What are you doing when you feel my Pulses?

You have 12 pulses – six on each side. Each pulse corresponds to an organ – your Heart, Liver, Stomach, Large Intestine, etc. When I feel each pulse, I am assessing the functioning of the corresponding organ. I feel your pulses at the beginning of each treatment to evaluate how you are doing on that day and how things have changed since I last saw you. I feel them during and at the end of each treatment to ensure that they have changed for the better. I do not let clients leave until their pulses are significantly improved.

One of the most amazing things about this medicine is the holistic view of the organs. Each organ has physical, mental, and emotional aspects. In fact, we call them Officials, as if they were people working in a kingdom, each in charge of specific tasks. For instance, the Large Intestine Official is in charge of taking out the garbage. This means disposing of physical waste so that it does not build up and slow the workings of the other Officials. It also must clean out Mental garbage – old thoughts or attachments that need to be let go of – cleared out so that our view of the world is not infused with negativity. The Large Intestine Official must also clear out old gripes and grudges as well as sadnesses of the past.

So, when I feel the Large Intestine pulse, I am hearing about all of these levels of functioning. How is your physical waste elimination going? How are you doing with letting go of the past when it is appropriate? Clearing out negative thoughts? Do you need any help here, or are things working well?

Then I move on to the other eleven Officials, listening to how each one is functioning on multiple levels.

In the big picture, I seek to help you & your pulses in two basic ways. First of all, I want to see a good overall balance. Disease begins to develop if some Officials have plenty of energy, while others are struggling. Your pulses reveal very specifically which Officials are deficient and if energy is blocked between Officials.

Secondly, you need to have an abundance of good quality energy available to all of the Officials. Once the energy is relatively balanced among the 12, then there must be plenty to go around. When the energy is insufficient, some Officials will stop functioning optimally.

Long before any disease develops, the pulses reveal imbalances and deficiencies in the system, telling me how to help restore balance, regenerate energy & help prevent illness from occurring.

For more info see The Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle