Five-element acupuncture originated in ancient China thousands of years ago. It is a holistic form of medicine that works in accordance with the laws of nature to bring balance and harmony to the body, mind and spirit of a patient, restoring their health and enhancing their wellbeing. No other system of medicine has stood the test of time as effectively and consistently as acupuncture.
The body has 14 meridians of energy (or Qi) that we can access with our needles. 12 of these are governed by specific vital organs of the body and 2 represent our deep stores of energy. To achieve good health in mind, body and spirit, our Qi needs to be equally balanced across our vital organs in order that they can do their jobs efficiently. In five-element acupuncture, we recognise that when our Qi becomes imbalanced, symptoms will occur. Symptoms, whether on a physical, mental or spiritual level, are a red flag telling us the Qi needs to be rebalanced.
According to ancient Chinese wisdom and philosophy, the living universe and all life forms within it operate through the five elements of nature; Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. As beings of nature, each of the five elements manifest within us in a unique way. When we are in health, they all work together in equilibrium to bring us peace and harmony and keep us symptom-free. Within our bodies, the five elements present in several unique ways: We can observe that there are five pairings of vital organs, five distinct odours that relate to those organs, five unique emotions, five different sounds within the timbre of our voices and five colours that, to the trained eye, can be viewed just beneath the surface of the skin. A five-element acupuncturist must utilise their trained senses to identify each patient’s unique causative factor, their deficient or weakest element, before selecting a few carefully chosen points to clear any blocks and rebalance their Qi, thereby reawakening the body’s ability to self-heal.
Five-element acupuncture does not focus exclusively on the patient’s symptoms in the manner that other forms of acupuncture do. This system of medicine teaches us that all symptoms derive from a single cause which is unique to the patient. We believe that by identifying and treating the patient’s specific cause, known as their causative factor, we can effect a cure for all of the patient’s symptoms, whether they are on a physical, mental or spiritual level.
“A person is not sick because of a disease; they are diseased because they are sick” Neijing circa 2600 BC
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