Detox and the Return to Innocence

There is a term used within acupuncture treatment known as "the healing crisis": a rather dramatic name for a common occurrence. This "crisis" is perhaps more palatable when called a "detox period."

Many conditions that afflict the body-mind-spirit are the result of stagnation and accumulation. Some illustrative examples of this are: allergens getting stuck in the eyes, ears and nose. Otherwise known as allergies. The immune energy keeps the condition stuck in the head to prevent it from moving into the interior of the body where more serious harm could result. The body experiences an inflammatory immune reaction as it repeatedly tries to expel and/or contain the condition.

The same process can occur with psycho-emotional material as well. An experience occurs, and the body is unable to brush it off and let it go. The experience and the thoughts or emotions created from it become stuck in the chest. Agitation, restlessness and chest tightness result. The body tries to bring the emotions and thoughts up to the tongue to be released through the voice. Yet, if that fails, the unreleased energy moves back into the chest. The body will continue to try and release the stuck emotions via bringing it to the shoulders, maybe to the skin, and then to the ears and mouth: manifesting as physical and/or mental-emotional symptoms. If the issue is still not able to be released, it can move into the lower back, ribs, and finally stomach and intestines. Just like the example with allergies, similar stuckness can occur with unreleased emotions and thoughts.

When something is stuck it creates pain. Stuck energy also contributes to the accumulation of blood and fluids: a fibroid, weight gain, nasal polyps, acne: these are all examples.

Healing becomes the process of letting go of the stuckness, as well as expelling the accumulations that have occurred as a result. This is often achieved through the detox process of the healing crisis.

Acupuncture treatment works in two main ways: through building the strength and resources of the body so a full release can be achieved. Both the allergies that continually manifest in a low-grade manner, as well as the emotional holdings that progressively manifest as psycho-somatic symptoms are the result of an underlying insufficiency of energy and fluids to fully expel whatever is stuck. Perhaps the immune system has become taxed from the diet, or a person is caught up in guilt that has depleted his ability to let go of the past. Both of these scenarios can contribute to the creation of an insufficiency of energy, preventing the body from fully letting go and expelling a physical or mental-emotional pest.

Acupuncture, as it has been taught to me, owes its power to its ability to treat the individual. It does not treat diseases: it treats people who possess certain symptoms and imbalances. The treatment focuses upon the unique condition of the patient. Two persons complaining of wheezing will most likely be treated in totally different ways. Even though they possess the same symptom, they are two different people, with two different stories that have caused their symptoms. Perhaps one man's wheezing comes from a physical weakening of the kidney energy from longterm use of steroidal medications. And perhaps the other's wheezing comes from longterm unresolved fear or grief disturbing the harmonious relationship between his lung and kidney energies. Different points and different strategies will be used for each case, always based on the individual.

Once the patient's energy has been strengthened, he will begin the process of the release. It may take the form of a fluid release: nasal discharge, urination and sweat in the form of a common cold. Perhaps it will come out through the bowels. Or maybe it will be released through emotional discharge: crying or instant understanding of the issue.

I write this blog entry from inspiration I have received this week. I have been home all week with a cold. My nose has been runny, my head has ached, my throat was sore, and I've been urinating constantly. Interestingly, these cold symptoms have also been joined with a great deal of emotional release as well. Did I catch a cold from someone around me? In this case I don't think so.

I have been receiving acupuncture treatment weekly for quite awhile, understanding that a detox period was coming. During my week of detox many insights and memories arose. A new understanding of past disappointments, a rectification with the past occurred. Also, a sense of renewed innocence, hope and excitement sprung forth quite surprisingly. Who knew a cold could be such a sacred experience?

Perhaps one of the nicest things about a cold is the body's demand for calm and rest. It can be very difficult to allow a full release of "the baggage" when one's life is filled with the busyness of daily responsibilities and distractions. The body is wise. It knows what it needs. When one has made the decision to let go of the junk, the body will create a situation for this to occur.

Of course, retreating from the world for an entire week, layed up in bed with a messy cold could cause many people great frustration, perhaps even a sense of depression. Many people just keep going, refusing to acknowledge that anything is happening.

I've always seen acupuncture as a spiritually-based healing method at its root. It is no mistake that most spiritual disciplines require stillness and quiet reflection as pre-requisites for developing inner clarity and freedom. Within the spiritual "medical" treatment that is acupuncture, the healing crisis is the body's call for attention and focus as release is occurring.

The clearing of accumulations and stagnations can be seen as a return to innocence. The Buddhists often describe the enlightened state as the ability to see the world as a baby sees it: full of wonder, as if seeing it for the first time. Think if it: fluid being released from the nose, mouth and eyes: quite a physical metaphor for clearing from the organs of perception anything blocking the enlightened state of experiencing the world.

Acupuncture and "Serious" Degenerative/Autoimmune Conditions

I am very excited to share my experience treating patients with so-called "serious" conditions, such as autoimmune, cancer and degenerative diseases. My excitement comes from the positive healing experiences I've witnessed treating these conditions with acupuncture.

The power of acupuncture lies in its ability to fortify and rebuild the body's self-healing mechanism, while expelling pathogens damaging the tissues, blood and organs. Strategies within Chinese Medicine acknowledge the need to support the body's strength when eradicating harmful pathogenic factors causing disease and degeneration. A delicate balance must be maintained during treatment to prevent a further weakening of a patient's system while trying to clear inflammation or break up tumors.

Chinese Medicine was developed during the Han Dynasty of 200 B.C.E. This was an agrarian society which was centered around agriculture and very connected to the land. Pathogens, viewed through germ theory within the Western Medical tradition, are seen as wind, cold, heat and dampness within Chinese Medicine. The ancient Chinese viewed the human body as a microcosm of the Earthly elements. Therefore the body was seen to possess "weather," just like the Earth. A "wind" condition is seen as such from the nature of how it presents. Wind moves and travels, it can come on sudden, and it is often volatile and unpredictable. Cold causes things to become stuck, putting out the healthy heat of the body. Dampness congeals; it is wet and is often sticky and heavy. Heat consumes, it is hot, red and often very volatile. Germ theory can be seen through the filter of Chinese Medicine, just as the climatic factors of Chinese Medicine can be viewed through the filter of the germ theory.

Treatment through acupuncture aims to expel these pathogenic factors from the body to prevent further damage. In actuality, acupuncture supports the body in doing this itself. The body possesses self-healing, self-regulating and defensive mechanisms to prevent and resolve any pathogenic invasion. It is only when the body is over-run by a particularly strong pathogen, or when the body is weak that it requires the help of medical intervention. Chinese medicine intervenes to support the natural mechanisms of the body in healing itself.

The body possesses many ways of expelling harmful pathogens. When the body is strong, a wind-cold or wind-heat (viral or bacterial) pathogen is released from the body via the fluid system. The body sweats, sneezes or urinates the pathogen out of the body. However, if the immune system, associated with the Lung and Large Intestine Channels within acupuncture, are weak, a pathogen can gain entrance into the deeper layers of the body. This process creates inflammation, which ultimately consumes the resources of the body. The system becomes weakened, while the pathogen becomes lodged. Degeneration begins to occur: the body's strength diminishes, while intermittent attacks occur. The condition seems to come and go, all the while reeking unseen damage on the interior of the body.

Acupuncture helps to reverse the process of degeneration. The inflammation is cleared. To do this however, the body must be supported in creating adequate fluids to expel the heat. The system is strengthened at the same time it is purged. The immune energy must also be supported, so as to prevent the treatment from further weakening the patient.

I've seen numerous patients who've complained treatment from their Western doctors have drastically weakened their systems, sometimes seeming as if the treatment was hurting them more than the condition. Side-effects of drugs and surgeries are common complaints of patients.

Acupuncture treatment merely supports the body's innate self-healing mechanisms. It does not put the added stress on the body. Medications and surgeries have helped numerous people heal, however they can also put more stress on the body during the healing process. Medications need to be metabolized: this can put tremendous stress on already weakened digestive systems, further draining much needed energy. Surgeries damage the tissues of the body, requiring additional energy to repair. For a patient suffering from a degenerative disease, they may not possess the energy reserves to devote to the added stress brought on by medications and surgeries.

Acupuncture allows the body to do what it knows how to do: maintain health and restore natural order. When there is excess heat or dampness in the digestive system, the body in its innate wisdom, causes diarrhea to flush it out. When there is wind or cold in the lungs, the body coughs it out in the form of phlegm. No matter how serious the pathogen, the mechanisms for clearing remain the same. No foreign substance need be injected or swallowed to allow this healing to occur. Mere topical stimulation on acupuncture points on the skin can spark the immune system to regain its power to heal itself. This is the reason there are so few side-effects to acupuncture treatment. Nothing is added but energetic support, which reminds the body to do what it knows how to do better than any outside human medical mind.

Once the inflammation is cleared from the body, treatment can focus on resolving the root cause of the condition. Causes can be from external or internal toxins. Pollution, poisoning and weather are examples of external causes; while the emotions, diet and lifestyle are internal causes.

The true goal of acupuncture treatment is eradication of the process that has caused the condition to manifest altogether. This is why there is such a strong psycho-emotional aspect to acupuncture treatment. Often it is a patient's lifestyle or unresolved emotions that cause their medical conditions. Lifestyle choices must be examined. Emotions must be resolved.

Acupuncture is empowerment therapy. It educates patients about their bodies; helps people own their emotions and gain control of their choices. It empowers people to free themselves from the forces that weaken them. This is also the image of the acupuncture needle in treatment. The needle does not put anything into the body: it merely empowers the body and mind to regain control and claim responsibility for its own health and healing. It is one of the most natural, organic healing modalities in existence: and also one of the most effective.