Tag Archives: headache

My illness is my friend

Asthma, Five Elements, Headache, Insomnia, Neck pain, Pain Relief, Psycho-emotional, , ,

rock-hole-blue-lakeYesterday I received the news that one of my most influential teachers, Bob Duggan, has passed away. Bob was an acupuncturist but he was also a wellness visionary, seeing ways of bringing health and healing outside the treatment room.

In 1991 I was fortunate to be part of a group of 20 who made up the SOPHIA training in San Francisco. Bob, along with Diane Connelly, Julia Measures and John Sullivan, made seasonal trips from Maryland to teach us about using the wisdom of the Five Elements to support change and healing in all areas of life, not just in the treatment room. My own path owes a great deal to this training. My acupressure courses, my books and my direction in life were profoundly influenced by Bob’s view of the world.

When I received the news about Bob’s change of vibration, I went Googling and found a short interview with him from 2009 which I recommend to you. In it he tells this story:

I’ve practised acupuncture for 35 years now and some 30 years ago a man came back into me and he said, “I never thought asthma would be my friend.” I said, “Charlie what are you talking about, asthma is your friend?” And he said, “Well before I came to you I was in and out of the emergency room, I was constantly on prednisone. Now I pick up the wheezing about three days earlier and if I pay attention I realise I’m overtired, I’ve had too much caffeine, I’m having a fight with my wife. And if I change the life circumstances I don’t ever get an asthmatic attack.” That story has stayed with me. I’ve told it to virtually every patient since then and found that people say to me, “My body’s very smart.”

This reminds me of what I already know but try to forget. My headaches are my friends, my neck stiffness is my friend, my insomnia is my friend. These symptoms are kindly pointing out the ways that my life is out of balance. I just need to investigate and find out what needs to change, whether it is what I’m eating, what I’m thinking, what I’m feeling. Or not feeling.

As a practitioner it reminds me that my role is to support my clients to discover these things for themselves. And that if I simply “fix” their problems and nothing more, then I am doing them a great disservice. If I help them to turn off the fire alarm without finding the fire that triggered the alarm, then the change that the alarm is suggesting will not happen.

Thank you Bob Duggan for your wisdom and guidance. Thea Elijah called you a radical healing provocateur. I hope that you continue to provoke healing in whichever dimension you inhabit.

bob-duggan

Healthy Bones

Eye problems, Headache, Low back pain, Neck pain, Planning, Transitions, Vision, , , , ,

Shugu – Bone Binder – Bladder 65

10 Bones copyThough we are still in winter, spring is just around the corner. So I decided to choose an acupoint that will help us to make the transition between these seasons. Shugu is the Wood point on a Water meridian and so serves this purpose nicely.

In Five Element Acupuncture and Acupressure, we pay a lot of attention to the different Element points on the meridians. Every meridian has the five Element points on its pathway. These points are found between the fingers and elbows, and between the toes and knees. These points, sometimes called command points, are tools for moving Qi from one Element to another. Shugu is one such point. As the Wood point on a Water meridian, it moves Qi from Water to Wood. Specifically it moves Qi from Bladder to Gall Bladder, thereby sedating Bladder and tonifying Gall Bladder.

In doing so, this point harmonises the relationship between Water and Wood. We might use the metaphor of a tree whose deep roots are able to access the water and nutrients in the soil in order to grow and stay healthy. Shugu likewise enables us as humans to make wise use of our inner resources for optimum growth. It allows us to utilise these resources in service of our vision for the future. It is like hooking up the driveshaft (Water) to the wheels (Wood) so we can go somewhere. When there is drive without vision, will without plans, seed without growth, this point will serve.

As a distal point on the Bladder meridian, Shugu can treat problems of the urinary bladder such as difficult urination and cystitis. Jarrett points to its use in helping kidney stones to smoothly exit the body. The point also treats conditions along the pathway of Bladder, including lumbar pain, neck pain, headache and sore, painful eyes. Furthermore, it helps clear heat from the body, including fever and the heat-related condition of haemorrhoids.

But what of the reference to bones? The bones are governed by the Water Element because they are the tissues that are deepest in the body. As the Wood point of Bladder, Shugu encourages the healthy growth of bones and supports the healing of fractures, hence the name Bone Binder.

In the Chinese Tongshu calendar, spring begins at the point midway between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. For us here in the southern hemisphere, that means August 7th. You might try holding this bony point to smooth your passage into springtime.

Location of Bladder 65

BL65

 

On the outside of the foot in a depression posterior and inferior to the head of the 5th metatarsal. Run your finger up the side of your foot from the little toe until you find the large bony prominence half way along. Now go back towards the toe until your finger falls into a depression.