TCM - Feeling and/or Sensing Qi

[Guest guest]

I have a feeling many will write in on this question.

 

I'm a 2005 graduate of PCOM-NY. My experience there was that teachers by

and large did not discuss feeling/sensing qi as a part of point location or

needling classes. In clinic, however, a couple of the Chinese supervisors did

discuss qi sensation in needling. One supervisor pointed out that different

points have different sensations, so that we shouldn't expect to get the same

sensation at every point, and he would always ask the patients what they were

feeling. But even with the Chinese teachers, there were differences. Another

Chinese supervisor said that we shouldn't bother the patients by asking them

about their sensations of the needling.

 

Mostly what I have learned about needling has been from receiving consistant

acupuncture from a Chinese man who seeks the de qi sensation in his needling.

I have observed a lot of change in myself physically and emotionally over

the last year, which I attribute to the treatments. I feel what I receive also

then translates into how I needle my patients. I have tried to take this in

from the inside, without asking questions, since I feel that questions are

not really invited.

 

I remember that this practitioner (who was also one of my teachers at PCOM)

once said that he kind of resented how the more aggressive students would often

come to him and more or less demand that he teach them how to needle like he

did. I think he felt that students needed to spend the time to cultivate

their own sensitivity to qi sensations, and work from there, instead of trying

to

imitate someone else's needling style.

 

I suspect also that in the school situation many of the teachers also erred

on the conservative side so that students would not be overly aggressive in

puncturing the people who came to the school clinic.

 

--RoseAnne, L.Ac, NYC

 

 

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