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Hi Sue!
Yes you needle then apply pole moxa. When we did the course with Sean Tuten, he taught us to apply pole moxa to the needle, to warm the needle.
Lois 🙂Hey Anna,
I mirror Armin’s comments – both that you are helping her a lot, and also to consider the Luo.
My first thought while reading was UB Lou, as the primary channel runs through the lumbar area and it is excellent for relieving stagnation of PTSD / trauma.
The Luos eventually empty into the Qiaos so it’s possible that this is why you are feeling Qiao pulses now.
I look forward to hearing other ideas and also would love to hear how she progresses.
Lois
Hey Armin
I notice this sometimes and I think what I do is to palpate near that tight knot or band to find something odd. Normally there’s something weird eg cold patch, tight skin or a soggy depression. I find that this odd patch will be expressing the stagnation of Wei Qi, rather than the knot itself. The soggy depressions are the most interesting I guess, because they feel like a place where there’s not much Qi but then they can hold the Qi really tightly.
I do find regions where I expect it to grab and it doesn’t. My expectation is not necessarily from texture changes (knots, and etc) but a bit more subtle sense that there isn’t vitality flowing through the tissues. For example it feels a bit cool whereas the surrounding area is warm. And the energy feels like it’s flowing underground, rather than perfusing through the surface. Also the skin itself might feel ever so tight or springy, rather than juicy & soft. That’s the best way I can explain it! And my mind really feels like it’s wanting to connect with something & bring it up to the surface but the needle comes out totally empty.
In those cases I can often get the Qi to respond and lift by using gua sha and/or moxa. It’s funny, when it’s not grabbing I can feel myself tensing subtly, and even like my brow is furrowing! It feels like chasing a rabbit down a hole. With gua sha, moxa etc it’s more like being outside the rabbit hole with some juicy carrots LOL.
I’d be interested to hear what other people experience. I find that sinews is the area where I feel least connected/ confident.
Lois
Hi Elizabeth
Thank you so much for sharing this story and your feelings about it. I’ve only just read it now, and I have a couple of small thoughts to add. The holocaust story is important to her as an origin story, something that resonates through her ancestry, but it is not something she has personally experienced. The disconnected feeling that you are picking up could be the vibration of her dissociation. If it feel uncomfortable and “wrong” to you, perhaps that vibration is there for you to experience as it is. The discomfort, the misfit, the lack of life and meaning and connection. It might be a small taste of what your patient experiences in great quantities, and can allow you to access more compassion (while still remaining in your centre).
With the 8-extras, I’m quite new to these and for the time being I am not asking anyone to commit to a 3-month process. My friend and I were discussing this the other day. I am content to know that once I become more familiar with the spirit of each reservoir, that I will eventually *know* that this person needs a 3-month course. For now, I feel the pulses, and if the 8-extra is clearly asking to be addressed, then I trust that this is being shown to me at the intersection between what the patient needs, and what I am capable of delivering. Sometimes I find that I repeat the same 8-extra channel, sometimes I may do three sessions in a row using three separate 8-extra channels. At this stage I’m not trying to *do* something, rather I’m following the pulses and allowing my patients to teach me. I have confidence that this is not doing them harm.
Best wishes in your continued support of this patient – she is lucky that you are there to help her.
Kind regards
LoisDear Armin
Thank you for sharing this case. From my perspective, you have been exemplary as a practitioner in your listening, pondering before you act, your treatment ideas and your respect for this patient’s wellbeing. Maybe you were feeling less than confident – the Luos would have been perfect in this instance and you felt unsure to use them. The patient could feel this clearly and felt safe to communicate this to you. You are a clear channel and you can have confidence in this. Knowledge can be gained easily, don’t worry that you’re not “all there yet” with the knowledge (I say this simultaneously to myself!).
I have been doing a lot of study, practice, learning, networking and exploration around trauma these past couple of years. The body of work emerging from Western medicine is profound and works perfectly with our approach (if interested you can read/ watch Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine, Pat Ogden, James Gordon etc). The one piece of feedback I will give you is that talking about trauma ignites the fight-flight arousal pathway. Trauma is a repeat of stuck fear, so talking about it brings the level of arousal up, without the ability for completion and release. The talk therapy industry is just beginning to acknowledge this (neuroscience has shown it clearly). They are turning to body work for answers. We are perfectly placed to help people.
Kind regards
LoisOh thank you so much Armin, I actually have 2 copies LOL. I only dip into it when I have a question, as it’s not the kind of material that I’m usually able to digest in a systematic way – so I hadn’t realised that those remedies were given all the way through. I’ve certainly picked up some from there, so I’ll now go through it with a sense of purpose and create myself a quick-reference resource. Very much appreciated, thank you!
Hi Amy, apologies for this extremely late response!
I haven’t done the Divergents weekend yet, and knowing the risk of causing harm, I think I would wait before trying this with horses (have only done UB DSD on humans when it seemed indicated). It’s fascinating to hear how you applied this treatment for these kittens – very inspiring and impressive. I hope you continue to post cases here!
Your description of horses is beautiful. They are amazing teachers. It’s really struck me that they have the same spectrum of sensitivity as humans – some are relatively not-sensitive and love deep massage and musculo-level work. Those on the other end of the spectrum often don’t even need to be touched, just connect on an energetic level and do the work there (so rewarding to see yawns, licking/chewing, cocking leg etc as “proof” that “something is happening”). Then the slightly less sensitive love shiatsu and needles, etc. I have to admit I prefer working with those along the more sensitive end as it’s so fascinating to see how much they can receive through such minimilast intervention. I feel as though horses resonate on a similar emotional wavelength as humans, using human-frequency emotional “pressure” to move each other and so on. My preference definitely is to work with them in the herd, where the herd dynamics are at play and others participate in the treatment, sometimes “referring” a friend for treatment and so on! Anyway, didn’t mean to hijack your thread, just loving having my toe in these waters and really looking forward to learning more from you.
P.S. Any tips on colic would be welcome. We’re in severe drought at the moment and lost one pony to sand colic last year, I’m nervous for them…
Hello Amy!
It was really interesting to read your post about using classical treatments in animals. I’m an acupuncturist for humans but recently have been spending time with horses and have really enjoyed using energy work and acupuncture with them. On the one hand, it’s challenging because they can’t give verbal information about their experience but on the other hand, it’s very rewarding and humbling because their non-verbal communication is so clear and honest, especially when there is pain and relief from pain or release of stress.
I’ve only been doing very basic acupuncture with the horses but so curious to learn more. They seem to respond so well.
I look forward to reading more of your posts about animal acupuncture 🙂
Lois
