Biophysics: Acupuncture as effective energy medicine, conclusions of Kirlian photography, & human intent as it affects health
Acupuncture as effective energy medicine
I think it's interesting how we try to measure acupuncture as effective energy medicine and how difficult it is to measure acupuncture. Larry Spears made a comment about how studies "proving" the efficacy of acupuncture seems more for the Western biomedicine community than it does for the TCM community - and I agree. I wonder if Western doctors feel uncomfortable referring their patients to an acupuncturist without offering examples beyond anecdotes, more like research and statistics. Perhaps in their own medicine they are so used to this kind of evidence supporting them, that they assume the same should be true for acupuncture. But I don't think all doctors feel this way or that all patients need this kind of proof. In fact, yesterday in clinic we were doing moxa on a patient and she made a beautiful comment about how moxa, derived from mugwort, works in a way that is mysterious and we don't full understand. It was a relief to me to hear someone speak to their subjective experience and acknowledge the fact that moxa was helping her, rather than be able to logically explain why it's working. Certainly, this modality must also work because the supervisor emphatically believes that the moxa will warm her qi and blood and channels, helping promote blood flow and bring soothing energy and warmth to her aching knees.
Conclusions of Kirlian Photography
It's very cool that 700 points on the body appear in Kirlian photography and these correspond with acu points! I had read this a week ago, a study on luminescence of points on the body which also corresponded with acu points.
I was also intrigued by its origin, having been founded by a Russian inventor and electrician, Seymon Kirlian, and also used today in sports medicine to measure the metabolic fitness of an athlete. I did notice that my Russian friends and the culture in general is very supportive of what we call "new age" and "woo - woo" in the West. Even seeing a general practitioner in Russia, all of my meds prescribed were homeopathic and natural! Perhaps there is a greater integration there of energetic medicine and Western biomedicine.
Human intent as it affects health
I really loved the in class discussion around this - learning how intent in healing is actually a two way street. We ask for permission to heal the other person and maybe not always in such an overt way, but sometimes it is voiced as I learned from Anne Marie, that in distance medical qi gong healing that the receiver verbally says that yes, they are open to receiving healing. I think saying this out loud is actually more powerful than we give it credit, and it almost makes me think that somewhere in my own practice it would be nice to work in that question, "do you want to heal?". It seems so obvious but I think it's powerful for the patient and practitioner to be in tune with this question.
I think it's interesting how we try to measure acupuncture as effective energy medicine and how difficult it is to measure acupuncture. Larry Spears made a comment about how studies "proving" the efficacy of acupuncture seems more for the Western biomedicine community than it does for the TCM community - and I agree. I wonder if Western doctors feel uncomfortable referring their patients to an acupuncturist without offering examples beyond anecdotes, more like research and statistics. Perhaps in their own medicine they are so used to this kind of evidence supporting them, that they assume the same should be true for acupuncture. But I don't think all doctors feel this way or that all patients need this kind of proof. In fact, yesterday in clinic we were doing moxa on a patient and she made a beautiful comment about how moxa, derived from mugwort, works in a way that is mysterious and we don't full understand. It was a relief to me to hear someone speak to their subjective experience and acknowledge the fact that moxa was helping her, rather than be able to logically explain why it's working. Certainly, this modality must also work because the supervisor emphatically believes that the moxa will warm her qi and blood and channels, helping promote blood flow and bring soothing energy and warmth to her aching knees.
Conclusions of Kirlian Photography
It's very cool that 700 points on the body appear in Kirlian photography and these correspond with acu points! I had read this a week ago, a study on luminescence of points on the body which also corresponded with acu points.
I was also intrigued by its origin, having been founded by a Russian inventor and electrician, Seymon Kirlian, and also used today in sports medicine to measure the metabolic fitness of an athlete. I did notice that my Russian friends and the culture in general is very supportive of what we call "new age" and "woo - woo" in the West. Even seeing a general practitioner in Russia, all of my meds prescribed were homeopathic and natural! Perhaps there is a greater integration there of energetic medicine and Western biomedicine.
Human intent as it affects health
I really loved the in class discussion around this - learning how intent in healing is actually a two way street. We ask for permission to heal the other person and maybe not always in such an overt way, but sometimes it is voiced as I learned from Anne Marie, that in distance medical qi gong healing that the receiver verbally says that yes, they are open to receiving healing. I think saying this out loud is actually more powerful than we give it credit, and it almost makes me think that somewhere in my own practice it would be nice to work in that question, "do you want to heal?". It seems so obvious but I think it's powerful for the patient and practitioner to be in tune with this question.
I like how you pose the simple question, "do you want to heal?" We don't normally ask our patients this simple and direct question, yet I hear practitioners regularly complain that their patients seem to do everything in their power not to heal. Maybe we should start posing that question to each of our patients. It seems so obvious and yet I imagine most patients do not ask themselves this question. Can one even heal if they are not willing or ready to change?
ReplyDeleteI also loved this portion of class last week. It makes me think about the intention to heal from the patients perspective. Step one is getting themselves to a practitioner, the next step seems to involve a belief in the possibility of healing itself. The third piece is the drive and resources to fuel the process. Once this intention to heal is established, the perseverance and patience to stay on the path will be the next challenge. How can we as practitioners best support this process is of course a case-by case issue...but I think an ability to consistently revisit and renew our intentions may be at the "heart" of the matter.
DeleteIt's really interesting to think of the different "steps" to healing, or the different "steps" someone has taken, or is in the process of taking, when they walk through your door. Perhaps, like Nina said, getting to the office is all they can do. Maybe showing up is the only thing they can do, at first. It seems like a potential struggle, as the acupuncturist, is working with people who don't want to step forward into the next cycle, or have trouble changing. I think a question like "do you want to heal?" is pretty direct and almost confrontational and could perhaps make someone react defensively (I can think of my Dad as saying yes! immediately, but I think he may enjoy the theatrics/claim on suffering). It seems like having skills in psychotherapy, or communication- ways to allow someone to open up to you, or develop rapport, so the client, over time, can feel safe enough to adjust in ways new to them. Perhaps this would be helped with teaching them about TCM, teaching about the 5 elements, about how change is natural, about the different kind of stages in life, so they become more open to letting go of what's no longer serving them.
DeleteWow, that is a powerful question. I just imagined being in the room with a patient doing intake, and casually asking them, "do you want to heal?" I think some would be offended, but others would take a pause to consider, and then perhaps make an intention to heal during that session. It's a legitimate question! It's also a "meta" question, so it can switch the consciousness of the person, helping them step back from reporting their subjective symptoms to asking their body and mind if they're ready for what they're about to receive/create.
DeleteThanks for comments. I think I want to clarify: although I think it's powerful to voice these questions to oneself, I don't necessarily imagine myself asking the patient directly, out loud, "do you want to heal?" as it also feels very confrontational to me.
ReplyDeleteBut I also won't avoid asking this question of myself when I'm the one being treated, or of my patient when I'm on the other side of that relationship.
I do empathize with people who aren't ready to heal at the moment - as it is a process, and also because I experience my own "blocks" of not wanting to heal... ultimately, I would want to be there for someone, and I've appreciated in the past when practitioners do not pressure me to "get better" already.