Dr. Tan Acupuncture 1,2,3 Step 1: Identify the sick meridian Tai Yang : Yang Ming : Shao Yang :
e greater Yang region of the body, commonly meaning the posterior Yang area.
Tai Yin: Shao Yin: Jue Yin :
e greater Yin region
e anterior portion of the Yang area. e minor Yang region of the body, lying between Tai Yang and Yang Ming
of the body, commonly meaning the anterior Yin area. e lesser Yin region reg ion of the body, commonly meaning the posterior Yin area. e Yin region lying between the Tai Yin and Shao Yin.
ected ected meridian. is is e four traditional Chinese medical diagnostic methods are relied ton to identify the a ff the most important step in obtaining precise and accurate results. e methods are Inspection (Wang (Wang), ), Auscultation/Olfaction (Wen), Inquiry (Wen) and Palpation (Qie). Inspection (Wang): e aff ected ected meridians are identi fied by observing swelling, color changes, atrophy, deformities, etc. Distinguishing where these changes occur in terms of Chinese anatomy helps make an accurate diagnosis. Auscultation/Olfaction (Wen): Listening to the sound and quality qualit y of the patient’s patient’s voice, and smelling their particular odor. Inquiry (Wen): Asking the patient exactly where the pain is located and at what depth the pain occurs. e more specifically they can identify the location, the more accurate the diagnosis and better b etter the result will be. Ask the patient to use one finger to point to the painful area. Palpation (Qie): One of the most powerful tools to identify the a ff ected ected meridian. e pain may be located directly on a meridian, between meridians, or may cover two or more meridians.
With Acupuncture 1,2,3 it is not necessary necessar y to make a Zang Fu diagnosis diag nosis such as LYR or Wind-Heat invasion. e acupuncturist’s acupuncturist’s focus should s hould be on the location of the discomfort. By By treating theff aected ected meridian, the practitioner brings balance to the body, reduces pain, and restores health - both internally and externally. externally. Step 2: Determine the treated meridians
Use the Six Systems to determine treated meridians. System 1: Chinese meridian name-sharing System 2: Bie-Jing/branching meridian System 3: Biao-Li/interior-exterior pairs System 4: Chinese clock opposites System 5: Chinese clock neighbors System 6: Same meridian
opposite side either side opposite side either side opposite side same side, opposite end of meridian
With internal disorders, the global balance ba lance method is used to arrange treated meridians on the body. Global Balance is a combination of dynamic balance ba lance and static balance.
Dynamic Balance : when the meridians on the opposite hand and foot balance each other according to the Six Systems (i.e. LU on le hand and SP on right foot; ST on le foot and LI on right hand) Static Balance: when the meridians on the same side hand and foot, or both hands, or both feet, balance each other (i.e. LU on le hand and SP on le foot; LU on le hand and LI on right hand; ST on le foot and SP on right foot).
Example of global balance for treating sinus pain on LI/ST meridians with SP/ST xu symptoms
LI
LU
SP
ST
If a patient has pain on a meridian or meridians, but also has internal symptoms, use the Global Balance method. Step 3: Select the points
1. Mirroring format & reverse mirroring format: mapping one limb and another limb 2. Imaging format & reverse imaging format: mapping a limb to a di ff erent part of the body A. Upper limb to head and trunk B. Lower limb to head and trunk C. Head to upper and lower limb D. Scalp to the spine 3. Four-segment timing : five-shu points are chosen based on four-segment timing (season or time of day). Especially useful when pain is influenced by seasonal or temporal elements. 4. Global Balance - Ba Gua: for Six Channel patterns (i.e. Tai Yin - Yang Ming; Tai Yang - Shao Yin; etc.) and special syndromes (SP-HT imbalance, 8 Magical Points). e gua of the hand meridian is transformed to the gua of the foot meridian on the same side. Depending on the Six Channel pattern, either the 3rd & 6th points (III/VI) on the meridian will be selected or the 1st and 4th points (I/IV). 5. Five Element Ba Gua: for internal diseases with a clear excess or de ficiency, when sedation or tonification are desired. Points are selected using the “Ba Gua” shi ing method. e bottom gua (ti gua) is always the same as the sick element. To tonify, the top gua (yung gua) is transformed to the
mother element of the sick element, or the same element as the sick element. To sedate, the top gua is transformed to the son or the grandmother of the sick element. 6. Seasonal Balance: this method is based on the rhythms of nature and the five shu-transporting points. Our sleep cycles, hormonal levels and mental states are all a ff ected by cyclical rhythms. Points are chosen by using the hexagram of the current season to balance the hexagram associated with an a ff ected meridian. 7. Ba Zi: based on Chinese metaphysics. I don’t know much about this strategy.
