Susan Woodhead  

Hold your two hands in front of you at elbow height, palms facing each other, about a hands width apart. Gently move your hands towards and away from one another several times. Can you feel something? Do you experience "something " between your hands? I would call that a manifestation of ch'i

Acupuncture is a system of medicine that works with ch'i

Ch'i is life energy. Every cell of our body is alive with ch'i. It is the life force. Quantum Physics seeks to understand the physical world in terms of matter. Looking in great detail at a cell and examining its structure you find that the very centre of it is energy, a force that is in everything, a force that enables and causes everything to happen.

Acupuncture is a method of touching and using ch'i

The body is seen as a network of channels connected to the major organs and systems within it. These channels are called meridians and they are mapped on the surface of the body. Along the meridian lines there are acupuncture points, places where we know that we can contact the ch'i to work creatively with the body and its healing process. Ch'i is perfect. Ch'i knows what to do and how to do it. From the very second of conception ch'i flows.

On the radial arteries of both arms we read twelve pulses that relate to the major organs and functions of the body. The pulses are ch'i. We read the quantity and quality of the ch'i in the different parts of the body. It is an amazing and profound thing to do. Every person has their own individual picture revealed through the pulses. Changes in the ch'i can be measured by taking the pulses.

The acupuncture points are tiny places. When you touch them you feel a tiny sensation under your finger that is hard to find words to describe. Perhaps the ch'i of the acupuncturist knows the ch'i of the other person? A tiny sterile needle, the thickness of a couple of hairs on your head, is inserted into the acupuncture point. At that split second I feel the ch'i from my end of the needle and I know that it has connected with the life force of the body. Reading the pulses the changes in the ch'i can be felt in detail. For certain energy states moxa is indictaed as being more suitable than needles, or can be combined with needle treatment if that is what is required. Moxa is a herb, one of the Artemesia plants: ARTEMESIA VULGARIS LATIFLORA, also known as Mugwort. Moxa, dried leaves and stem of the plant, is burned over the acupuncture points, either directly on the skin or on the end of an inserted needle according to what is required by the ch'i.

Acupuncture seeks to rebalance the ch'i

Generally people seek acupuncture treatment when they are ill. Illness is a manifestation of an imbalance or lack of ch'i within the person. If we understand thch'i should be balanced, harmonious and flowing within us, then we can see that health is a positive staf being. If we are unwell it follows that the ch'i must be disrupted in some way, all dise of body and mind can be understood as a negative energy state. The work of the acupuncturist is to stop the deterioration, stabilise the energy and then build the ch'i to a balanced and abundant state. When you deal with the cause of the problem, the place where the imbalance started, then the body can heal itself.

Acupuncture and conserving your ch'i

With acupuncture treatment the body can restore itself. It is also useful to ask why the imbalance presented in the first place. What happened to you? Were there any problems or traumas that drained you? Did you have to deal with stress or loss? Was there so much happening to you that your immune system just could not deal with one more challenge? I am fascinated by the many and varied ways in which we deplete our ch'1 am also incredibly impressed by how in some indivls it is able to withstand all that happens to them and they keep going.

Rest is vital in preserving your ch'i. Your sleep should be refreshing and you should sleep for longer in the winter than in the summer. Just because you have electric light and warmth it does not mean that your body no longer recognises the rhythms of the seasons. Nourish yourself. Food for the body and the mind are important. Care for yourself and love yourself as the remarkable and unique miracle of creation that you are. Your'i will respond.

You can consult an acupuncturist who will tell you more about ch'i and share with you the details of your own unique energy.If you want to contact me I practice in Winchester, Hampshire in the U.K. Telephone U.K.) 01962 866903 Fax 01962 714041

Author: Susan Woodhead