The Needle Points East

Hello friends and followers,

It has been quite a while since my last post…about 4 weeks I should say. I have really been juggling my time these past few weeks, between school, work, and family…its been pretty hectic. Somewhat of a good learning experience though in learning how to balance everything out even when things come up that are outside of our control.

I have learned so much in the past few weeks in regards to school, I don’t even know where to begin….just a breif overview of what has been covered
In TCM (tradicional chinese medicine) we have covered all of the zang-fu (yin and yang) and extraordinary organ functions, and we are now moving on to causes of disease, whcih Im super pumped about!
In point location, we have covered all the arm channels as well as the Conception and Governing vessels so far this term. The only one left will be the Spleen channel, which will be our first leg channel.
In materials and methods, we have continued to improve our needling techniques, and im really loving being able to feel when I have grabbed the qi (more on that to come). We have also learned how to do moxibustion….or moxa. Moxa is a mugwart herb (grown in China) that is dried for 3 years for the best results. It is then used for a variety of medicinal purposes…more on that topic to come

Other classes like anatomy, TaiQi and history are going very well. Today is actually my last day of Maintaing Life. In this class I have learned Shiatsu, a form of Asian Bodywork Therapy. It has been such an awesome class and I have learned so much. With what I have learned so far I can now provide a treatment to someone with just my hands alone. We learned all the different techniques used on each meridian and how each of them help individuals based on their needs. I am so excited about being able to practice this even while I am still in school. Now I just need to figure out how to get certified in it so I can do it as part of my practice later on.

We are currently in the last stretch of school…only 4 weeks left, with thanksgiving break thrown somewhere in between. It will probably be another crazy set of 4 weeks as the term comes to an end. My plan is to post up a few topics before the end of the term based on some of the things I have talked about already (like moxa for example). So please check back and thanks for following this crazy-awesome journey!

Week 4: it all happened so fast

Having had two exams last week, I spent most of my time making sure I was prepared. It all happened so fast. Next thing I knew, the week was over and we had more assignments and another test to prepare for. 

I feel like I did really well on my point location class. I studied my bum off for that. I should be getting my results back today so I hope that is the case. 

As for TCM theory…I didn’t think I did all that great…but after getting my exam back yesterday, it turned out I did very well :) I was pumped. The exam questions weren’t exactly what I had expected them to be like for this class so it threw me for a loop when I got it…but now I feel better knowing that I really did understand the material. 

Besides those two exams, not much excitement going on with all the studying and reading going on. We had a guest lecture on Clean Needle Technique, which I (along with many classmates) will be taking the certification course for in December. 

Newest exciting development…I needled my first person yesterday in lab!!! Thankfully it went very well and I didn’t cause her any pain. I was happy to find out that it is much easier to needle another person than it is to needle yourself. She also needled me and I have to say it was a great learning experience and confidence booster for both of us. Now that we have done it once…the rest of the year shouldn’t seem so scary :)

I have my first Living Anatomy exam today. Hope to do well on this exam as well. A group of us got together last night after class and went over some material with the our professor. I think were all going to do great!

This is my last exam for a couple weeks so hopefully I can post some fun facts Ive been meaning to share soon. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Week 3: Busy Busy Busy…

Last week turned out to be an extremely busy week with exams coming up this week. It seemed like the classes I have exams in decided to stuff as much information as possible into the class so that they can stay on track with the syllabus. I have been doing lots of studying, and thankfully I kept up with the readings as I went along. 

I wasn’t able to go to my acupuncture appointment between classes last week since I wanted to use up as much time as possible to review the material with some of my classmates. I feel that as we get further and further along with the material, I might end up with less and less time to do my own personal things to stay healthy. I need to come up with a system to incorporate it into my usual activities and into my study time. Thankfully I am taking Tai Chi and that has helped me focus and re-energize myself. Nothing is more important to getting by the next three years than staying healthy and well balanced. 

Well…time to get back to studying…both of my exams, Point Location and TCM Theory, are tomorrow. The rest will be next week, so that should make the rest of the week just as busy as last. 

Week 2: Now we’re in it…

Hey there! So it seems with how crazy these weeks are that I will be doing most of my posts the week after…lol

So as you can imagine the second week of classes is where things really start to become real. I am in Grad School! And I’m learning Acupuncture! 

The week started on Monday, with Materials and Methods which I had not had the week before due to the holiday. Let me tell you that I’m so excited yet nervous about this class all at the same time. This is where we learn our actual hands on needling skills. As you saw in my last picture post…I was practicing needling an orange to build up my finger strength. In class though, we worked on needling limes. This week (which I will post a picture of to follow) we needled ourselves!!! And next week we needle each other! Ahh! Well hopefully everyone is just as nervous and excited as I am and is practicing a lot so that next class we don’t hurt each other…lol

My Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Theory class has already fallen a bit behind on schedule. I have this class Monday and Tuesday nights, and have an adorable Chinese professor! We covered more on the topic of Yin and Yang and dove into the Five Element Theory that is very much incorporated into the diagnosis of ailments and diseases. The reason we are behind is because she like to elaborate so that we can get a deeper understanding of the topic, since it is so abstract in comparison to western theories of medicine. 

In anatomy we have moved on to the musculature of the shoulders and upper arm. Again, so far this is a great review for me, with my background in Athletic Training. 

For point location, we went over the physical Lung channels on our partners in class. Our homework is to come prepared to todays class with notes for the Heart and Pericardium channels as well as some extra points. We will be going over them physically in class today. 

Tai Ji (TaiChi) is progressing on to more moves. I have been working on getting those moves down, as well as strengthening my legs in those postures and positions. Some of them are a bit difficult to hold, especially as someone learning it for the first time. I do enjoy how relaxing, yet stimulating that class is. 

Tai Ji is always followed by Maintaining Life, where we are learning Acupressure points and Shiatsu. Talk about an awesome day! We start the class out with stretching the meridians and doing breathing exercises. Then we practice the new Shiatsu points we learn on each other. Our homework…keep practicing! 

Now History & Culture is my last class of the week. This class is slightly different than the rest. It takes a look at the history of Chinese medicine and the ground work that was laid out to where we are today. It seems like we have a lot more digging up to do as far as history goes, but we have definitely hit many cultural points. 

My goal is to hopefully update as I go along and to elaborate more on the interesting things I learn along the way rather than individual classes. But I am just entering into the third week, so just laying out the ground work so that you can all understand where and how this journey began. 

Thanks! and check back in soon :)

Week 1: Here we go…

So heres a slightly late recap on my first week of classes. It was such a busy week, and with going to work full time and working part time, there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day/week to sit back and relax…

As usual first day of classes are always fun and exciting! :) 

I started my week with a long first day that went late into the night. An easy start with Living Anatomy which is a bit of a review for me since I have a Bachelors in Athletic Training and had 4 years with great emphasis on anatomy. We covered the bony structures of the shoulder and upper arm. We will be going into the muscles of the shoulder this week.

After that it was off to Point Location! I was really excited for this class, because to me, knowing your points is key. We went over the basics of the Five Element Theory which is so fascinating to me (I will post more on this topic soon). We also covered the Five Transporting Shu points, which are located on all 12 main channels. These Transporting Shu points are located either between the finger tips and elbow or between the toes and knee. These are called:

-Jing Well  (located at finger tips or toes)

-Ying Spring

-Shu Stream

-Jing River

-He Sea  (located at elbow or knee)

We also covered the cun, a form of measurement that is flexible to ones body type. This week we will be covering the Lung Channel.

Finally came the last class of the day (which ended at 9:40pm…long day) Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory. This class is the backbone of everything we do and why we do it when it comes to the study of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (which includes Herbs). We covered the philosophy of Yin & Yang. Yin & Yang are opposites but part of one another. I will be doing a follow up post on the philosophy and theory behind Yin & Yang as well. 

Stay tuned for more updates on this incredible journey. 

ooo…and did I mention we were advised to learn Mandarin…on our own…since it will help better understand the names and concepts behind them…sooo exciting! lots to do!

ORIENTATION DAY!!!! Woo let the fun begin! :) follow me through this exciting journey…it’s gonna be a full 8 hr day…check back later to see how it went…

Registration!!!

So the class registration packet finally came in! I was sooo pumped!…and after looking at the class list and how many classes I’ll be taking, I quickly realized it was going to be a very busy term (and next 3yrs). 

None the less, I’m still really excited and cant wait to start class in the fall! Here is the list of classes I’ll be taking:

-Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory I
-Point Location I
-Materials & Methods I
-Living Anatomy & Structural Analysis
-History & Cultural Foundations of Chinese Medical System
-Internal Exercise: Tai Chi (very excited for this one)

Theres also a business lab that takes place twice during the term.
I’ll also be taking an elective (if I was able to get into the class) called Maintaining Life which seemed really fascinating after reading the coarse description…why not throw in another awesome class :)

As you can tell I’m pumped! lol…never thought I’d say that I’m looking forward to class but I am. Stay posted for more on my educational journey!