Worsley Acupuncture, etc.

[Guest guest]

Since joining this , I have taken a passive stance as I have felt

that I haven't had much to contribute. I will still humbly admit that I am

a beginner at understanding this wondrous medicine....be it 5 element, TCM

or other. However, with the recent posts I have felt inclined to make a few

comments. Please excuse my level of ignorance. I often tell my clients

that there would be one less acupuncturist practicing if I had been required

to be a scholar of this medicine. Fortunately, I've seen enough success in

my practice to know that I am helping others, who might not have otherwise

have found healing....and that is what inspires me to keep at it...and learn

as much as I can in order to offer the most that I can to any person who

walks through my doors....while at the same time upholding the image of this

medicine. I feel so privileged to be part of this fascinating system...and

to be living in a time when East seems to meeting West.....in spite of so

much confusion that is resulting. Thank you Attilio for supporting this

much needed dialogue...and monitoring the tone, so as to keep respect among

us as we pose questions and disagree. I agree that it is all necessary.

 

As I previously mentioned, I was originally trained through Worsley

tradition. Coming from my western medicine background (RN), I had a hard

time just trying to grasp many of the concepts....found that my mind kept

wanting

to reject it. I didn't know the difference between 5element and TCM. I

will also admit that I had some problems with some of the Worsley

practitioners/instructors....and can empathize with what Naomi experienced.

I was chastised on a number of occasions for not being able to bend my

personality to that which was expected. I ultimately decided that being my

authentic self was more

important than trying to be a clone. It is this kind of behavior that I

witnessed that made me embarrassed about the system. So, I've had my own

personal battle with trying to find the truth and not throw the baby out

with the bath water. I believe that Worsley brought a lot of beauty to this

medicine, but I have disagreed with it being the be all end all as some 5

element practitioners seem to believe. As a fellow student has pointed out:

fundamentalism occurs whenever one believes his/her way is the only way.

 

One annoyance was the time devoted to figuring out the CF. I'm the perfect

example. I was treated for 3 years on every CF before finally seeing JR

Worsely, who diagnosed me as having a Wood constitution....moreover, once

the CF was confirmed, I still think there was a lot of

guessing that took place when choosing points...some of which aggravated my

case. I laugh when I think of how any TCM practitioner would have easily

diagnosed and treated my liver qi stagnation, even though they didn't know

my CF. I've ultimately accepted

this as part of the confusion (easier since having the liver qi stagnation

treated though LOL:-)..and value the experience, which gave me the

motivation to develop myself differently.

 

While I am choosing a different path, I believe there are plenty of 5

element practitioners who are well developed and have a much deeper

understanding of the medicine....and perhaps with that understanding they

have all of the tools necessary. But, I would have to say that the

majority do not practice on this level. As Lonny Jarret

says - to truly practice 5 element acupuncture, one must change his/her own

mind.....and I haven't been able to yet achieve that level yet.

 

I do believe that Lonny has expanded JR Worsley's teachings in a

very wonderful way. I have not ever met him in person, but get the

impression through reading his book that he is the antithesis of " I " . The

entire theme of his book is about living without ego " the false self " .

 

Other people/institutions are making effort to expand upon Worsley's

teachings. For instance, The Academy of Five Element Acupuncture has added

an herbal program taught by Thea Elijah, who seems to have an amazing

understanding of the deeper qualities of herbs. Incidentally, Lonny

Jarrett's book includes a chapter written by Thea Elijah. I also just heard

that the Academy has hired a new dean of students (?title) with a TCM

background. Bravo I say. I know that this school is far from perfect, but

I applaude the director of the school, Dorit Reznek, for all of her efforts

to bridge the gaps.

 

As for my own practice, I recently feel that I've broken through some of the

chaos and have found a way to provide both TCM and Worsley style acupuncture

(that is utilizing many of the eclectic techniques even though I don't yet

deeply understand 5 element acupuncture)

I've found that the constitution is a great way of

determining the root cause of illness.....once I have the constitution, I

look for a TCM pattern within the constitution i.e, if I have a client with

a water constitution that is also exhibiting signs of Kidney Yang

deficiency, then I will treat accordingly....after I've

cleared some of the major blocks ie., AE (which I believe is a most powerful

treatment), Akabani, etc. I will also treat the spirit points that I

believe would be most beneficial to the client. Some people present more in

need of emotional support, in which case I will concentrate more on

balancing the spirit. Others are suffering with physical symptoms that I

feel are a priority....and here's where I believe the art and intuition of

the medicine come in....determining what the person most needs. In complex

cases, I will try to address what I believe is the root imbalance with

acupuncture and then treat other patterns with herbs or vice versa. I find

that almost every client needs nutritional counseling...and spend a fair

amount of time with that.

 

Obviously this is my unique approach that seems to be working for me. I do

believe that it's taken a fair amount of education and experience (albeit

much to go) before getting to the point of being able to add this individual

style. So, I agree that we should first be grounded in a tradition before

adding our own mark. And while I respect the need for education , I

equally believe that we have to heal our own issues so that we will have the

heart to do this work. I would refrain from going to the most knowledgeable

in the field if

he/she didn't also possess the necessary compassion for healing to take

place. People are starved for a safe place to receive love and acceptance.

 

Tami