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Acupuncture was first documented (that there is current evidence of) in the Huang Di Nei Jing, authored around 100 BCE. It is a Classical Book in Chinese medicine, along with several other medical textbooks. The descriptions of medicine and the use of acupuncture in these foundational texts are highly advanced and beautifully- articulated; indicating that the scholarly and folk uses of acupuncture assuredly had been developing for a long time previous to this era of recorded medicine.
Acupuncture is within itself a complete system, meaning it has the diagnostic system, language and techniques that can address theoretically any state of disease or imbalance in the body, clinical or sub-clinical; rooted in the physical, energy, emotional, mental or spirit body.
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Countless volumes have been, and could yet be written about the origins and applications of energy medicine. QiGong is the essence of all internal martial arts of China and Asia. It is the heart of acupuncture and Chinese herbalism, and is synonymous with the meditation practices used by shamanic sages in the various mountains of East Asia to become awakened. The first known Daoist mystic was Emperor Huang Di, who is said to have ruled ancient China from 6000-5000 BCE. Chinese medical herbalism and acupuncture and QiGong meditation (a term here encompassing also Nei Gong, Jing Gong, and Shen Gong), have origins which grew out of many thousands of years of perfecting the science of spirituality.
QiGong as a treatment modality is unlimited. The power of a fully realized master of medical QiGong (requiring many many many years of dedicated training) dwarfs the potency of acupuncture and herbal intervention alone.
QiGong as a meditation and a spiritual path has the same potential as any other meditative tradition when walked in heartfelt dedication, to miraculously heal the body, to radically transform the mind, and to empower the student to the full realization of their immortality.
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Chinese Herbalism originated from the ancient folk medicine healing traditions throughout the various regions of present day China. These folk healers were all kinds of people; from simple mothers seeking medicine to cure their children, to village doctors, and even Daoist sages. The culmination of these roots of wisdom and scholarly studies was expressed through the Classical medical writings mostly authored in the Han Dynasty of China (206 BCE - 220AD), and attributed to the collected knowledge of legendary Emperors and sages living thousands of years previously. This was a golden era in herbal formula development, during which the signature elegancy and unique potency of Chinese herbalism was established in correcting the qi energetic pattern(s) of disharmony. This root disharmony is the cause of the disease state (or lack of ideal well-being) that is expressed. Similar to the explanation given above, about the somewhat limitless potential of acupuncture and QiGong to address disharmony, herbalism is theoretically able to help rectify any state of energetic and therefore physical imbalance.
Dietary (and lifestyle) intervention has always been considered the first step in medical care within the wisdom of Classical Chinese Medicine. It is paramount that the intake of nutrition is clean. It is the foundation of the post-natal jing, the building-blocks of all potential to heal. Food habit intervention based on Daoist principles of longevity, as well as the use of food medicines such as highly potent medicinal mushrooms, are the preferred means to treat many disease states.
PRIMARY TREATMENT MODALITIES
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Traditional Chinese massage includes the modalities of TuiNa, acupressure and Chi Nei Tang (Chinese 5 Element Belly massage) to name a few, and encompasses a wide variety of techniques and tools such as fascial scraping Gua Sha tools, medicinal salves, linaments, and medicated oils.
Dr. Goodnow uses massage techniques to prepare the patient’s body for acupuncture by opening channel blockages and warming the tissues, encouraging neuro-chemical, mental and physical relaxation as well as blood and lymph circulation. In most of Asia, massage is considered to be a medicine that stands on its own. It is the initial step in medical intervention beyond diet and lifestyle changes, and helps a countless number of disease conditions both directly and indirectly.
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Cupping is a powerful technique, with variations embedded in many cultures’ ancient medicines across the planet. It is traditionally used to remove ”evil qi” (literally translated) from the body. The traditionally described “stagnant qi and blood” that is removed from the deep tissue layers of the body is, in western biomedical terms, likely cellular debris and waste, acids and dead blood-cells trapped in the intercellular tissue spaces from inflammation and chronically tight muscles due to things like:
repetitive stress injury, intense athletic training, old musculoskeletal injuries that never fully healed, fascial adhesions and even external pathogenic attacks on the immune system. Cupping, especially in combination with Gua
Sha, breaks the adhesions and pulls the interstitial waste into circulation so the body’s natural filtration systems, like the liver, spleen and kidneys, can process and dispose of them.This generally has the affect of opening up range of motion, reducing chronic pain, speeding up exercise recovery, and releasing toxic build up under the skin and surface channels. Cupping is also used to prevent the first signs of a cold from taking hold or settling into the lungs.
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Various species of the herb mugwort have been used by indigenous medicine people all over the world. It was used by Daoist shaman-doctors (Wu) for thousands of years for the induction of visionary dreams and the warding off of evil spirits. Moxibustion is a process in which mugwort floss is burned like incense on the needle head or directly on the body. It has many uses and applications in present day medicine, and is an important part of Classical acupuncture treatment in many situations.