14-Jan / 0 COMMENTS

A major component in the practice of Five Element acupuncture is illuminating the connection to nature and turning of the seasons in life and their resonance in the physical body. The task of the acupuncturist is to remind her patient to make the connection to the seasons and cycles of life at the level of mind, body and spirit. Often seen in patients who seek acupuncture for relief of pain is the near complete disconnection between body and mind. The fast paced life style of our modern world where we regularly push ourselves to the limits of our mental and physical capacity is a fodder for much of our dis-ease. (The hyphen after the prefix dis- is to highlight its negation of ease.)  We create our own dis-ease. We are responsible for our symptoms of pain and suffering. Not easy words to say, nor accept in the face of all that seems already stacked against us.  On the upside, we can create our own healing.  To those who are in the mindset of handing over his or her wellness to medical experts, this is a radical notion.  To those who are conditioned to thinking of their body as the enemy, the source of pain and weakness, this idea of self healing, taking charge of one’s own well being sounds too awesome to believe.  And I assert that there is a glimmer of knowing in all of us to recognize that to be the truth; healing begins from within. Just as we create our own suffering, we can create our own ease. Even as symptoms are relieved through the needles, the practitioner of Five Element acupuncture will lead her patient into self inquiry to examine his or her lifestyle choices that may have ushered in the symptoms they describe as pain. Hit pause, full stop. Inhale deeply and exhale… and explore with me the Five Elements. Make the connection between your mind of thinking, worrying, fretting, hesitating, rushing, and upset, to your physical experience of squawks in the joints, lower back region,  or insomnia, indigestion, constipation, migraine headaches, bloating, chronic fatigue and myriad of other symptoms through the inquiry of elements and cultivate wellness.

Firstly, the element of Water – this is the element in which we acknowledge the unknown.  And in our unknowing, we choose to be still.  This is also the space that we can mindfully carve out in our busy lives to get still and to reach within.  Allow yourself access to the resource that is available within to restore and refresh.  “Be still and know I am God.” This is our heavenly permission to stop doing. When I am exploring the health of the water element in a patient, I’m not immediately jumping to handle anyone’s pain.  I’m not trying to fix the pain, or to make anything better. I am listening to the voice of another soul, my ears turned to hear the spirit within as I engender the space for my beloved to sit and be still, and just be with herself without any agenda.  Present and perfect in the moment just as she is.

It is no accident that over half of the human body is comprised of water; each of us as a microcosm represents nature in its infinite variety. The organs associated with Water element are kidneys and bladder; responsible for housing our life energy and serving as a reservoir for distribution.  Fortitude, growth, reproduction and development are attributed to this element as well, bones and marrow, the essential building blocks of our being. Skill and wisdom are associated with Water for tending to our resources both in and out.

So how are you at cultivating stillness in your life? Are you burning both ends of the proverbial candle? How are you tending to your financial resources? Are you listening to the inner voice or ignoring it as you rush from one appointment to another? Frequently patients show up with low back pain, stiff neck, knee pain, insomnia or anxiety, urinary problems, swelling in the lower extremities. Some of the questions I pose as I needle the patients bring about nervous giggle or some other form of admissions of self neglect.  And sometimes the questions are met with the patient’s eyes lighting up as if recognizing the “A-ha.” No blame. No recrimination. First comes the realization, then we make room for correction. Habits and patterns are identified, small and meaningful action plans are designed and we practice.

We practice being still. We practice listening to our body. We practice going to sleep earlier. We practice as if we are brand new beginners every day.  A wise woman taught me, “Each day is a gift, it isn’t owed us and we did not earn it.” Let’s give ourselves permission to be beginners and honor the gift of Water; let’s practice more stillness in our life.

 

 

In the next post, we will explore the element of Wood, the season of Spring.