What is classical acupuncture?

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Classical acupuncture is a healthcare system based on ancient principles which go back nearly two thousand years. The Nei Jing (The Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine 305-204 B.C) is one of the oldest medical text books.
It has a positive model for good health, and looks at pain and illness as signs that the body is out of balance.

The overall aim of acupuncture treatment, then, is to restore the body's equilibrium.

What makes this system so uniquely suited to modern life is that physical, emotional and spirit are seen as interdependent, and reflect what many people perceive as the connection between the different aspects of their lives.

 

Based on Classical belief, acupuncturists are trained to use subtle diagnostic techniques that have been developed and refined for centuries. The focus upon the individual, not their illness, all the symptoms are seen in relation to each other and as sign posts to the deeper root of disharmony.  Each patient is unique; two people with the same western diagnosis may well receive different acupuncture treatments. Because the root cause maybe very different.

For classical acupuncturists the underlying principle of treatment is that illness and pain occur when the body's qi, or vital energy, cannot flow freely. There can be many reasons for this; spiritual/emotional and physical stress, poor nutrition, infection or injury are among the most common. By inserting ultra-fine sterile needles into specific acupuncture points, an acupuncturist seeks to re-establish the free flow of qi to restore balance and trigger the body's natural healing responses. Nearly all training had been apprentice-style with masters and within families.

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This was the approach until the 1940s, when the Chinese government commissioned the development of a uniform system of diagnosis and treatment, somewhat misleadingly referred to as TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). This is a different model of treatment. The same applied when acupuncture travelled overseas to Japan and South East Asia.

 

As a consequence of this there are many different styles of acupuncture which share a common root but are distinct and different in their emphasis. 

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Acupuncture has a long history of adapting to new cultures in which it is practised. Its growing popularity and acceptance in the West may well promote yet more new and exciting variations on the ancient themes. A growing body of evidence-based clinical research shows that acupuncture safely treats a wide range of common health problems.

 

Jocelyne trained as an Acupuncturist at The International College of Oriental Medicine (ICOM) Although the course covered the entire spectrum of acupuncture and its related philosophy in great depth, over the years the college has become renowned for its unique understanding of the Stems and Branches, not only theoretically, but especially its practical application. The Stems and Branches theory is a unique science of understanding the cycles of energetic change through time and their effect on the individual.

The Philosophy of Stems and Branches goes back to the very beginnings of Acupuncture, a time when human beings still felt a deep connection to their environment. We didn’t experience this strong separation between our internal and external worlds as we were much more exposed to and dependent on external conditions like climate, weather and time. Naturally we lived in much deeper harmony with our surroundings and experienced its resonance on the inside.

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The advancement of our lives, mainly driven by our analytical mind, have led to countless benefits but on the other hand has also led to a detachment from the external world or a lessening of our awareness of it. The connections and resonances still exist though and Stems & Branches Philosophy examines the role of these external influences on each Individual’s energetic balance and therefore health and well-being. Climate and weather, the position of the Sun, the Moon and the Stars, which express themselves in the time of the day and the season, give each and every moment in time its very unique energetic pattern and influence. To truly understand these patterns and connections and being able to live and treat accordingly is the art and science of Stems & Branches. 

 

Knowledge of the Stems and Branches theory enables an acupuncturist to look at life in general, and at a patient in particular, at a much deeper level and treat the innermost problems of a patient.