and also requests for more information about the I Ching. I will be adding these topics more regularly into the posts. If there are any other things you would like to hear more about, bop me an e-mail and let me know.
Also, if you enjoy the blog, please join the community to follow it. It takes a second for you, has no nefarious strings attached, and helps me a lot in becoming more visible on the internet. The number of followers I have for this blog affects the ease with which I show up on search engines.
Cheers! See you all again soon.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
What is Open Hand Acupuncture?
July 10-11, 2010
Over the past 10 years, I have been working with different styles of Acupuncture and Craniosacral Therapy in my clinic. Along the way, I stopped seeing a great difference between open handed work and needle work except, of course, the presence of the needle as a treatment focus. Open Hand Acupuncture is the result of this evolving work, and focuses on the central concepts of Qi flow that are equally applicable with open hand work or needle work.
The Theory and Basic Rhythms class will present these different central concepts of Qi flow and how they apply specifically to open hand treatments. We will draw on elements of more orthodox Craniosacral Therapy and Acupuncture models to delve deeply into improving your direct connection to your client’s Qi with your bare hands. The goal of this work is to help you move further in your own work and develop a more individual treatment style that is authentic to you and the unique ways you naturally understand and relate to Qi. You will leave this class with skills and treatment protocols that you will be able to put to use immediately, and which you will be able to adapt to fit the specific needs of your clients.
Acupuncturists and body-workers of any style and level of experience are welcome.
Over the past 10 years, I have been working with different styles of Acupuncture and Craniosacral Therapy in my clinic. Along the way, I stopped seeing a great difference between open handed work and needle work except, of course, the presence of the needle as a treatment focus. Open Hand Acupuncture is the result of this evolving work, and focuses on the central concepts of Qi flow that are equally applicable with open hand work or needle work.
The Theory and Basic Rhythms class will present these different central concepts of Qi flow and how they apply specifically to open hand treatments. We will draw on elements of more orthodox Craniosacral Therapy and Acupuncture models to delve deeply into improving your direct connection to your client’s Qi with your bare hands. The goal of this work is to help you move further in your own work and develop a more individual treatment style that is authentic to you and the unique ways you naturally understand and relate to Qi. You will leave this class with skills and treatment protocols that you will be able to put to use immediately, and which you will be able to adapt to fit the specific needs of your clients.
Acupuncturists and body-workers of any style and level of experience are welcome.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Tell Me Another Story! Tell Me Another Story!
Many of us have stories – great, terrible stories that we use to impress others, about how we used to do this or that, and then we suffered such an injury, and we still feel it today. These stories come into our lives after we get hurt in a way that does not heal quickly. Chronic ailments can seem to become lifelong companions. And after a time, our impressive stories begin to define us, so that we cannot imagine walking through this life without our pains. When we get to a point where we no longer seek out help to get rid of a pain, but only to manage it, we have stopped (at least temporarily) seeking to heal.
I mean no judgment in saying this. I have had such a companion of pain myself for the past two decades. A back injury I sustained earlier in life became my defining “war story.” On the positive side, it pushed me to study back pain and the structure of the body to the point where that became my specialty in the clinic. This drive has helped me do a lot of good for people. But on the negative side, I have been increasingly aware that my back pain and the story of my injury are getting a little too comfortable on the sofa, if you know what I mean. Having guests that overstay their welcome is SO tiresome!
So how to we get rid of these bad houseguests? If you hear the right story, it is as easy as pie. Most injury stories have the same basic structure – they are essentially saying, “I used to be great and strong and fearless, and I got this bad injury which continues to plague me.” A story like this is saying two things. First, it is telling the listener that the person was once great and strong and fearless. Second, it is telling the listener that the injury is the reason why the person is no longer these things. The injury becomes an affirmation of the existence of traits that the speaker wishes to see in himself or herself, but also lets him or her ‘off the hook’ if those traits cannot be seen right now, because, really, how could they with such an injury?
For the remedy , I follow the advice of my beloved niece who, after hearing a good story exclaims, “tell me another story!” And that is just what you do. You tell another story. The difference is that in the new story you do not mention the injury and the heroic manner in which it was received. You focus, instead, on how great and strong and fearless you are. Period. By shifting the focus to the good things that you want out of the story, and away from the bad things that are holding you back, you rewrite your life as it unfolds. When the treatment takes care of the injury, and as your pain lessens, you keep telling stories that nourish and support you. After a while, your stories become grander and grander, and you forget about the injury altogether.
So honor the story you have been telling up to this point. Tell it one more time if you need to, or if you are talking with a client, ask them to tell you the story one last time in detail. Then let it go. Let it go and tell a new story in which you are not injured, but getting stronger and stronger. If you are not already in treatment, go get treatment to support the new you. In a short period of time, you will have left your injury companion behind and moved into a far greater way of living. From time to time, if you find that you wake up expecting pain or come across some other reminder of how things used to be, recognize the event as similar to an old sock left behind by an untidy houseguest. And it may be that there are a lot of socks that you find left behind in this way. But for each one, smile, take a breath, change your energy around it, and let it go – just like throwing an old sock into the garbage.
I mean no judgment in saying this. I have had such a companion of pain myself for the past two decades. A back injury I sustained earlier in life became my defining “war story.” On the positive side, it pushed me to study back pain and the structure of the body to the point where that became my specialty in the clinic. This drive has helped me do a lot of good for people. But on the negative side, I have been increasingly aware that my back pain and the story of my injury are getting a little too comfortable on the sofa, if you know what I mean. Having guests that overstay their welcome is SO tiresome!
So how to we get rid of these bad houseguests? If you hear the right story, it is as easy as pie. Most injury stories have the same basic structure – they are essentially saying, “I used to be great and strong and fearless, and I got this bad injury which continues to plague me.” A story like this is saying two things. First, it is telling the listener that the person was once great and strong and fearless. Second, it is telling the listener that the injury is the reason why the person is no longer these things. The injury becomes an affirmation of the existence of traits that the speaker wishes to see in himself or herself, but also lets him or her ‘off the hook’ if those traits cannot be seen right now, because, really, how could they with such an injury?
For the remedy , I follow the advice of my beloved niece who, after hearing a good story exclaims, “tell me another story!” And that is just what you do. You tell another story. The difference is that in the new story you do not mention the injury and the heroic manner in which it was received. You focus, instead, on how great and strong and fearless you are. Period. By shifting the focus to the good things that you want out of the story, and away from the bad things that are holding you back, you rewrite your life as it unfolds. When the treatment takes care of the injury, and as your pain lessens, you keep telling stories that nourish and support you. After a while, your stories become grander and grander, and you forget about the injury altogether.
So honor the story you have been telling up to this point. Tell it one more time if you need to, or if you are talking with a client, ask them to tell you the story one last time in detail. Then let it go. Let it go and tell a new story in which you are not injured, but getting stronger and stronger. If you are not already in treatment, go get treatment to support the new you. In a short period of time, you will have left your injury companion behind and moved into a far greater way of living. From time to time, if you find that you wake up expecting pain or come across some other reminder of how things used to be, recognize the event as similar to an old sock left behind by an untidy houseguest. And it may be that there are a lot of socks that you find left behind in this way. But for each one, smile, take a breath, change your energy around it, and let it go – just like throwing an old sock into the garbage.
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