Acupuncture

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine needles into specific spots on the body. Each of these spots on the body is called an acupuncture point, and each one helps to restore balance to the body in a different way.
Acupuncture is a very ancient form of healing that was developed by the Chinese some 2,000 years ago. It is an exceptionally safe and effective technique. It is not painful, more a unique experience. You may feel an assortment of strange sensations from acupuncture such as: warmth, tingling, heaviness, numbness, electrical type sensation, dull ache, travelling sensation or a muscular twitch or grab.
I have been practising acupuncture for 15 years and have had the privilege to help clients with a wide assortment of health complaints.
Chinese Medicine (which includes acupuncture) works at the root cause of illness- or ‘disharmony’ as we like to call it, it is therefore a slower form of medicine. We try to help the body to repair and heal itself, not just provide temporary relief to symptoms.
Our focus is on maintaining well being and preventing serious illness. In fact in ancient times in China, the Yellow Emperor only paid his Physician when he was well! If he became ill, he had not done his job properly!
Chinese Medicine has its own unique diagnostic system which was developed out of the combination of Daoist and Buddhist philosophy. Our system is intrinsically holistic. Within our diagnostic system you cannot separate body, mind, spirit. They are completely interconnected, in fact you cannot treat one without creating impact on the other levels. This is one of my main attractions to Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture.

My Style of Acupuncture

Johannah predominantly treats the Complement Channels of Acupuncture.

The Complement Channels are a series of acupuncture meridians that prevent pathology entering the Primary Channels. The Primary Channel energy connects to the internal organs, so it is essential that pathology be kept out of the Primary Channels.

However modern Chinese medicine (TCM) is actually based on Primary Channel treatment. In China itself, acupuncture is offered through outpatient programs in hospitals, so it can be delivered every day. If we treat the primary channels everyday for an intense block, this can get them working so efficiently that they can process and move through pathology. However in the west, we don’t have the ability to treat everyday and hence I found it takes a lot longer to create lasting change this way.

Since I moved to treating the Complement Channels I have found my outcomes to have greatly improved

The Complement Channels used to be a part of the trunk of Chinese Medical theory and practice, but during the Cultural Revolution much of Chinese Medicine was chopped and changed, and the Complement Channels were no longer taught in depth.
During my own Acupuncture training within Australia, we were taught the names of these other channels but we were never taught how to treat them, or that they each need to be treated in a very specific way.

Through ongoing learning from Ann Cecil-Sterman I have learned how to access and begin to utilise these other channels. The practice of acupuncture and chinese medicine is a life of constant learning and deepening understanding. There is no end to the rabbit hole!