By Julie Bibleheimer, LAc
I enjoy the progressive bumper stickers that adorn the cars of Ashland, and the peace flags on the houses here. Just imagine the change in the world if our community’s dedication to tolerance, sustainability, and healthy lifestyle choices were the norm throughout the United States? If only meditation were as practiced in Alabama as it is in Ashland. I am honored to be a member of this community, dedicated to co-creating a better world!
But what is it that makes placing my mat down in yoga class at the YMCA such a tension fraught experience? What induces those glares from fellow customers at the juice counter at the co-op? And seriously, I have never had so many cars cut me off as they pull out a mere few feet in front of me, to then travel ten miles per hour under the speed limit. There is a bad case of passive aggressive going around. I well know, because I have days when the space bubble I am envisioning around myself is about fifteen feet in diameter, and woe to those who step in to it. My own peace flags don’t guarantee there is peace in my house, more’s the pity. If you weren’t born here (like me), you probably chose to move here because you want a better world, a world with all the values Ashland is known for espousing – progressiveness, greenness, humaneness, kindness even. Which means you are aware that we are not living in that world, even here in wonderful Ashland. Which is a pretty disheartening thing to know.
While I think 2013 is a wonderful time to be alive in, we are undoubtably under a lot of stress. I don’t just mean the obvious global stress of seven billion people on the planet during a time of climate change, but also what about the stress of not believing in mass-consumerism, yet living in a consumeristic society; the stress of unjust wars, and of old-growth forest clear cuts? Or the stress of being governed by a culture that even if we are in the ‘Ashland bubble’, is still overall a Walmart and McDonald’s thriving culture? Being aware that you want a better world, and taking action to be a part of that better world, is not the easiest choice of paths. I commend us for the steps we are taking to create a different cultural identity for ourselves – no matter how short-tempered or petty-minded we get while on this challenging path from time to time.
But what does all this have to do with acupuncture, you may be wondering? Well, if you consider that acupuncture is designed to treat the spirit, and not just the body, then it has everything to do with acupuncture! Because what I am describing above is an epidemic of spirit fatigue. The culture of masses of mass-produced junk and processed foods and ‘me me me’ and keeping up with the joneses and ‘go go go’ – a world of non-stop stimulation and adrenal fatigue – is the antithesis of a world to house a grounded, happy spirit and heart. That is why acupuncture’s unique ability to treat the spirit is invaluable today.
One powerful way acupuncture can help the spirit and the body is through the treatment protocol for Aggressive Energy. There is a series of acupuncture points located beside the spine that correspond to each of the body’s major organs. In Chinese Medicine the yin organs are those like the Liver and Lungs that have the most substance and weight to them. As such, they are most vulnerable to collecting toxins – be those toxins pollutants from the external world, or toxic emotions from the internal world. By draining these yin organ points, toxic energy – built up over a lifetime – is moved and discharged.
Five-Element style acupuncture focuses on the spirit of each acupuncture point, as identified by ancient Taoist healers. For example, consider the acupuncture point called ‘Store House’, located just beneath the collar bone. This is considered by some to be the best point of all for tremendous irritability – as in the kind of extreme irritability that hits you when you are utterly exhausted, haven’t got an ounce of energy left to give, and yet you still have ten more things you need to get done before you can rest and people demanding things of you. This point, our Store House, energetically connects the heavenly Lungs (heavenly because they breathe in the air of heaven) to the Kidneys, which reside deep down in our innermost core. The kidneys are where, according to Chinese Medicine, we store our energy reserves. To refill our store house, we need the inspiration of inhalation, and we need the receptivity of taking that breath in deep and owning it. This point helps us say yes to being in bodily form, yes to owning this life, yes to exploring the majesty of having an unbroken, healed spirit. Store House helps us tap in to the energy reserves enough to ask the ultimate question of what are we going to do with this life, with our essence? What’s the point of it all?
Ultimately, this is where Classical Five-Element Acupuncture is geared to take us. A person healthy in spirit, mind and body will be a person who knows where they are going (their cosmic path you could say); and who has the tools and energy to move along this path. Even on the days when they feel like honking their horn and sticking their middle finger out at the driver of the car with the ‘coexist’ bumper sticker that just cut them off while on this ultimate of journeys!
To give your spirit more love, and to help bring your heart, body and spirit into a more centered place, schedule a Classical Five-Element style acupuncture treatment with Julie Bibleheimer, LAc.
For more information or to schedule, call 541-482-1650 or email info@ashlandholistichealth.com