Acupuncture

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a traditional therapy that uses the insertion of extremely thin, flexible, stainless-steel needles into the body at specific points in order to stimulate a natural healing response. Acupuncture comes from China, where it has been used for over five-thousand years to heal people of sickness and disease, making it the oldest medical tradition in the world. Acupuncture is one healing modality of a complete system of medicine known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM practitioners rely on an ancient and holistic perspective on how the body works in order to correctly diagnosis illness and develop a treatment plan for the patient.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

Acupuncture works based on a theory of energy in the body, which the Chinese call “Qi” [CHEE]. The Qi moves around the body along specific pathways, called “meridians.” The meridians connect the organs and tissues of the body together into a synergistic whole.

According to TCM medical theory, all of the organs and tissues of the body depend upon Qi flowing through these meridians in a strong and balanced way. Sickness, pain, and disease are considered the result of a weakness, stagnation, or imbalance in the flow of Qi through the meridians. Acupuncture corrects this imbalance, unblocks the flow of Qi, and helps to strengthen the Qi flowing through your body in order to resolve disease and establish lasting and vibrant health.

To accomplish the restoration and balance of Qi, acupuncturists place the needles at very precise locations along the meridians. These locations are called “acupuncture points.” The acupuncture points are like little hot-spots of communication and energy. Each of them sends a different signal to the body when stimulated. Acupuncturists know the location and function of hundreds of acupuncture points on the body, and they will carefully select and stimulate the right ones in order to restore the balance of Qi. They will always select acupuncture points based on their patient’s unique pattern of symptoms and underlying disharmonies.

How Does an Acupuncturist Diagnose Their Patient?

To an acupuncturist, every person has their own special underlying disharmonies, or “root” causes of their health problems. Everyone’s body is unique, and therefore no two patients should be treated the same way, even if they have what appear to be the same symptoms. In other words, if you have a headache, it does not mean that it is being caused by the same root disorders as someone else’s headache. It all depends on where in the body the Qi has become stuck or deficient. Your acupuncturist will employ time-tested diagnostic techniques to determine where the flow of Qi has been obstructed. These techniques include a visual analysis of your tongue and a special system for analyzing the arterial pulses at your wrists. It also includes examining the patient’s outward appearance and complexion and palpating the abdomen for areas of Qi obstruction or deficiency. Your acupuncturist will also want to ask you a lot of questions about all of your bodily functions, including how your body regulates temperature and sweating, the health of your sense organs, your bowel and urinary functions, appetite and digestion, reproductive function, heart and lung health, energy and vitality, and your emotional state. (This is by no means an exhaustive list). Through these traditional diagnostic tools and questions, your acupuncturist will be able to successfully determine the root cause of your particular disorder. They will then establish a treatment protocol to resolve the root cause of the problem. In this way, acupuncturists do not just treat the symptoms of disease, but they actually seek to resolve the underlying reason for the disease itself.

Does Acupuncture Hurt?

The best answer would be: “Sometimes it does– but not very much.” Occasionally a patient will feel a very light pricking sensation as the needle enters the skin. Most of the time, however, they will not feel the needle enter at all. The needles are just so tiny and thin. In fact, they are only about twice the thickness of a human hair.

At Zen Medicinals, we often have patients who suffer from a mild needle phobia. Muki just tells them to relax and close their eyes. After he has already put in several needles, they often tell him: “Okay, you can start now.” So it really is a very mild sensation, and it often goes completely unnoticed.

After the needle is in the body, your acupuncturist might stimulate it a little. This is called “Gathering the Qi,” and it is how your acupuncturists activates the healing response in the body and gets the Qi moving in the right way. This stimulation can result in a strange, “zinging” sensation. It feels different from point to point and person to person. Some people feel a tingle, others feel a strong pulse of movement. Some people feel a heaviness or pressure, and others feel nothing at all.

At Zen Medicinals, if you are just too frightened of the needles to give them a try, you can always request an herbal and nutritional consultation instead.

What clothes should I wear?

Please dress with loose clothing, preferably a t-shirt and shorts, or yoga pants.  For face-up treatments, the patient remains fully dressed.  During back-treatments, the patient will be face-down with only the back exposed, as if they were getting a massage.  In this case, the patient may be asked to remove their shirt to better access the mid-back or upper-back region, but women may always chose to wear their bra, if they prefer.  When treating the hips, thighs, or low back, it might be necessary for the patient to remove their outerwear (shorts or pants), but they are always completely draped with a clean, white towel.  The most important thing to know is that we will *never* compromise the dignity of our patients, and the patient is *always* the boss.

Does Acupuncture Really Work?

Yes, it does! The Chinese people have used acupuncture and herbal medicine for thousands of years, and with great success. In fact, TCM is the most commonly used alternative medicine in the world today. In China, there are hospitals in every major city dedicated solely to the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Muki has spent time interning at one of these hospitals (in Chengdu), and the healing that he saw take place there was astounding.

In fact, Muki himself is a living testament to the effectiveness of acupuncture. Muki used to suffer with pains in his legs, shoulders, and arms every single day. That pain (along with all of his other ailments) has now been completely resolved, thanks to this wonderful medicine. You can read more about Muki’s own path to healing on his Bio page. Muki’s patients also get wonderful results— please visit the Testimonials page to read what they have to say about how acupuncture has changed their lives.

But you don’t have to take their word for it, or Muki’s—there is plenty of very compelling research being done on the effectiveness of acupuncture at famous health, government, and educational institutions all over the world. For more specific questions about how Muki can help you, please feel free to contact us at our clinic by visiting our Contact page.

Chinese Herbal Medicine

Traditional Chinese herbology is the most well-developed and widely-used natural medicine in use today.  Historical records indicate that the Chinese began their methodic approach to understanding the healing effects of herbs as early as 2700 BC, with their efforts culminating several hundred years later in the most effective and comprehensive system of herbal medicine in the world.  Chinese herbs are carefully classified according to flavor, impact on body temperature, the path they take through the body, their functions in the body, and how they interact with other herbs.  The crafting of a Chinese herbal formula requires a masterful understanding of many hundreds of herbs and how they work together.  A good formula will include “supportive” herbs to keep strong-acting “chief” herbs from causing injury to the body, while “envoy” herbs are used to direct the entire formula to a specific organ or meridian.  Thus, each herb in the formula is selected to strengthen and balance each other into a synergistic whole, so that the patient is healed quickly and safely.

The ultimate goal of Chinese Herbal Medicine is always to address the root causes of disease and to heal the whole body without sacrificing the integrity of its parts.  For example, a doctor of Chinese herbal medicine would never heal the liver with herbs that would at the same time damage the kidneys.  This commitment to holistic healing stands in stark contrast with the more recent practice in the medical community of prescribing pharmaceutical drugs– which, ironically, are very often derived from herbs.  In fact, 25% of all prescription drugs dispensed in the US between 1959 and 1980 were derived directly from herbal remedies.  The word “drug” itself is taken from the Anglo-Saxon word for “dried herbs.”

Pharmaceutical companies take these ancient herbal remedies and strip them down to their “key chemical constituents” in order to make them patentable and more potent, with the hopes that this will in turn lead to greater medical and financial gains. However, by isolating these chemicals from the rest of the plant and then concentrating them, the drug no longer contains the moderating effects of the whole herb in its natural state, and it can thus become quite dangerous or even deadly to the body in this form.  It is unfortunately a fact that correctly prescribed pharmaceutical drugs claim the lives of over 100,000 Americans every year, according to very conservative estimates.

Although Muki has trained extensively in the use of Chinese herbal medicine and is nationally certified as a Chinese herbal practitioner, he prescribes Chinese herbs less frequently than perhaps do other herbalists.  This is because he has noticed that more and more people who come to him are suffering from nutritional deficits or malnutrition, and these issues must always be addressed with alterations to their diet or with nutritional supplements.  Good nutrition is the foundation of good health; as Hippocrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine.”  From Muki’s point of view, it makes no sense to give a patient an herbal formula to boost their Qi when in reality they are eating poorly and are therefore suffering from a deficiency in vitamins, essential fats, trace minerals, amino acids, and so on.  These deficiencies must be addressed first, for they are the building blocks of life.  Of course, there are instances when Muki feels it is appropriate to prescribe a Chinese herbal formula, in which case he will do so.  Chinese herbs can accomplish many things that modern medicine struggles to treat without dangerous medications or hormones.  For example, Muki can successfully treat migraines, Meniere’s Disease, hot flashes, gallbladder or kidney stones, menstrual irregularities, thinning hair, pre-diabetic issues, insomnia, eczema, low libido, and a whole host of other problems using Chinese herbs, and without side-effects. The herbal formulas he uses are made at state of the art, medical-grade facilities in Taiwan and China, all of which have earned international certification from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for years, and are ranked in the top 1% in their industries for best manufacturing practices.

Asyra Pro

Zen Medicinals is truly a place where the best of ancient medicine and modern technology are used together to heal our patients.  Alongside acupuncture, nutrition, Chinese herbs, and acupuncture, we are pleased to offer our patients the opportunity to utilize the Asyra Pro, which represents the latest advances in bioenergetics sciences.  The Asyra Pro System is a needle-free technology that can quickly and accurately assesses every organ, pathogen, toxin, and allergy in your body—and much, much more.  Thousands of tests can be conducted over the course of an hour; collecting the same data via conventional means would require dozens of costly visits to specialists. The Asyra Pro is then able to treat any problems it identifies with a specially crafted cold-laser that has been imprinted with the specific quantum wave patterns that will result in a positive healing outcome.  After the cold-laser session, each patient receives a copy of their health report, as well as a resonance formula that has been created by the Asyra Pro to maintain their treatment between visits.

The Asyra Pro can also read the wave signatures of any foods, vitamins, herbs, or supplements our patients may be taking to determine whether or not they are of actual benefit to their unique constitutional profile.  This often leads to significant savings for patients who are able to eliminate expensive pills from their supplement regimen.

The actual assessment and treatments with the Asyra Pro are 100% painless and non-obtrusive.  The Asyra Pro is the only machine of its type to have received a Type 2 Medical Device rating from the FDA.  In a recent, double-blind study conducted by E. Alan Jeppsen, M.D., and Steven G. Osguthorpe, N.D., of the University of Utah Alternative Medicine Department, the Asyra Pro yielded a 97 percent correlation with blood chemistry using a clinical pool of 1,800 patients.  A copy of the full study can be made available upon request.

We have seen dramatic results using the Asyra Pro, especially in resolving allergies, digestive disorders, skin problems, hormonal imbalances, and toxicity issues.   Assessments are scheduled once every three to six weeks, depending on the individual.  Response time varies from person to person and also on their individual health concerns, but results are typically seen between four and six visits, although the manufacturer recommends closer to twelve.  Asyra Pro sessions last about an hour.  Please see our Rates & Hours page for pricing.

Isagenix

When patients come to Zen Medicinals looking for help losing weight, they can expect to hear a talk from Muki about the importance of:

• Regular and varied exercise.
• Nourishing, low-glycemic foods.
• Frequent, smaller meals consumed earlier in the day.
• Drinking lots of water.
• Setting a goal and getting excited about it!

But what Muki often hears back is: “I’ve tried all this before, but I still can’t lose weight!”  For these patients, we need to look deeper.  For some of them, there are strong emotional factors that need to be addressed.  For others, there are hormonal imbalances that play a factor.  These issues can usually be resolved through herbs, acupuncture, counseling, and through the use of the Asyra Pro System.

However, even if all of these imbalances are corrected, the patient may still struggle to normalize their weight problem.  Upon examination with the Asyra Pro System, it was often indicated that these patients suffered from toxic build-up in their fats.  It was as if their bodies were holding onto fats in order to protect the body from toxic-overload.  For Muki, this used to present a conundrum, until he discovered Isagenix.

Isagenix is a company founded by John Anderson, a world-renowned herbalist and nutritionist.  He formulated a weight-loss strategy that recognizes the vital need to detoxify the body.  Anderson was one of the first nutritionists to postulate that our body stores toxins in our fat cells.  Researchers have since confirmed that when we try to lose weight, environmental toxins that are stored in our fats can become more concentrated in our blood and liver, and this creates a stressful experience for the body, with sometimes dangerous side-effects.  When we feel our bodies become sick, tired, and run-down due to the release of toxins during the weight-loss process, this not only does injury to the internal organs, it may also impede our ability to pursue our weight-loss goals.  Therefore, John Anderson designed a powerful detox protocol to help the body rid itself of these toxins during the weight-loss experience.  He then created a complete system of foods and supplements for nourishing the body, healing the internal organs, and safely losing weight to compliment his detox strategy.

The Isagenix system has the advantage of being simple to follow, tasty, exceptionally nourishing, affordable, and unlike every other weight-loss method out there, it deals with the issue of dangerous toxins released from your fat during weight-loss.  Best of all, it works.  Our clinical results with using Anderson’s Isagenix protocol with my patients have been nothing short of outstanding.

For more information about how you can take advantage of the Isagenix weight-loss system, please fill out the form on the right of your screen and someone from our office will contact you shortly.

Moxibustion

When you walk in the door at Zen Medicinals, you will sometimes be greeted by a heady, earthy smoke in the air.  The odor (we are told) is akin to the smell of burning marijuana, but don’t worry, it’s not!  The only “high” you will get at our clinic is from the feeling of your Qi flowing strong throughout your body.  No, what you are smelling is an herb called “moxa.”

The term “moxibustion” refers to the ancient technique of burning a mossy herb called mugwort, or “moxa,” over one or more acupuncture points in order to strengthen and stimulate the flow of Qi.  In China, moxibustion has been in use for as long as acupuncture to heal the body, and possibly longer.  Burning the moxa over certain acupuncture points of the Stomach, Spleen, Ren, and Kidney meridians can be a particularly effective method for putting Qi into the body in cases of deficiency.  We have seen moxa do wonders for cases of chronic fatigue, infertility conditions related to “cold in the uterus,” and even to help with asthma or weakness in the lungs.

Some patients find the smell to be too strong.  If that’s the case, we can always move you to another room where moxa has not been used.   But many people find it very comforting.  Muki has been smelling it for so long that he can barely tell it’s there, so let him know how the moxa affects you.  It’s always optional.

Body Work

At Zen Medicinals, we do not employ a massage therapist, but we do have a few tricks up our sleeves for helping a patient unwind from stress accumulation in the muscles, especially in the back, neck, and shoulders.  Of course, our primary method for dealing with this problem is through acupuncture, but we also use several other techniques, including cupping, gua sha, and tui na.

“Cupping” refers to a technique that involves using specially designed glass or plastic suction cups to gently pull at the skin and muscles.  In the process, stuck toxins, Qi, and Blood are pulled up to the surface of the skin, where the body can more easily remove them.  This can leave round, red marks on the body, which are essentially a kind of hickey.  While these harmless marks may look strange, they won’t last long; but the benefits that come from cupping certainly will.  In addition to helping with stress, cupping can be a very powerful treatment for helping with other conditions.  For example, Muki will sometimes use it to draw the Qi of the lungs down—particularly helpful for treating asthma.

“Gua Sha” refers to a technique whereby the acupuncturist uses a tool (usually a traditional Chinese soup-spoon) to vigorously scrape the skin.  Don’t worry—it sounds worse than it feels.  Actually, Muki is always very gentle with his gua sha approach, and most of his patients really enjoy the experience.  The purpose of gua sha is to break up areas of stagnation in the layer of tissue between the skin and the muscles, which is called the “fascia.”  The fascia is almost like a no-man’s land in the body, and it is often a place where Qi, toxins, and even pathogens get stuck.  Moving the Qi in the fascia layer allows the body to better dispose of those toxins and pathogens.  In addition to relieving stress and muscle tension, we often use gua sha to help the body overcome early stages of colds or flus.

“Tui Na” is the name for traditional Chinese therapeutic massage.  Although we do not offer full sessions of tui na at Zen Medicinals, Muki will often employ tui na techniques during his treatments, especially in areas of muscle tension such as the neck and shoulders.  In just a few minutes he can release even the most stubborn muscle knots, leaving the patient feeling very relieved.  Tui na is very detoxifying, so it is not uncommon for patients to feel quite dizzy after coming up off the treatment table.  This is normal and nothing to worry about—it just means we have moved the toxins out of the muscles.  The relief from pain after even one session is often immediate and long-lasting.