by Q1. What approach do you take when working with clients?
The Five Elements uses a TEAM approach with the practitioner as a facilitator for the healing/changes and the client taking an active role in the process. We encourage Talk between client & practitioner (symptoms, what’s changed in your life, insights/intuitions). Symptoms (and more importantly, signs and pulse readings) are curiously Explored (by both client & practitioner) and treatments choices are then made. The Applying of acupoints/patterns is done. To Maximize the treatment session, you are asked to follow the post-session suggestions (see below). We Talk, Explore and Apply again for each session.
As always, ask your questions + add your insights. You are a huge part of the process.
Q2. How do you know what points to use?
There is a best practices order of treatment patterns that a practitioner generally follows which moves from the main general/overall issue/symptom (e.g., back pain or stress); to more specific symptoms (e.g., lower back pain with spasms or worry with insomnia); with the addition of points to address other secondary symptoms and signs (pulse readings, etc.) mentioned or appearing (e.g. cold feet, stiff neck, irritability, meaning in life), and also to match (once identified) the client’s CF Element (their particular constitutional, causative or root imbalance; one’s Achilles heel!).
We don’t do the same pattern twice as we want to treat symptoms using different angles or factors (specific points, specific meridian paths, strengthening/weakening elements, and CF) and how session to session changes are seen/not seen.
Q4. How many sessions? When will I see/feel changes?
This will vary. Usually, one starts with 3 sessions to see how the body/psyche relaxes and responds. We look for how your overall well-being and feeling change (e.g., more energy, more relaxed) from session to session as well as how symptoms change (e.g., less knee pain, fewer headaches).
Q3. What exactly is going on as you hold the points?
When points are stimulated/pressed, this activates the body’s natural ability to heal as:
- endorphins are released (thus, pain relief),
- muscular tension lessens, blood flow increases, and toxins are released, and
- rebalances the Qi (energy flow)
As the point opens or releases, I feel (you may too!) a softening at the point, temperature changes (both warmer and colder), and the presence or increase of pulsing. I hold the points between 1-3 minutes, moving on and/or lingering as I feel these releases occur or what the body/point indicates it needs.
ALSO – you may drop into ‘the gap’ during a session, where you feel not quite asleep, deeply relaxed, still and present. Deep healing occurs here, with 1 hour in the gap as effective as 8 hrs of sleep.
Q4. Why are some symptoms not going away while others are getting worse or coming back?
The Law of Cure (you may be familiar with this from Hering’s Law of Homeopathy) relates to the process or direction of healing that someone goes through with acupressure. Healing may occur:
- From above to below – A clearing of symptoms from the head down. E.g. shoulder arthritis is cleared before the knees
- From inside to outside– Suppressed symptoms may need to ‘come to the surface’ before they clear. g., relief of asthma (internal/lung) lessens yet eczema (outer/skin) worsens
- In reverse order to how the symptoms appeared. The last symptom to appear may be the 1st to reappear. Thus, as treatment continues, early symptoms (you thought had long gone!) may reappear (along with their psychoemotional material) for a short period of time.
- From most important to least important Life-threatening issues will heal prior to lesser issues.
Q5. Why aren’t you using more points and/or pushing stronger/harder/longer on them?
Wei Wu Wei is the Taoist philosophy which states treatment is given a) using the least number of points; b) using the least amount of time; and c) using moderate pressure (harder/deeper is not better!)
We aim for a ‘good pain’ sensation. Sometimes, you will feel numb or nothing at the point, while other points will be more sensitive. We also don’t want to use so many points that the body gets ‘confused’ and that we can’t best track what points were used that made (or not) beneficial symptom changes.
