Ba Gua of the I Ching
During our community acupuncture treatments, we often get asked “how do you know where to put the needle?” With so many acupuncture points on the body, this is not an easy decision.
At Miami Community Acupuncture, we primarily practice “Balance Method Acupuncture”. This system of treatment was developed by Dr. Richard Teh-Fu Tan, with strong influences from Master Tung and Dr. Chao Chen’s I Ching Acupuncture. The common thread among these three great modern acupuncturists is their Taiwanese origin. During the cultural revolution in China, many of the best Chinese medical practitioners escaped communism by relocating to Taiwan. This allowed a pure form of Chinese medicine to persist without the injection of the communist government’s views.
Advanced Style of Acupuncture Treatment
It is a common misconception that acupuncture should be given to the affected area of a patient’s disease. This concept of “local” treatment is actually less effective and misses the magic of acupuncture theory. The body possesses a complex system of connections, primarily made of nerves and blood vessels. Acupuncture uses its meridian system to describe the functional organization of these connections to help relieve pain and improve bodily functions. As Dr. Tan famously tells his students, “the switch is not on the light”, meaning that the local area is not the ideal location for treatment.
The Balance Method uses powerful “distal” acupuncture points on the arms and legs to treat all aspects of the body. So if you come to our clinic complaining about knee pain, the one place we won’t put a needle is in your injured knee. By choosing “remote control” acupuncture points, we can have the patient move the affected area during treatment to observe the clinical effects. Balance Method Acupuncture is unique in its ability to obtain instantaneous results for pain. After insertion of the needles, most patients can immediately feel a decrease in pain level and improved range of motion.
Accessible Acupuncture Points
Another advantage of these distal point locations is their accessibility without the need to remove the patient’s clothing. This makes Balance Method Acupuncture ideal for our community room treatments. After removing your shoes and socks, you can rest comfortably in one of our recliners with only your lower arms and legs exposed.
The points used during Balance Method Acupuncture treatments are considered to be the most powerful points on each meridian, according to classical Chinese theory. These locations were originally detailed in the oldest known Chinese medical text: The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic. Their use also highlights Dr. Tan’s “light switch” example: put the switch in an accessible place, like on the wall beside the door (in acupuncture terms: the arms and legs).
A Logical Approach to Acupuncture
A final interesting aspect of the work of both Dr. Richard Tan and Dr. Chao Chen, is related to their prior educational background: both Dr. Tan and Dr. Chen were engineers, much like our own Acupuncture Physician Evan Haas. The application of the I Ching (Yi Jing) to acupuncture was formulated in a systematic approach. The logical methodology of the Balance Method explains not only its own treatment strategy, but also serves to demystify the indications of classical acupuncture points and those of Master Tung’s acupuncture system.
The I Ching acupuncture system works by superimposing the trigrams of the ba gua (the solid and broken lines seen surrounding the Yin Yang symbol above) over each of the 12 regular meridians, and their primary points on the arms and legs. Needling these points alters the polarity of the point from a solid line to a broken line, or visa versa, much like a switch. Selection of the correct points balances the meridians, regulating pain and organ function.
Come Experience Acupuncture For Yourself
Reading about acupuncture is great, but getting a treatment is much better. If you are in the Miami area, come visit Miami Community Acupuncture for an affordable acupuncture treatment. Come ask our Intel Computer Engineer turned Acupuncturist why he put that needle there!
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