23. Incorporating Japanese Acupuncture Techniques Into Your Practice

Focus Areas: Integrative Approaches to Care, Experiential Workshop Many practicing acupuncturists in the West do not realize that in Japan, acupuncture was at one point outlawed after WWII in favor of Western medicine. Due to a gradual effort from traditional East Asian doctors and the general public, Japanese acupuncturists re-investigated the Chinese “classics“ to root their treatments in foundational ideas such as the 5 phases and other statements from these revered works. This soft rebellion to create a more integrative culture that included traditional observation of the natural world helped to established what is now called “Japanese Meridian Therapy” and “Hara Abdominal Diagnosis.” This session will teach some of these Japanese-style acupuncture techniques, which can easily and effectively be added to an acupuncture practice, regardless of the background of the practitioner (physician, acupuncturist, chiropractor, etc). There will be a short didactic period explicating these methods and the theory behind them. The bulk of the time will be spent learning and practicing these techniques on co-participants. Techniques will include Japanese pulse diagnosis techniques with root treatment protocols to harmonize the Zang-Fu, hara diagnosis and Anpuku abdominal massage, Fire point treatment, and suggested algorithms for incorporating these techniques into Chinese-style or other Japanese-style acupuncture modalities.