The enthusiasm and attention of the participants was beautifully complemented by the unique surrounds of the Australia Bush, a very pleasant, well appointed conference room plus excellent catering for our delicious morning and afternoon teas/coffee.

The sounds of the incredibly varied bird-life was complemented on Sunday morning by the amazing, meditational movement through music of vibrational notoriety by Mister Matt Coldrick, or Pan Electric, Matt’s performing and recording title.

It was our great pleasure to have such moments of musical bliss to kick off the day.

To find out what you missed musically please click on the following link http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/music-for-a-busy-head/id78439275 well worth a listen and a superb adjunct to this workshop, in fact to any clinical setting.

A great environment in which to present this the first in the workshop series,  ”Bridging the Gap between TCM and Japanese Acupuncture”.

I believe that we achieved our fundamental objective of demonstrating both the similarities and dissimilarities of these apparently different schools of acupuncture that share exactly the same source.

For the first 12 years of my acupuncture career I practiced TCM acupuncture with some success.

Sadly the ability to refine and develop my clinical skills was very limited.

Personal issues, geographical isolation and precious few workshops with any practical demonstration or treatment, almost all of the workshops in the 80′ and early 90′s were totally theoretical and the only advancement I was able to make in my clinical skills was a result of successful and not so successful treatment outcomes.

Not such a bad way to learn but oh so slow.

I had absolutely no idea whatsoever of the refinement possible in my practical skills and the subsequent power that could be harnessed using Traditional Acupuncture with increased awareness.

25 years on and my extensive clinical experience has convinced me that as a practitioner of Traditional Acupuncture, specifically that refined by the Japanese, I have access to one of the most powerful natural medicines on the planet.

With a history of conviction and belief based firmly on my clinical experience it was not difficult to summon much passion in my delivery, in spite of suffering from niggling invasion of pathogenic cold.

I cannot speak highly enough of the participants, their focus and energy provided me with much inspiration.

A huge thanks to all!

From events such as this workshop, the first in a series of workshops focusing on ‘Bridging the Gap between TCM and Japanese Acupuncture’ and Junji Mizutani’s moxibustion workshop next weekend I draw great heart for the future of this extraordinary healing modality.

There is definitely something to be said for a gathering of like-minded individuals under one roof generating an awesome amount of positive energy.

DVDs and episodic video recordings of the workshop will be available through http://worldacupuncture.com in the very near future.

The next workshop in the series ‘Bridging the Gap Between TCM and Japanese Acupuncture’ will be held in PRAGUE on the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd October 2010.

http://worldacupuncture.com is fast building a deep vault of Japanese acupuncture instructional videos, as a member you will  have access to these videos, our forum to ask any questions you like regarding the practice of Japanese Acupuncture and in addition, you will join a growing global network of likeminded students and practitioners.

Countries represented by our members include, UK, USA, Canada, Thailand, Czech Republic, Holland, NZ,  Ireland, Ukraine, Denmark, France, Mexico and Malta.

On that extremely optimistic note, I bid you sayonara from a wintry Rainbow Bay, where we are doing it tough, it’s 22.5°C air temperature and 20°C water temperature.

Wishing you abundant prosperity through practice,

Alan

PS.

Hope you enjoy the images and remember the video is on the way.

Adam caught red handed with his fingers in the Gold Moxa pie

Participants broke up into smaller practical groups

Ready to Rock n Roll

Nick demonstrating one handed needle loading

Andre demonstrating one handed needle loading

Efrat demonstrating one handed needle loading

Andrew demonstrating one handed needle loading

Adam, yes you guessed it, demonstrating one handed needle loading

Rice Grain Moxibustion Training

Ther were 5 separate groups for practical instruction

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at  http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

At the ‘ Bridging the Gap between TCM and Japanese Acupuncture’ workshop on the 10th July in Brisbane, Australia our aim is to provide our participants with sufficient guidelines and practical training to leave this workshop ready to develop a valuable set of highly refined, consumer friendly clinical skills with an expanded understanding of the application of Traditional Acupuncture.

All skill and experience levels will be catered for.

All the theories and techniques are based on ideas put forward in the Traditional Chinese medical Classics, the Nei Jing, Nan Jing and Shan Han Lun.

Over the last 1500 years, since TCM was introduced to Japan, there have been many unique additions to the way practitioners diagnose and treat patients.

This workshop aims to bridge some of  the gaps in theory that have emerged over the last 15 centuries between TCM and Japanese Acupuncture.  In doing so, open the door to a world of new treatment approaches and techniques that will be of enormous benefit to practitioners and patients.

Topics to be covered include:

- understanding the Japanese approach to organ/meridian physiology

- Japanese 8 principal pattern diagnosis

- Nan Jing 12 pulse position diagnosis

- abdominal, meridian and point palpation

- non-retention, superficial and contact needling

- rice grain, needle head and heat perception moxibustion

- 5 phase, 5 flavor and empirical point selection

Learn more about Japanese Acupuncture and how it can benefit you and your patients by joining us on Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th of July at Walk-About Creak Function Centre, 60 Mount Nebo Road, The Gap, QLD, 4061.

REGISTER HERE:

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/public/217.cfm

OR

If you are geographically compromised and unable to attend the workshop in person join us Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at : http://www.Worldacupuncture.com where we will be publishing video of the workshop and you can access our extensive library of Japanese Acupuncture Educational videos.

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at : http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

If you are geographically compromised and unable to attend the workshop in person we will be publishing video of the workshop on http://www.worldacupuncture.com .

If you would like to see the video of the workshop please join us by clicking on the following link http://worldacupuncture.com/

Admission is only $125 ($95 if booked by the 11th of June).

To register and Save $30 please click on the following link now

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/public/217.cfm

Bring a sharp mind, an open heart and the desire to help your patients. Needles and moxa will be provided. Japanese Acupuncture is, by definition, Traditional Chinese Medicine.

All the theories and techniques are based on ideas put forward in the Nei Jing, Nan Jing and Shan Han Lun.

Over the last 1500 years, since TCM was introduced to Japan, there have been many unique additions to the way practitioners diagnose and treat patients.

This workshop aims to bridge the gaps in theory that have emerged over the last 15 centuries and in doing so, open the door to a world of new treatment approaches and techniques that will be of enormous benefit to practitioners and patients.

Topics to be covered include:

- understanding the Japanese approach to organ/meridian physiology

- Japanese 8 principal pattern diagnosis

- Nan Jing 12 pulse position diagnosis

- abdominal, meridian and point palpation

- non-retention, superficial and contact needling

- rice grain, needle head and heat perception moxibustion

- 5 phase, 5 flavor and empirical point selection

If you would like to join us in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st Century and Save $30 please register before the 11th June by clicking on the following link:

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/public/217.cfm

If you are geographically compromised and unable to attend the workshop in person we will be publishing video of the workshop on http://www.worldacupuncture.com .

If you would like to see the video please of the workshop please join us by clicking on the following link  http://worldacupuncture.com/

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at : http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

How did this come to pass?

In my practice of Japanese acupuncture I am invariably accompanied by a student/assistant during treatment.

There are three good reasons.

1. Most important being that the patient benefits from the students/assistants focus and intention.

2. The student/assistant has a wonderful opportunity to observe an experienced practitioner in action, learn the medicine in a clinical setting and most importantly witness the clinical outcomes.

3. As a senior practitioner it gives me a wonderful opportunity to pass on some of the invaluable clinical experience accumulated over more than 25 years of practice.

Sylvia, my Chilean student/assistant and now practitioner has worked in my clinic a lot over the past 3 years and as a result of a visit to her family in Santiago she found herself in a position to help some victims of the devastating Chilean earthquake earlier this year.

Following is the how, why and when she was able to do so, hope you enjoy!

To start I wish you a warm welcome  from Rainbow Bay on the Gold Coast, Australia.

Sunset and Play at Rainbow Bay, Australia

Sunset, Rainbow Bay, Australia

More Play at Rainbow Bay

I have one ear on the US Masters golf championship that is currently coming to life on my television.

I cannot help but marvel at the incredible skill of these competitors.

Having played a lot of golf in my life I can truly appreciate the incredibly refined skill that these talented athletes have at their disposal.

Skills that are continually honed by much focused practice and competition in elite tournaments of which the US Masters along with the British Open rank supreme.

The mental acumen and emotional balance required to compete successfully at this level must be extraordinary.

In Japanese acupuncture we pride ourselves on continually developing and refining our clinical skills whilst expanding our understanding of the diagnostic protocols that have proven to be clinically effective for over 3000 years.

‘Perhaps practicing refined Japanese acupuncture can be likened to playing professional golf, in that the more focused the practice, the more often the practice, the more specific the treatment, the more relaxed the practitioner and patient, the more likely a successful clinical outcome.’

This is very different to bunging in a needle with gay abandon and little understanding of the incredibly intricate energetic network into which we are plugging, the human being!

Sylvia’s story about her work with victims of the Chilean earthquake is especially uplifting for me and confirms a strongly held belief that teaching can go hand-in-hand with clinical practice not only to the benefit of those present during treatment but as students/assistants create their own practices they have a significant head start in their understanding and application of Japanese Acupuncture to the ultimate benefit of the patients.

Here is Sylvia’s story:

Dear Alan,

It was so good too see you this Tuesday, I love going to Clinic!!

Well as you know I went to Chile this last December, unfortunately or fortunately depending on one’s perspective I had to live the big experience of a huge Earthquake!

The massive amount of energy coming out of the earth moved our lives into introspective questions of what really matters in this life.

3 days after the earthquake, having had huge repercussions (after shocks) every single day, my good friend of Maria Cecilia Huerta and I have the fantastic idea to help people with FREE JAPANESE ACUPUNCTURE!!!

Cecilia found a location down in the Gym area of her building, so we set up one massage table and 3 mattresses on the ground.

Everything was looking great but we were in need of patients.

Thanks to the lovely public relations of my friend Cecilia we treated 15 people a day for 3 days.

The majority of the treatments where to do with sleeping disorders, feeling extremely scared, panic attacks, muscle aches, headaches and stomach disorders.

My colleagues will be happy to learn that I was assisted by my young cousin in much the same manner as we help Alan in Clinic.

Everyone loved their Japanese Acupuncture treatment and to a man, woman and child said they felt so much better.

I used lots of Tonetskyu (rice grain moxa) for people with sleeping disorders and in the majority of cases we did both front and back treatments.

Root treatments changed depending upon the patient’s primary deficiency and related excess/es, lots of Liver def. and excess in the Pericardium and Stomach meridians.

The main thing is that all the people we treated with Japanese Acupuncture loved it!!!

I’m so happy that I could help with my small knowledge and I know that will grow with the years beside Alan in clinic.

Thanks Alan for being the medium as I prayed for your presence to be with me through those days, also big thanks to these beautiful studies from the classics.

My experience in Santiago in February this year proved to me and the recipients that Japanese Acupuncture is not only magic, there is logic behind the medicine and thousands of years of clinic experience to help us became better practitioners.

Thanks for your time, to hear this story, and I hope that everyone is smiling!!!
Lots of love,

Sylvia

Alan Jansson, Sylvia Flores Larrain and Adam McIntosh

Sylvia’s story is yet another reason why I love what I do with a passion!

All the Best,

Alan

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at: http://www.worldacupuncture.com

Robyn has been dependent upon nausea medication for some time, so I was delighted to find out that she had been able to go some days without medication and experience no nausea at all.

The pitting edema that had been present in Robyn’s lower legs was still greatly improved and she was able to have a big weekend with her children and grandchildren, some of whom had returned from overseas to spend time with her.

This successful clinical outcome encouraged me to continue with a Spleen root treatment with some minor variations.

Although she was tired upon my arrival as a result of extending herself, Robyn was delighted to be feeling much better, relatively pain free, more energetic, pretty well nausea free, able to spend some quality time with her loved ones and laugh.

The ascites that Robyn self drains has contributed to a prolapsed bowel and she was subsequently experiencing great difficulty in passing a motion.

She is taking medication to minimal positive effect.

Treatment:

Root Rx :

Tonify Pe.7 – Sp.3, Shunt St.44 – Liv.3 – GB.34

Back Shu Points.

Bl13 – 17 – 18 – 20 – 23 – 40 – 57

Follow up treatment 4 days later:

Ascites increasing, regulated by self draining, nausea ebbing and flowing but still improved, bowels working relative to the level of ascites.

Pulse: strident

Rx:

Tonify: Pe.7 – Sp.3 – Ki.2 – 7

Shunt: Pe4 -  St.44 – Liv.3 – GB.41

Back Shu Points.

Bl13 – 17 – 18 – 20 – 23 – 40 – 57

Next treatment is this morning, last treatment it was patently obvious that Robyn’s Kidney complex was under extreme pressure.

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at: http://www.worldacupuncture.com

Robyn

A grandmother in her late 60s who has been sadly diagnosed as suffering from stage 4 ovarian cancer.

The symptoms include extreme ascites that necessitates regular drainage, overwhelming lethargy and as a result of chemotherapy, diabolical nausea, body aches, poor appetite and over the last few days the significant increase in pitting edema of the lower legs.

Her daughter’s best friend and client of mine strongly recommended treatment in an effort to relieve some of the debilitating symptoms as a result of her declining health.

Neither Robyn, her family nor friends are any illusion regarding the serious nature of the condition, she has been diagnosed as suffering terminal illness and has only been given months to live.

My role as a practitioner is primarily to relieve the overwhelming nausea and help make what remains of her life as comfortable as possible.

Since Robyn is unable to attend clinic, home treatments are necessary.

1st treatment.

Due to the nature of her discomfort it was impossible to treat her laying face down, as a result treatment was confined to the anterior aspect of her body.

As an aside Robyn also suffered from breast cancer some five years ago resulting in a mastectomy and chemotherapy, she has also had extensive abdominal surgery and has a tube inserted in her abdominal cavity to help drain the fluid from the abdominal cavity to relieve her extreme ascites.

Palliative care in my opinion involves one goal and one goal only, to help make the patient as comfortable as possible.

The extreme of nausea is the most debilitating of the symptoms she is experiencing.

Treatment.

Whilst not abandoning the principles of Meridian therapy/Japanese acupuncture, my clinical experience dictated that I use my accrued knowledge of point function to expedite a positive clinical outcome as quickly and comfortably as possible.

My goal was to achieve a positive clinical outcome in a totally painless manner, as such I retained .14mm needles in an extremely judicious manner.

Her pulse was floating and full especially in the liver, heart and stomach positions.

Following are the points that I used in this initial treatment.

All needles were left in place as in an orthodox TCM treatment.

Ki. 2 to control the heat affecting her heart.

SP.6 to build the yin qi to counteract the enormous amount of heat generated by chemotherapy

Liv.8 to relieve the stagnation in her abdomen.

ST. 43 and LI.10 to relieve the heat accumulating in the Yang Ming meridians resulting in body aches, lethargy and debilitating nausea.

CV.4 – ST.25 – CV.12 to assist the transformation and transportation of nutrients.

Liv.14 front mu point of the liver and extremely reactive touch, I use this point to work in conjunction with Liv.8 to relieve some of the stagnation and discomfort in the liver.

Pe.6 a specific point to relieve the nausea and calm the shen.

Yintang was used also as a calming agent.

Treatment outcome.

Within 12 hours Robyn experienced a big improvement in her general well-being and the nausea was significantly relieved.

Her appetite improved to a level that inspired her to eat her first solid meals in a long time.

In her own words she felt the best she had felt in months.

To quote Robyn’s daughter’s message to me the following day.

“Oh Alan, she ate some dinner last night and breakfast this morning.

We are so very grateful, mom said that the nausea is not overwhelming her, which is great!”

For mine this is a satisfactory clinical outcome regardless of the means used to achieve it.

Treatment will be ongoing, more than likely twice-weekly.

I will continue to refine treatment in an effort to achieve positive clinical outcomes with a more specific diagnostic and treatment protocols.

2^nd treatment.

As stated her overall condition, nausea and appetite had improved significantly, however there was a significant increase in pitting edema of the lower legs.

KI. 8 specifically for the pitting edema around the ankles

St.44 more specific me to relieve that the accumulating in the Yang Ming meridians since the body aches had improved significantly.

CV.4 -  ST.25 – CV.12 to assist the transformation and transportation of nutrients.

Liv.3 -14 to relieve the stagnation in her abdomen.

Ki. 2 to control the heat affecting her heart

Pe.6 a specific point to relieve the nausea and calm the shen.

Yintang was used also as a calming agent

I am continually inspired by the courage and fortitude of many of my patients, especially in this instance.

Robyns positive attitude and concern for others sets the behavioral bar very high, whilst the situation is ominously similar to that of my late wife’s some 20 years ago and definitely has the potential to rattle the bars of my cage, Robyn demonstrates many of the finest qualities of being human, making my situation so much more tenable.

3^rd Treatment

Robyn’s condition had stabilized, the nausea remained but at a subdued level.

Her pulse had also settled down demonstrably.

As a result of the amelioration of the symptoms I decided to revert to a more classical/Meridian therapy approach to treatment and for the first time I administered back shoe points in conjunction with a specific root treatment.

As a result of albumen supplementation and acupuncture treatment the pitting edema had also subsided.

Also after consultation with her oncologist and family members it was decided she would seek no further orthodox medical treatment or chemotherapy.

Treatment

Spleen root treatment Tonify Pe.7 – Sp.3, shunt St. 44 – Liv.3 –GB.34

Back Shu points Bl.13-17-18-20-23-40-58

I will be making another home visit this morning on my way to clinic and I am hoping further improvement as a result of being more specific in my approach.

Experience tells me that there is often a significant change in condition of the patient who has undergone chemotherapy after the first treatment but there is a tendency to plateau with incremental improvement after subsequent treatments.

I trust his blog post will be of  some benefit to both you and your patients should you have the opportunity to administer palliative care.

All the best,

Alan

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

I believe the best way to do that is to inform you about some of the clinical case histories and challenges confronting those seeking treatment to rectify their specific disharmony, illness, pain or as often occurs in the case of elite sports people, optimize their performance potential.

Here are just a few examples of this potential, I trust these scenario’s will assist you in understanding some of the potential benefits of Japanese acupuncture.

Following is an excerpt from an e-mail kindly sent to me by a patient who has experienced significant health benefits from ongoing treatment.

This patient is a marine biologist who has recently traveled to San Francisco to spend a few months working with her colleagues stateside.

Hi Alan,
How are you? I hope you’ve been out in the water? I’m surfed out trying to get as many surf’s in as possible before heading to San Fran and hasn’t it been beautiful!

I just wanted to say thanks so much for your treatments, they have helped me enormously and I will miss coming in to see you over the next few months. The last treatment was fantastic – it seemed to clear away the nerve tingling and I felt a lot stronger. I wasn’t sleeping as well though but that’s probably to be expected with all the excitement around going overseas.

I’d love to continue acupuncture in San Francisco so if you do have some contacts for me I would really appreciate it. It has helped me beyond words so I’d love to keep it up and I will be sure to come see you again when I get back. I think half of the treatment is your presence and zest for life!

Hope you have a fantastic next couple of months and I’ll look forward to seeing you again when I get back!

As a practitioner this is a very satisfying and welcome communication indeed.

The correspondent works in a very demanding and results orientated field, often experiencing high levels of stress in an effort to meet externally imposed deadlines.

An entirely different perspective arises in discussing the clinical outcome for a patient who was diagnosed as suffering from a molar pregnancy, a condition whereby miscarriage is a 90% certainty.

Without going into details, after several treatments she is now very happily 23 weeks pregnant with an apparently healthy baby on the way according to her medical specialist.

In yet another case, the patient presented with an extremely painful and expansive episode of the shingles.

Whilst no miracle cure was at hand, there can be little doubt that regular Japanese acupuncture treatment aided in his full recovery from this debilitating condition in a relatively short amount of time.

A number of the physiotherapists with whom I practice at the Queensland Sports Medicine Center have sought treatment recently for difficulties in maintaining an extremely busy work schedule and focused fitness training as a result of impeded immune function.

Basically the more intense the training regime and the busier they were at work, the more often they were suffering from colds, flu’s and accompanying lethargy.

It is of no surprise to me that their condition appears to improve relative to the regularity of their treatment?

I often work in conjunction with the physiotherapists in an effort to bring about a more rapid and complete recovery of our patients.

One example of such cooperation is the work we have been doing to assist an ex-Australian cricketing legend prepare for the forthcoming IPL cricketing tournament in India.

Amongst other aspects of treatment, I believe Japanese acupuncture has been extremely beneficial in defusing much of the physical stress related to his increased training regime and the mental anguish associated with a making a decision regarding his involvement as a result of the security status of the tournament and concerns for his personal safety.

As well as recharging his energetic battery, Japanese acupuncture treatment also provided an extremely welcome refuge from the myriad of questions and potential outcomes that assuaged his mind during this most difficult of decision-making scenarios.

Last but not least, Emma Snowsill is the reigning Olympic Gold Medalist in the sport of Triathlon, an event that includes a 1500m swim, 40k bike ride and a 10k run.

Against the best female tri athletes on the planet, that implies insanely fit individuals with extra ordinary motors sharpened to a cutting edge by the hardness of competition and intense training, all striving to be at the absolute peak of their game for the ultimate reward for a competitive athlete, Emma won her gold medal in emphatic fashion at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

March 2010 and Emma has been struggling with persistent immune related problems for several months, including a diabolically compromised energetic status and repetitive breakdowns in her health resulting in continual colds and flu’s, a situation that saw her training regime severely compromised.

Over the last few months she has been receiving regular Japanese acupuncture treatment and her condition has improved markedly, to a point where she has recently been able to resume full training.

I believe regular weekly treatments have helped Emma  accelerate her training regime whilst maintaining a robust immune status.

By way of explanation, Emma missed a treatment a couple of weeks ago, whilst continuing to accelerate her training regime she flew to Melbourne where she was subjected to a radical climate change, the end result was that she attended clinic last Wednesday suffering from a sore throat, streaming sinuses, increased lethargy and she was justifiably concerned that her health was about to crash again.

In short, after three treatments Emma left for Abu Dhabi today to attend the http://www.laureus.com/awards/ in good health, no runny nose, sore throat greatly improved and energetically much stronger.

I’m sure you’ll agree this is a  preferable option when one is partaking in international travel and will see her able to enjoy this landmark event to the fullest.

As a practitioner of Japanese acupuncture the reality is that a majority of people through no fault of their own are totally ignorant of the diversity and power of this ancient healing modality.

Whilst most people are aware that acupuncture has the potential to help with neck, back, shoulder, knee, hip and ankle injuries and pain, headaches etc, most have little or no idea of its clinical diversity in the hands of an experienced and competent practitioner.

Alan

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at : http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

In response to a question posted on the http://worldacupuncture.com forum I am re running this blogpost in an effort to distinguish the difference in the application of Japanese Acupuncture and TCM.

Although each of these styles has merit, Japanese Acupuncture is unique in it’s ability to promote well-being in patients such Sarica, the subject of the video in this blogpost.

I believe the results speak for themselves and maintain that heavy duty needling could deflate a patient in such a tenuous energetic position.

25 years of clinical experience definitely confirms for me that judicious Japanese acupuncture can provide huge impetus towards better health in people of all ages.

There are many examples and in some cases video on this blog of positive clinical outcomes for children of all ages and adults of all shapes and sizes.

http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/category/clinical/pre-and-post-natal

http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/category/infant-acupuncture

According to Traditional East Asian medical physiology and philosophy, from conception to birth the child or children require an enormous amount of energy and nourishment from the mother to go from being a twinkle in the eye to a fully mature fetus.

In Traditional East Asian medicine the energetic impetus for this growth is provided by what we call the mothers Kidney energy and in some instances, depending upon her constitution, lifestyle and general health this scenario can cause a significant energetic imbalances in new mums.

In Traditional East Asian medical physiology the Kidneys provide the energetic basis upon which all metabolic and physiological functions depend.

In addition once the child is born a majority of mothers provide the sole nourishment, keeping production up to speed is the responsibility of Spleen/Pancreas meridian/organs.

Hence when there is an imbalance as a result of a combination of any of the above factors the affect can be extremely diverse and widespread.

Often appearing to be totally unrelated from an orthodox Western medical perspective, the symptoms are often intimately related when viewed from an Traditional East Asian medical perspective

In my experience most mums presenting with post natal health difficulties suffer from a significant imbalance in either or both of these functions, an imbalance reflected by various symptoms .

Including:

Post Natal Depression of varying degrees and severity.

Exhaustion.

Irrational fits of anger and an extremely short fuse.

Lactation difficulties, both quality and quantity.

And the list goes on‚

Regarding the suitability of   Japanese Acupuncture for infants and children, my experience has shown that our medicine can provide an extremely effective adjunct to orthodox medical care, in many cases providing essential relief where orthodox medical applications are hamstrung in their ability to do so without the use of powerful and sometimes unsuitable medication.

I am not saying that acupuncture can replace pharmaceuticals only that in many instances there is huge potential to reduce dosage and dependence.

I believe all questions are most appropriately answered via clinical outcomes.

The ability to walk the talk not just talk the talk is of the utmost importance.

Certainly any modality that can reduce our culture’s dependence upon long-term medication for behavioral problems has to be a positive!

Below is a video of a significant portion of a Japanese Acupuncture Treatment for Post Natal Depression and Spinal Surgery.

Watch Acupuncture for Post-Natal Depression in Educational |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Many thanks to Tatania Rubio who specializes in treatment for pregnancy, childbirth and infant acupuncture, for making her clinic space available for this treatment and some excellent camera work!

I recommended Sarica pursue a consistent and committed daily to thrice weekly treatment regime tonifying Ki.3 – Liv.3- GB.40 plus 7 – 9 cones of Tonetskyu or Rice Grain Moxa on ST.36 for the next 6 months.

Below is an email I recently received from Sarica.

I love her dedication and also the power of Japanesel acupuncture to significantly help folk in her situation.

hi there, alan,
so good to hear from you…you’ve been big on my mind, as i’m deep
with appreciation for your help, care and guidance, so i appreciate
your checking in on me. i’ve been faithful with the self-treatment,
including the moxa, and the biggest thing i’ve noticed is that my
brain and spirit are returning. i’d really been struggling with
fighting negativity, and that has improved tremendously. also, my
energy is more sustained, though i’m not pushing too hard with
exercise–just doing about half of what i think i can, and that keeps
me from feeling shaky and overdrawn afterward. finally, i feel like
i have a lot more control over my frustration and anger–i’m not
owned by it as i was, and that is improving my relations with and for
the kids day by day. honestly, i can’t thank you enough .
how are you? so looking forward to seeing you again–that was too
short! and i do hope to practice with you next time around…
you take care, now!
love,
Sarica

Warning!!! Not every Post Natal Depression patient presents with Liver Yang Deficiency Syndrome in the same way that not every Liver Yang Deficiency Patient presents with Post Natal Depression.

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at  http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

]]> http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/japanese-acupuncture-and-tcm/feed 0 http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/japanese-acupuncturemeridian-therapy-preferred-by-elite-tennis-professional http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/japanese-acupuncturemeridian-therapy-preferred-by-elite-tennis-professional#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:48:37 +0000 Alan http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/?p=2306 A warm welcome, especially to our Japanese Acupuncture/ Meridian Therapy/ Traditional Acupuncture colleagues ensconced in the depth of a freezing cold winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

It has taken me some time to get into gear for 2010.

The latter part of our spring and the first part of summer saw Rainbow Bay buffeted by unrelenting onshore winds and we were all but surf less for almost 10 weeks.

However, I’m absolutely delighted to report that since the 1^st January we have seen some pretty constant offshore winds, presenting us with some pristine surfing conditions.

Last Wednesday was the highlight when I gorged myself on head high waves and a number of 200 m rides.

Along with the socializing often equated with our summer holiday season, the lush surfing conditions made tying myself to a desk and writing well-nigh impossible, my apologies.

To make up for my erroneous ways I have included a few images taken yesterday and this morning of Rainbow Bay in today’s blog post.

I hope you enjoy.

The View from my balcony at Rainbow Bay, Australia

Rainbow Bay, Gold Coast, Australia

Nothing like a bit of Didgeridoo to brighten up an already splendid morning

Beachgoers lapping up the sun at Rainbow Bay

Local surf instructor Davo and assistant preparing for another busy day

Japanese Acupuncture/Meridian Therapy preferred by Elite Tennis professional

In clinic last week Olga, a talented Ukrainian professional tennis player in town for the Brisbane lead up tournaments to the Australia open came into see me for Japanese acupuncture treatment.

By way of history she had received three Japanese acupuncture treatments about the same time last year.

Obviously she enjoyed the experience and derived some benefit from her treatment.

Olga lamented the lack of practitioners of similar style acupuncture on the world tennis circuit.

As a result I have  undertaken to refer her to appropriate colleagues in the relevant cities in which I have a connection.

So far we have the Prague, Tokyo, New York and San Diego tournaments covered.

If you or someone you know practices Japanese acupuncture/Meridian therapy and the WTP world tour will be visiting your/their city at some time in 2010, http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tournaments/Event-Calendar.aspx , please email me alanatworldacupuncturedotcom and in turn I will send Olga your contact details.

Olga’s Treatment

Due in the main to the incredibly intense training regime and tournament schedule Olga adheres to, her symptoms and pulse I diagnosed her as Liver deficiency and used a Liv.8 – Ki.10 Root treatment, shunting GB.34.

In conjunction with her inherited constitution, a blending of lung, liver and kidney deficiencies, Olga naturally tends towards liver deficiency as a result of the extraordinary athletic effort required to become an elite tennis player, a sport that involves an unbelievable amount of intense running especially at the professional level.

The variations in the hardness of the surfaces upon which she trains and plays exact a severe toll upon her reserves of energy and her body’s cooling system, which according to traditional thinking is the primary responsibility of the Kidney complex.

It would be difficult to argue that the Kidney energy also plays a vital role in the harmonious function of the liver, enabling the liver to thoroughly cleanse the blood thus enhancing recovery from intense activity and literally preventing a meltdown.

Constant legwork during training plus an arduously regular competition places a huge load on three leg yin meridians contributing enormously to the load placed primarily on the Kidney and Liver Meridians.

In addition to the more internal workings of the Kidney and Bladder, the meridians are adjacent to each other at the insertion of the Achilles tendon on the heel.

Olga’s left Achilles tendon was the most adversely affected and palpation revealed areas around Ki.9, Sp.9 and the gallbladder meridian on the upper leg were exceptionally tender and tight.

After addressing the constitutional deficiencies via the root treatment I inserted the indicated back-shu points including ondan or moxa needle applied to BL.23.

Significant points of tenderness around the insertion of the Achilles tendon were located and either needles or rice grain moxibustion applied.

I also closely examined her lower legs for indurations and treated accordingly.

Olga specifically stated that no other treatment that she had come across was anywhere near as effective as Japanese Acupuncture/Meridian therapy including the use of cortisone and anti-inflammatory medication.

No more need be said!

We appreciate your interest and take your commitment to ‘Exploring the Art of Acupuncture’ seriously, having said that we are practitioners and students of Traditional Acupuncture first and foremost.

Our shortcomings in technology are many, we know we have a lot of room for improvement at http://worldacupuncture.com and will make every effort to continue to do so throughout 2010.

Kind regards,
Alan
PS.
Please feel free to ask questions and give feedback any time, thank you.

WORLD ACUPUNCTURE VIDEO UPDATES

Here are the latest updates for http://worldacupuncture.com

Our Chief Videographer, Andrew Beencke, is representing in China for the World Acupuncture Crew!

You can find the first of his reports here:

A Meridian Therapist in China, Week 1: Love at First Bite

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/public/193.cfm

Other  video updates for members this January include:

7/1/10: VIDEO: Super-Superficial Needle Technique: Japanese Acupuncture Skills Training.

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/members/196.cfm
Takashi Furure has studied acupuncture extensively in Japan and is a highly skilled practitioner. In this video, he demonstrates a super-superficial insertion technique.

14/1/10: VIDEO: Japanese Acupuncture Treatment for Fatigue, Poor Appetite: Part 1.

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/members/197.cfm Note: This link will only become active on 14/1/10.

Alan treats a student for fatigue and poor appetite. Japanese acupuncture is particularly effective for these common problems. In this video, Alan demonstrates the use of foot pulses to differentiate between Spleen and Kidney deficiency. First of two videos.

21/01/10: VIDEO: Glandular Fever Sequelae: Theory and Treatment in Japanese Acupuncture: Part 5.

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/members/195.cfm Note: This link will only become active on 21/1/10.

The fifth and final video in our Glandular Fever series. Further indepth theoretical discussion of treatment strategies is contained within!

28/1/10: VIDEO: Japanese Acupuncture Treatment for Fatigue, Poor Appetite: Part 2.

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/members/198.cfm Note: This link will only become active on 28/1/10.

Second and final video in this series. There is an interesting discussion of the various kinds of Yang deficiency syndromes and a demonstration of scatter needling. There is also an unusual root treatment.

You are welcome to enjoy this month’s videos! On behalf of the World Acupuncture Crew, I sincerely wish that this last year of the decade is a prosperous one for you all.

Kind Regards,

Alan

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at
http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

3 of these patients were diagnosed as Liver yang deficiency syndrome, that is where the Ying and Yang aspects of the liver meridian and organ are exhausted.

In this scenario the patient feels overwhelmed and they have great difficulty in dealing with many of the day-to-day details that they might normally taken in stride.

In addition in many cases they have a poor appetite, cannot think straight and although they are absolutely exhausted, many of these patients have great difficulty in relaxing and in some situations  suffer from various degrees of insomnia.

In the past week on3 separate occasions patients have returned after the previous treatment complaining of overwhelming fatigue and exhaustion immediately  after treatment.

I’m sure you’ll agree that this is not an ideal scenario, my clinical ideal being that patients feel relaxed and invigorated after each treatment.

One of the patients is a medical practitioner with a very delicate constitution, without going into great detail she has been diagnosed amongst other things with multiple sclerosis.

Another has been in constant pain after complicated surgery on her lower back and in the instance of patient has an ongoing history clearly demonstrating blood deficient.

In all instances these patients are relatively new clients, undergoing Japanese acupuncture treatment for a month or less.

The anomaly in each of these situations is that the patients had experienced significant beneficial results from previous treatments and it is a unique experience for me that three patients should feel exhausted immediately after treatment in the space of one week.

In each instance I re diagnosed the patient to confirm that my original diagnosis was still correct.

After an exhaustive examination I was satisfied that my diagnosis of liver yang deficiency was correct, this could only mean one thing, I had over zealously treated all of them.

The root treatment for each of these individuals was the same, Kidney 3, Liver 3 and Gall Bladder 40, in one instance with the addition of Spleen 1.

The back shu points were very similar in all instances and rice grain moxibustion was applied to the point Governing vessel through.

What this meant to me was that in my endeavor to assist them I had fallen into the trap of more is better.

In the case of liver yang deficiency syndrome this is most definitely not what we or the patient want!

So I bit the bullet and utilized the same treatment in all cases, however in each instance I shortened the treatment time by at least 10 minutes meaning that each of the patients lay prone with the back shu points in position for no more than 15 minutes and I increased my awareness of depth of needling, focusing on more intention and less depth.

Whilst chastened by the fact that all three patients had responded so poorly to my previous treatments I was determined to rectify the situation immediately.

It is with relief that I can report that in all three cases the patients felt significant improvement in their energetic well-being, mental acuity and emotional outlook immediately after treatment.

Phew, the trials and tribulations of refining my skill and awareness in the practice of Traditional Japanese acupuncture remain constant and challenging and it is with a sense of gratitude to Masakazu Ikeda sensei that I write this report.

His guidance through many workshops and visits to Japan has helped me immeasurably to deal with situations such as the one I’ve just outlined.

His ability to recognize when the patients require the most gentle of touches in addition to his highly refined clinical skills have set the bar very high indeed.

Had I not had the privilege of witnessing and in some instances experiencing the benefit of his acupuncture intelligence, I have no doubt at all that all of the patients mentioned would be languishing in the squalor of overwhelming lethargy and fatigue at a time when the demands on each and every one of us are so great.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest and commitment in refining and developing your critical acumen and skills in the practice of Traditional Acupuncture.

I wish you and yours a peaceful, joyous Christmas and great prosperity for the New Year.

Kind Regards,

Alan

A few images of me pursuing a recreational past time that puts a smile on my face follows.

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture.  For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at : http://www.Worldacupuncture.com