Japanese Acupuncture Newsletter, Phoenix, Arizona （日本鍼灸、アリゾナ）

Japanese Acupuncture, LLC (480) 246-0624: 

600 N. 4th Street, Unit 147, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Japanese Acupuncture Newsletter, Arizona
Volume 2, No. 1: October, 2008
Oriental Medicine & On Human Conditions
Chapter One
Liver: Anger, Love, and Redemption #8
巻土重来未可知
----杜牧「題鳥江亭」
There is always hope. Tragedy lies in not trying or doing. We do not know the outcome of a war unless we try till the end. When a doctor says that a symptom will be permanent, or there is no cure, people tend to swallow the words and fall into despair. Yes, pain is real and it seems impossible to get rid of. But, unless you are about to die any minute, the universe provides you with alternatives if you have the will to pursue.
Anyone who can read the above Chinese poem understands that life is full of ups and downs, glories and defeats, but we do not know the outcome unless we try. The poem is a lamentation for a famous Chinese general (項羽) who was defeated in battle and had a second chance to win by crossing the river to a neighboring country to regroup. At the edge of river, he decided not to, perhaps thinking about the dishonor and shame he carried. He committed suicide to present himself as a war prize to a good friend who had become a general of the enemy. Had he crossed the river, his new army might have defeated the enemy and thereby changed history.
Hope can change history. It always does. What you must do is to find courage in pain, joy in dying, and bliss in living. Sticking with the agony of pain or lamenting on death that certainly comes would not produce any change. It only propagates the situation.
How do we improve? Clear your mind. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Relax the muscles around your eyes. Relax your forehead, your cheek and chin. Relax your fingers and toes. Relax your abdomen. Let go. Tell yourself, that it is dark here, but comfortable and relaxing. Your eyelids are now heavy, and you try to open them but cannot. Tell yourself that you are in a comfort zone; may it be a favorite room, at the beach, etc, and you are safe and relaxed. At this moment, take yourself back to your childhood. Remember what made you really happy when you were a child. Was it your mother's voice or an apple pie? Was it your birthday party, a Christmas morning, going to Disneyland? Whatever it may be, your healing starts from this point. Identify the happiness and pursue it once more in your life. Put aside pain: make it a secondary importance and a nuisance. Your goal now is to attain happiness. You had it once before, and there is no reason whatsoever that you cannot have it again.
Try not to classify what comes to you. Do not judge and shut down. Experience it as it comes. Let go of your ego, and you can let go of your pain. Face the experience of life, and in the redemption you will find happiness and bliss.
There is a Zen story. A young man wanted to become an apprentice to a respected Zen master. The master invited him to his room, and asked him to look at an image painted on a scroll hanging on wall. He then asked the young man to tell him what it meant. The image was of a poor and worn out old man sitting on a tree stump, looking vainly into space.
Not wanting to give an answer in haste, he carefully thought about it, and thought about it for four days. On the fifth day the master walked into the room and asked him if he had an answer. The young man replied that he really did not understand the meaning of the picture, but he surely could understand how hungry and miserable the old man was. Upon hearing, the master accepted him as an apprentice.
It is the experience that matters. Unless we experience, we do not know what the universe provides. Ego and intellect do not provide answers. We need to open up a doorway to bliss.
How do we open up a doorway to bliss in acupuncture?
In Oriental Medicine, we have the Five Element Theory (五行: Wu Xing)*. It is a system in which natural phenomena are categorized in five basic elements: the Water, the Wood, the Fire, the Earth, and the Metal. Five Element Theory has a cycle. Its proper movement* is from the Wood (Liver) to the Fire (Heart), the Fire to the Earth (Spleen), the Earth to the Metal (Lungs), the Metal to the Water (Kidneys), and the Water back to the Wood.
*Five Element: Eastern Indian has a similar idea of the Five: the Five Koshas of Vedanta which encloses the Atman (the Self).  For an acupuncturist, the numbers, 1, 3, 5, and 9 are important. My Hopi friend once told me that the numbers 4, 7 and 11 are important for the people.
*Sheng Cycle (相生, aka: Harmonious Cycle): the cycle of health and living.
Each transition between the Elements of the Five Element Theory is a realization. It is the point where the dynamic process of being connects with the consciousness.

Every acupuncturist knows what points to take for each Element, but not many know what points to take for the space between two Elements. For example, what points do you take for the transition of the Wood (Liver) transforming to the Fire (Heart)?

The transition of the Wood into the Fire, as you have read in my past newsletters, is the transition of anger into excitement, and in so doing, to realize "I Am." Needless to say, it is an important transition of self-realization (or actualization). The redemption it takes in transforming anger is pure consciousness. It is the power of expression forcing out of the body by pure experience (epiphany for example).
Well then, how does acupuncture guide the immense process of consciousness? The answer, I think, is to have the Tai Chi Treatment. Here, I do not mean the whole body balancing of the Tai Chi treatment I mentioned in my past newsletters, but an ultimate treatment that works for every symptom for all people. An acupuncturist should have a set of Tai Chi Treatment protocol points.*
*Effectiveness of the points entirely depends on the skill level of a practitioner and not on selected points.
Mine is based on the transitional spaces between the Elements. I have chosen Du-9* (至陽 Zhi Yang: Reaching Yang) for the transitional space between the Wood (Liver) and the Fire (Heart). The word 至 (Zhi) means arriving, spread through, gathering, final, maximum or apex. Therefore, this is the point where Yang Qi (energy) is at its maximum. What happens when the Yang Qi becomes maximum? It flips to the Yin. This is the point where Yin and Yang consciousness meets. A minor note: since acupuncture is conceived of Yin and Yang, there is a point exactly opposite to this point, namely, UB-67 (至陰 Zhi Yin: Reaching Yin)*. Together, the three (there is UB-67 on each small toe) make a triangle covering the front of the body (Yin) and the back of the body (Yang).
* Du-9 (至陽 Zhi Yang: Reaching Yang = depression on the spinous process of the 7th* thoracic vertebra)
*Ub-67 (至陰): This is the famous point for a breech baby to turn to the right position, so we tend to forget that the Kidney Meridian actually starts from here.
*According to the Five Element, the Earth Number 7 belongs to the Fire (Heart) Element and the Number 9 belongs to the Metal (Lung) Element.
Du-9 is at the diaphragm. It opens up the diaphragm and activates the Zong Qi (宗気 = Qi of the Chest ). It is the source of Post-natal Qi (energy you get from eating and breathing).
* Zong Qi [宗気 = Qi of the Chest = comes from Jing Qi (精気) between the Heaven and the Earth = the source of Ying Qi (営 = Nutritive Qi) and Wei Qi (衛 = Defensive Qi)].
Du-9 connects with the Ming Men*(Du-4, 命門, The Gate of Life). The Ming Men is the source of Pre-natal Qi (energy you are born with.). Therefore, Du-9 is the center of the transformational Qi. Furthermore, the Ming Men Fire* is the source of the Heart Qi (Fire Element). It is part of the "I Am-ness."
* Ming Men (Du-4, 命門, The Gate of Life, depression on the spinous process of the 2nd lumbar vertebra). If you divide the vertebrae into one third, you count seven vertebrae in each segment. The upper segment lies on Du-9, and the lower segment is at Du-4.
*Ming Men is the Kidney Qi which belongs to the Water (Kidney) Element. Each Element has Yin and Yang. Without the warmth (Yang Qi) of the Kidney, the Heart does not function well and leads to death (Death is the extinguishment of the Ming Men Fire). I need to explain the function of the Ming Men and its Fire in detail in another chapter.
As you can see, Du-9 is the pivotal point where Yin and Yang transform themselves into each other. It is backed by two fundamental energy sources: the Pre- and the Post-natal Qi. The maximum Yang Qi can be attained here, and at the same time, it is the beginning of Yin Qi. The emotions, therefore, flip too. It is a doorway to redemption and leads you to the Heart Element of hope and love.
One caution in clinical practice: Du-9 and Du-8 (筋縮, on the depression of the spinous process of the 9th vertebra) must be treated gently and cautiously. Strong manipulation or dispersion will bring about exact opposite results, such as severe anger or depression. Be extremely careful!
Now, my questions are:
What do you do when you come to the edge of river?
Where does your redemption lie?
Can you find a doorway?
© 2008 Dr. Y. Frank Aoi/Japanese Acupuncture

Japanese Acupuncture Newsletter, Phoenix, Arizona, 日本鍼灸, アリゾナ

Japanese Acupuncture, LLC (480) 246-0624: 

600 N. 4th Street, Unit 147, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Japanese Acupuncture Newsletter, Arizona
Volume 2, No. 1: September, 2008

Oriental Medicine & On Human Conditions
Chapter One
Liver: Anger, Love, and Redemption #7
知彼知己、百戦不殆
---孫子/謀攻篇
Arguably, the most famous military strategist in the history of China is Sun Zi（孫子: historians debate whether or not he was a real historical figure). One of his most famous sayings was: "Know Him (the enemy) and know Myself, then a hundred battles could be won (cannot be beaten)." Many of his teachings were for the art of war, but they could be applied in many situations, and this teaching is one of them.
To cure an illness (enemy), we need to know what it really is. We must make sure that we can defeat it. However, knowing what it is and what to do sometimes are not good enough. There is always a human element, a weakness. I have seen so many people fall into self-doubt and fear, and they become weak minded. The mind easily tricks us when it is not grounded. It conjures up a dire consequence and eliminates possibilities. We fall into thinking that there is nothing we can do and there is no hope.
When we face a difficulty (as thousands of military generals in history did), we must first take a deep breath and strengthen our minds by saying I am OK, and that there is a hope and a way out. We must first win over our mind. By knowing our weakness and strengthen, we can change the course of our history. If we cannot, then an enemy has already beaten us.
How do we avoid a certain defeat?
When we are ill, we must have courage to face the fact and deal with it properly. The word "courage" in Japanese is pronounced "Dai-Tan." Literal translation is "Big Gallbladder." In Oriental Medicine, the courage is attributed to the Gallbladder. It is the organ that governs decision-making. It deals with adversity and leads to action. Action, then, must be activated with its paired organ, the Liver. Unfortunately, when we are ill, the liver is also weakened, and our mind is off-balanced. With most of illnesses, the liver must be strengthened (of course, in a certain condition, liver detox is recommended*: i.e., cancer, acute hepatitis, etc). I highly recommend acupuncture to strengthen the liver and to take vitamin 6 and 12 (the foundation of DNA) supplements.
*Liver detox: here in Arizona, I find many people overdoing liver detox to the point it is no longer beneficial, and so doing, forgetting about strengthening the liver.
In my last newsletter, I talked about the autonomic nervous system and the adrenal system to restore the mind (the Spirit). The two systems need to be balanced to help the Liver attaining the final goal, which is the self-actualization, helping the Heart Element to reach the realm of "I Am."
To balance the autonomic nervous system, we can start with a stress reduction. Identify stress factors. Create an action plan for the stress. Change behaviors or routines if necessary. Keep the blood pressure in the normal range. Have a proper diet. Eat well with discerning knowledge. Take some minerals along with water. Do light exercise with abdominal breathing technique. Consult with a physician. To balance the adrenal system, do all just mentioned plus take some tyrosine (amino acid: 500 mg/day) and iodine if the thyroid is affected (one drop in a cup of water, twice a day: consult with your health care provider).
To balance the both systems by acupuncture, one example is as follow.
Autonomic Nervous System:
If rapid pulse, needle Ren-4 (関元: Gate of Origin, on the midline, about 3/5 below the navel on the line drawn between the navel and the pubic symphysis) or Ren-6 (気海: Sea of Qi, on the midline, about an inch inferior to the navel). ) Reduce the pulse rate.
Palpate Kid-2 (然谷: Blazing Valley, on the medial side of the foot, in the depression distal and inferior to the navicular tuberosity). If the point is tender, LU-10 (魚際: Fish Border, on the thenar eminence of the hand, in a depression between the midpoint of the first one metacarpal) could be tender, too. Needle the Metal and the Water points of each meridian line (only if the Fire point is tender).*
*Nagano-Matsumoto treatment according to Nan Jing (難経) Chapter 75.
Adrenal System:
If Kid-27 (喩府) in the depression on the lower border of the clavicle) is tender (possible thyroid/adrenal imbalance sign), then needle the point and Kid-6 (照会: slightly below the prominence of the medial malleollus). Add LU-5 (尺沢: Cubit Marsh, half the distance of the elbow cubital crease). If Kid-27 is really tender upon palpation, then needle HT-7 (神門: in the depression on the lower border of the clavicle) first. It will reduce the tenderness at Kid-27 immediately.*
*note from Sawada/Shirota style
If with respiratory problems, needle Kid-3 (太渓: in the depression between the medial malleollus and the Achilles tendon, level with the prominence of the medial malleollus) instead of Kid-6. For an elderly person or he has general weakness, needle Kid-9 (築賓: Guest House, on the medial aspect of the lower leg, draw a straight line from Kid-3 to where it meets the inferior end on the gastrocnemius muscle) instead.
According to the Sawada/Shirota style, Kid-6 is Kid-3. It is one of the most crucial points. Add Ren-12 (on the midline, half way between the xiphoid process and the navel) and Left SJ-4 (陽池: Yang Pool, on the dorsum of the wrist, in the depression). They are the essential points.
One last thing. Human touch is the most powerful healing tool we have. Acupuncture does not come close to the power of touch. The autonomic and adrenal systems will be helped by it, but more importantly, one's realization of "I Am" is enhanced. The connectedness of the touch awakens the Heart Element: the joy and the love. The enemy within will be defeated by the elements, for there is always hope.
© 2008 Dr. Y. Frank Aoi/Japanese Acupuncture