Acupuncture Needling - an Example of One Possibility… (Video)

Many people wonder what the experience of Acupuncture might be like.  As explained elsewhere on this site, Acupuncture is practiced in lots of ways by people of many traditions, and the experience of any individual in any given treatment is unique.  Acupuncture treatments from practitioners from diverse traditions can be very helpful for your health concerns.

Acupuncture needles are used in a lot of different ways, and used for different purposes at different points.  Even at a given Acupuncture Point, the effect could be different depending on the intended result of the treatment, and on the technique used.

I was trained in a tradition where using an acupuncture needle for a therapeutic treatment is considered to be a very serious thing, and a big responsibility.

This video shows an example of a needling treatment for a very specific purpose, in the context of treating someone for a certain complex of symptoms.  This is excerpted from a long video describing the entire treatment, so is not intended as a teaching tool or a prescription for using a certain point for any given condition - merely an example of what the experience of receiving an acupuncture treatment might be like.  This does not at all demonstrate the whole of the treatment, but it is a good example of the experience of receiving a treatment.

This person is very articulate in describing her experience.  What she is talking about is called, in Chinese, “Deqi” - simply stated that means the sensation that someone receiving an acupuncture treatment feels when an acupuncture point is stimulated effectively.

As an Acupuncturist, when I am using a needle to treat someone, I am using it to feel a sensation called “Hibiki” (From the Japanese language).  The word “Hibiki”, in this context, refers to the sensations that I feel when needling that tell me if I am reaching the acupuncture point I am looking for, and affecting it in the way that I intend to.  Hence the name of this website.

Thanks for watching - I will be posting more videos soon.  Check back if you like what you see.

Please contact me if you think you or your students might like to learn more about these kinds of therapies.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

What is Acupuncture?

By now, most Americans have heard of acupuncture.  You probably know that acupuncture is a kind of therapeutic treatment from China that is done by inserting small “Acupuncture Needles” into certain points on your body, called “Acupuncture Points”, and that somehow that is supposed to help with medical problems.

To a lot of people, that seems mysterious, possibly scary, and kind of weird.  How could that work?  It might seem unbelievable, but you might have heard from friends or the media that a lot of people have been helped by acupuncture.  What is going on here?

Here is a brief overview.

Acupuncture did begin in China, somewhere over two thousand years ago.  By 200 BC, there were Chinese medical texts that describe the use of acupuncture in great detail, indicating that it had already been widely practiced by that time.  Acupuncture as a therapeutic practice spread through much of Asia, and was adopted into many cultures, in many places being taken into the culture of an area and being practiced in a particular way in that culture.

In that way, China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and other places became cultures where acupuncture was accepted as a very useful medical treatment.  Because of the length of time it has been practiced, and the variety of cultures and schools that have evolved over the years, The practice of acupuncture has become very diverse, and is used in a lot of ways for a lot of things.

This is possible because acupuncture is a manifestation of a very comprehensive medical paradigm, and acupuncture needles are very versatile tools.

In general, Asian medicine looks at each person as a unique presence, and in terms of their  physical bodies, as existing and functioning as an intertwining complex of circulatory systems that circulate both energies and substances both inside and in relation with their environment.

Optimal health is present when all of the circulatory systems are unobstructed, flowing freely, and have enough of what they need.

Traditional evaluation methods are used to determine where and in what body systems circulation might be obstructed or deficient, and where to apply stimulation with an acupuncture needle to correct such an imbalance.

Acupuncture needles are used to affect the flow of energies and substances in the circulatory systems.  They can be used to influence blood flow, the movement of heat or body fluids, local areas of muscle tightness or weakness, nervous system function, hormonal balance, etc.

The acupuncture that I practice is primarily rooted in the Japanese tradition that I learned at the Kototama Institute, but has been influenced by Chinese acupuncture methods and other traditions.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Ed Antkowiak, L.Ac. - Seattle Acupuncture and Professional Education

Also look around this site - I will be posting more articles as time goes on…