• Five Element Acupuncture is based on the Classical practice of Chinese medicine as found in the ancient medical books of China, and is noted for its focus on the holistic aspect of each client:  the person in his or her environment, in the current season, body, mind and spirit.  The word that is translated into English as "Element" could easily be translated as "Phase" or "Stage" or "How the Energy Shows Up".  Think of catching a snapshot in time of some energy  moving up, or down... that's a rough translation of what the ancients meant.  The Five Ways of Being, might be one way to translate this.  
  
• The Ancients used what they knew to classify or talk about these different Ways of Being.  They used comparisons to Nature.  So naturally  (pun intended), the Five Ways of Being were compared to the Five Seasons.  Everyone in Ancient China experienced the Seasons, and were much more connected to the land and the weather than we are today.  This was an obvious metaphor for them.  Remember that for much of the time that acupuncture has been around,  YouTube and the Internet have not existed, and until recently, books have not been easy to create and obtain.
  

To summarize, Five Element Acupuncture is based on a 5,000 year old (or older) tradition of observing how energy moves in natural systems.   The human body is a natural system.  By observing the patterns of the flow of energy, the experienced practitioner can understand where the energy, or 'qi,' is blocked or deficient, and where it is flourishing.    By supporting the person's spirit, the body can heal. 

Five Element Acupuncture Works.
Imagine a system of medicine without pharmaceuticals, blood testing, microscopes or MRI's.  Amazingly, the ancients who practiced Oriental Medicine were able to do so successfully without access to the modern expensive high-tech tools we have only so recently come to rely upon.    

This system of medicine is not the quick fix.  This is the way to real healing, and thus permanent healing.    You will likely experience shifts in various symptoms as your body and spirit come back into balance. 

Starting acupuncture when you have been sick for a long time is a little bit like starting a workout program.  How long will it take you to get to your ideal weight or fitness level?  For each individual, the answer will depend on their initial state of health and fitness.  This is also true with acupuncture.  You probably wouldn't expect to maintain your fitness gains after having visited the gym just 10 times.  And the same is true for acupuncture.  Depending on what is going on with your body, lasting results will come from a program or series of treatments that are tailored to your level of health and the balance of energy in your body.

Please allow time for this to work over several weeks or months.  This is integrative, holistic medicine that addresses the body's symptoms (the branches) by looking at the whole picture (the root).  How do the ills of the body relate to what is going on in the spirit?  How does the energy in this patient related to the way energy, or qi, shows up in nature? 

While acupuncture is good for anything that throws you off balance, I am not the quick-fix guru.  Your symptoms are important messages that something deeper is going on.  What is this deeper pattern?  Can we address it?  How does this relate to the rest of your life?   These symptoms are your compass that help you find your way to your highest and best self.  My job is to help you manage and heal from the debris of a lifetime of exposure to our familiar toxins (anger, 24/7 broadcast news, addictions, etc.).  I will support you as you clear out each room of your body+spirit mansion, and over the course of our time together you will become more truly yourself.


Whichever style is practiced by your practitioner, healing is likely to occur if you are able to experience regular acupuncture.
The speed of healing, and the depth of healing,  depend on the skill and experience of the practitioner, the patient's ability to come for treatment as frequently as recommended, and the rapport between patient and practitioner as much as where needles are placed or other techniques used.  Find a practitioner you like and can afford, and if you aren't healing, it might be time to find another practitioner.  Caution: be sure to follow the recommendations of your practitioner before you give up on her (him).  If your practitioner tells you to come for treatment three times a week, and you only go once a week, you can't really blame them if "the treatment isn't working".

I believe that Five Element Acupuncture allows me to help you become whole, to sound your true sound, to ring your own personal tone out into the universe, and that your destiny is to sound that bell for all to hear.  I'm not going to 'fix' your headaches. When we quench the thirst of your spirit, you will find that your headaches disappear, and that you spend more time feeling well.