Acupuncture

Posted by Rebecca Schirber on August 3, 2013

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is an effective drug free Complimentary Medicine without side effects. It is recognized by the World Health Organization to be an effective treatment for a variety of medical problems. Acupuncture is effective in treatment of many health concerns. Chinese Medicine is a Holistic and natural medicine that address your individual health concerns and needs.

Acupuncture has been practiced continuously for thousands of years, making it the longest practiced form of medicine in the world.  It is the health care modality of choice for one-third of the world’s population.  Acupuncture is at once preventative and curative, and it works to treat the whole person, in body, mind and spirit.  Acupuncture promotes healing in a natural way.  It can enhance immunity and improve overall function and vitality.  It is an effective way to treat a wide variety of medical problems.  In fact, acupuncture is recognized by the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health to be effecting in treating no less than 50 conditions. Acupuncture is a safe, effective and drug-free therapy that can help address a wide variety of problems and conditions.

What to Expect from Treatment

Rebecca’s treatment room is not unlike one you’ve visited if you are someone who has had a massage. Acupuncture is profoundly relaxing and this is an important part of the healing process. Consistent and appropriate treatment will produce profound changes – from specific conditions to the overall capacity of the individual.  Individual response to treatment can be enhanced by lifestyle changes which are made apparent through the diagnostic process.  Rebecca will make recommendations around diet, exercise, sleep habits and meditation that have been proven effective and restorative in her clinical practice.

“The practitioner of acupuncture must strive to see a person not as he is at the time of examination but as he would be if he were whole and perfect in body, mind and spirit, with every possibility of his ‘unique being’ realized…the work of the practitioner of classical Chinese acupuncture is to help each person become renewed, revitalized, and brought to the fullness of his potential.” J.R. Worsley, Master Teacher and developer of contemporary acupuncture theory

If you’re in the Berkshire area, call Rebecca at 410-868-5178 to set an an integrative, holistic treatment – which will allow your body’s innate intelligence – to relieve symptoms and restores harmony to your entire being.

Schedule a full-body acupuncture treatment today!
Berkshires–Lenox & Pittsfield MA

 

Rebecca Schirber,

Licensed Acupuncturist,

410-868-5178,

Rebecca.Schirber@gmail.com

Resolving exhaustion and burn out are the focus of much of the work Rebecca does with the powerful modalities of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine; Rebecca’s unique approach integrates acupuncture, diet, exercise and mindfulness. Fatigue and digestive issues are treated beautifully by acupuncture as well as acute and chronic illnesses such as depression, pain, headaches, insomnia, and blood sugar imbalances.

Rebecca holds master’s degrees in both Acupuncture and Physical Rehabilitation Counseling.

Meridians–Energy Pathways

The purpose of this article is to give the reader a look at what acupuncture is, how it works and how it can improve one’s life, by focusing on two principles in Chinese Medicine. I am going to be explaining the various functions of the body through the use of metaphors and analogies, in a way similar to how an ancient Chinese practitioners may have done, so that their patients could easily understood their treatments.

The ZangFu theory imagines the human body as if it were a city. Within the walls of the city, there are 12 officials; each official represents a major organ system. Each official is responsible for various aspects in the process of making, storing, and moving the commodities of the city or the human body—vital energy, blood and body fluids. This is one of the aspects of Chinese Medicine that is so powerful when it comes to diagnosing an imbalance. As a practitioner, I determine which substance is involved in an imbalance and then I support the officials that deal with that substance.

Think of a city or even your home—and the tasks that must be taken care of on a regular basis, cooking, cleaning, and taking out the trash. Now think of your own body. I think you know what it feels like when the official that is supposed to take out the garbage is not doing her job. If this goes on long enough, or becomes chronic, then the other officials in closest relationship to that official, the ones doing the cooking; the officials responsible for taking in the world and making it you, might start to waver because there is all this garbage here. You can see that, at some point, those officials may need as much support as the official that experienced the original imbalance.

The official that we are talking about here (the one that takes out the garbage) has the job within the body of “letting go”.  How does an imbalance in this official show up. One might have diarrhea or constipation, swelling or blocked sinuses, tend toward using foul language or telling dirty jokes. This individual might also hang onto people, places, or things for too long or in an unhealthy manner, and may live under a cloud of darkness or negativity.

Chinese Medicine pulse taking is very different than in Western Medicine. As an acupuncturist, I’m feeling the relationship between the 12 officials. It is as if they are at a big conference table. This helps determine how smooth the relationships are between all the officials. From the pulse rate, quality and quantity I can surmise how each official/organ system is functioning. From this information, I can understand how each official might be carrying out their role in the body over time.

The pulse can change quickly with acupuncture treatment. I will take your pulse before a session, do a needling and then check your pulse again. I will be looking for a certain change indicating that I got the results we were looking for. Over time I would expect the pulses to hold this change between treatments. In that case, the officials would have a new relationship to each other and you will be and feel healthier.

The second principle we’ll look at is Jing Luo or Channel Theory. Early Chinese Medicine practitioners recognized many meridians which can be used to balance the energy within a human body. They talked about no less than five types of channels, vessels or meridians.

Earlier I wrote about the ZangFu theory; that is, seeing the body as if it were a city with an official representing each organ system. So if we looked again at this idea of the human body as being a city, the meridians can be seen as pathways, roads or even super highways. There are the roads and pathways on the outskirts of the city. There are short cuts and rabbit runs between two or three officials’ offices (organs), and then there are routes within the walls of the monarch’s palace, where only certain officials are allowed, because not just anybody can go and see the king or the queen.

Those of you that have experienced acupuncture most likely will be thinking of the Primary Meridians. The Primary Meridians have both external and internal pathways which go directly to the organ system they are associated with. They also connect directly to other organs with which they have a close working relationship. There are 365 points on the body representing the primary meridians.

The other reason the Primary Meridians are so often used and seem to be the most handy, is that they deal with chi or vital energy, blood and body fluids as well as with organ functioning. Some of the other meridians have access to only certain aspects of the body, and they have rein over only one body substance instead of many.

Other meridians, beside the Primary Meridians, are called secondary vessels. Each of these meridians has their own domain. Some access the organs directly, like the Primary Channels, while others run on the surface of the body and are used to treat acute or external disharmonies. Some meridians access and balance imbalances of the flesh, muscle, fascia, and blood vessels, while others treat joints and bones. I think if you keep these metaphors for the body in mind, it may help you to have a better understanding of Chinese Medicine.

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