My practice style
Finding the right acupuncturist can be difficult. There’s so many different styles of practice and personalities of practitioners, it can be overwhelming! To work with a new acupuncturist requires a significant amount of trust, as the process involves a high degree of vulnerability. Signing up with the wrong fit can be disastrous to an acupuncture rookie, and could scare them off to ever trying acupuncture again!
The purpose of this blog is to provide information about how I practice acupuncture so that you can familiarize yourself with my style so that you can make an educated decision when choosing your acupuncturist.
Early on in my education, I knew that I wanted to follow a specific style of acupuncture that has been passed down through a lineage of revision and refining so that I wouldn't be "reinventing the wheel" when learning this medicine. I chose to follow the practitioners of Japanese Meridian Therapy (JMT), a lineage of acupuncture theory that originated in Japan, as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was brought around the 5th century C.E.
This style of acupuncture emphasizes simple, articulate, and precise treatment protocols that have a very clear, and informed approach. By choosing points with overlapping functions and connections to multiple systems, fewer points are selected and less needles are required.
The needling technique taught in JMT is gentle, and aimed at making the experience as painless as possible. We use a significantly thinner needle than most, which is less likely to cause pain. Furthermore, a tool called a "guide tube" is used as a to prevent pain and to be more accurate when inserting. The guide tube is standard for most acupuncturists in the U.S., but originated in Japan.
Needles are inserted to a shallow depth relative to other styles. The way the body responds to stimulation by needles need not be deep in order to achieve the desired effect. In fact, there is a method in JMT where the needle simply rests on the skin called "contact needling". Contact needling is very effective, is well-suited for patients that are severely depleted, and a great alternative for people with an aversion to needles.
Modern TCM over-emphasizes acupuncture as a tool for treatment, and the other, equally useful modalities are not commonly used. Moxibustion (moxa) is very effective as a stand-alone treatment. In Japan, doctorate-level degrees in moxibustion alone are required to practice. Together, with acupuncture is a stronger treatment, and is highly underrated in the U.S. I incorporate moxa in most of my treatments.
Other modalities commonly overlooked include several traditional therapies; gua sha (scraping), fire-cupping, and massage (manual therapy). These tools are also very effective on their own, but when combined in acupuncture treatment, further enhance the therapeutic effect. In order to provide the most potent treatments, I include these methods in treatments with specific applications to improve patient health outcomes.
In summary, the style I practice is traditionally based, intentional, gentle, and includes multiple modalities in treatment. The outcome is virtually pain-free treatments with the highest quality and strength that this medicine has to offer. I hope that this blog was helpful and informative in your journey in finding your most aligned healer!
