One of my favourite words is elegance, and, in the right hands, is the essence, the epitome, of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture, gently and elegantly, helps to disperse what feels tight, soften what appears fixed, and shift what is stuck or stagnant, especially within the subtle realms of the human body. The subtle realms contain emotion, thoughts, feelings, memories, and the energetic threads connecting the web of life. The inner essence of the practitioner assists in the way the Acupuncture treatment is expressed, influencing the patient experience and whether this is received elegantly, or not.
The Sanskrit (ancient language of India and Hinduism) word granthi means ‘knot’ or ‘doubt’ and also means ‘an especially difficult knot to untie’. Granthi is an impediment to the passage of Pranic/Qi flow along the Sushumna Nadi (central energetic column) where we find the Chakras (spinning wheels or vortices of information and energy). Granthi’s hold life force in the body as a means to help us navigate through each stage of spiritual learning. They can tighten or become blocked as a result of belief patterns or challenging life experiences.
It is a privilege to witness the dispersion of granthi’s, especially when released in profound or dramatic ways.
T and I have had a professional relationship for over a decade. She has been attending regular treatments every 6 - 8 weeks and we have chosen Esoteric Acupuncture as the foundation for our sessions. In common we have our love of spiritual inquiry, meditation, yoga and nature immersion. During our relationship we have shared many personal and emotionally raw experiences, however none as dramatic and intense as what occurred on this particular day.
The potency of what occurred was potentially bolstered by the following events. T is recently back from a solo hike in Tasmania, Confest and a potent Letting Go Meditation held by renowned Healer Jason Parkes. This was my first day back to work from 2 weeks camping and climbing in the rainforest and I had just finished teaching an Antahkarana Meditation class, a high potency spiritual activation. T was my first patient for the day and less than 30 minutes after being in the luminous Antahkarana space.
Interesting to note that joining us in the treatment room this day was junior clinic assistant, E, which made the clinic environment a little more formal than usual.
The session proceeded as normal, consultation followed by cupping, an upper Esoteric Acupuncture grid plus lower body points to balance the treatment. At this stage, everything felt very standard. Turning over and the new encoding pattern for the front was intuitively selected, Tree of Life Heart. Perfect. I asked E to please read me the points, mostly so that she felt involved and familiarising with reading the acupuncture point names in Pinyin.
Tiān Man Esoteric DU-20 ~ ‘Celestial Fullness’
Shen Men ~ auricular point for parasympathetic nervous system (right and left)
Tiān Rong S.I-17 ~ ‘Celestial Contents’ (right and left)
Tiān Qi REN-24 ~ ‘Celestial Pool’
Tiānfǔ LU-3 ~ ‘Celestial Storehouse’ (right and left)
Yuan Jian REN-17 ~ ‘The Source’ (more commonly known as Dan Zhong)
Ju Que REN-14 ~ ‘Great Palace Gateway’
As an acupuncturist, I try to be ultra sensitive to the needs of my patients and sometimes you feel like needling Tiān Qi, and sometimes you don’t. Tiān Qi is above the chin, in the depression in the centre of the mentolabial groove and a very sensitive area to needle. On this occasion I chose instead to use a sacred essential oil blend, purposefully made for me by a gifted Healer friend.
As soon as I placed the oil upon the chin point the energy in the room shifted. I came around to T’s side and she quietly said “oh .. the chin point” and her body began to gently shake. She described the front of her body feeling like rivers of water and she began to become visibly upset. Her body continued to shake, more and more violently, something profound was beginning to take place. I felt calm yet alert and vigilant and was guided to stand at her feet, gently holding her ankles for support and grounding. I focused upon my breath, connecting with the Earth through the points on the soles of the feet, Yǒngquǎn KID-1 Bubbling Spring, lifting my toes and placing them purposefully, one by one. I remained centred, calm and quiet. Within moments T was loudly sobbing, shaking, wailing, an expression of raw emotion no longer able to be held or contained.
Minutes later this outpouring was not subsiding, nor looking as though it was going to, so I asked E if she would like to please leave the room.
The final point in the Tree of Life Heart pattern is Ju Que REN-14 ‘Great Palace’ and this was still left to be needled. I came around to T’s side and held one palm over her navel at the Karmic release / trauma release points and the other palm at Shàngxīng Du-23 ~ ‘Upper Star’. Shàngxīng connects to the intracranial Brahmarandhra Chakra, where the Brahma Nadi & Sushumna Nadi meet, its a deeply nourishing point for calming the mind.
When you hold someone, especially during a healing session or if you are comforting someone while they are upset, first activate the point on your palm Láogōng PC-8 ~ ‘Palace of Toil’ (diagram below). This is the Fire point on the Pericardium channel and you will notice an increase in healing flow and energetic potency through your palms, if you are sensitive to that vibration.
Holding these points for T did absolutely nothing to change her experience or to settle her in any way. When someone is having a dramatic episode it can completely unsettle or unravel those present and it is very tempting to want to hurry that person along, to make them feel better, to make it stop. I watched myself from the Observer position and consciously chose to do no such thing. All I needed to do was hold the space. At this time I gently spoke to T, reminding her that she was safe, and that she was loved. Later she reported back that at that precise moment she had been silently thanking me for holding professional healing space for her, allowing time for her grief and pain to be expressed.
After a considerable time it became apparent that the treatment was clearing very deep and traumatic experiences and potentially those not only from this lifetime. The pain was feeling ancestral. I used my tuning fork 528Hz which is attuned to the Heart Chakra, peace, clarity and heart-centredness, as well as helping clear or expedite the removal of any attachments. This was when T announced she felt a ‘gremlin’ at her solar plexus, and we worked together, with breath, sound, clarity and healing intention, to clear any negative etheric substances. T’s body continued to shake violently and she had not stopped sobbing or wailing throughout the entire time. I moved intuitively around her body, holding points and areas as I was guided to do so. I held my ground and stayed calm. Finally it felt time to needle Jù Quē REN-14 ~ ‘Great Palace Gateway’ & Mu (front access) point of Heart and slowly, slowly .. things began to settle down.
Thank you for reading. This was such an extreme reaction to Acupuncture to experience and one that provoked much contemplation for us both. We strongly feel that two granthi knots were dispersed, at the Heart and at the Solar Plexus, as well as sending healing threads down the ancestral line, clearing entities and so much more that is beyond language to describe. It was an honour to share this experience. When energy is ready to shift, it is ready, and I am humbled to be a witness to this healing in motion.
Photo from Peter Deadman’s A Manual of Acupuncture
