A NEW WAY OF HEALING: An Acupuncturist Meets AcuEnergetics®
by Rupa H Selecki BHSc.TCM., MAcS
The ancient Chinese believed a universal life energy called Qi is present in every living creature. This energy is said to circulate throughout the body along specific pathways called meridians. As long as this energy flows freely throughout the meridians, health is maintained. But once the flow of energy is blocked, the system is disrupted; pain and illness occur.
Acupuncture works to “re-program” and restore normal functions by stimulating certain points on the meridians in order to free up the Qi flow. It is one of the oldest, most commonly used systems of healing in the world.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) maintains that good health is ultimately dependent on harmony in mind and spirit as well as balance in our lifestyle and surrounding environment. Medical case histories written around 90 BCE, recently discovered in China, show understanding of the emotional context of illness, and consideration of environmental and seasonal influences, and represent early indications of the science of ‘life nurturing’ medicine and disease prevention (Reference1).
I have been practicing acupuncture and TCM for 25 years. I have always tried to keep my approach in tune with the spirit of the ancient Taoist texts from where most of our TCM theory originates. I have studied and incorporated into my work both meditation and Qigong including energetic healing, as well as herbs, diet, psychology, environmental science and conventional medical science.
I encountered AcuEnergetics® accidentally (serendipitously?) in 2007. My initial interest was for my own personal development and healing and the importance of the meditation component in the courses appealed to me. In order to do this work properly you needed to learn to meditate, be open-hearted and present. It made sense to balance and ground yourself if you are to treat other people’s problems.
I had also been concerned about using energetic healing without some kind of theoretical framework and clear protocol and at the same time aware of the mounting evidence on the medical values of prayer as well as laughter. Were meditation and good intentions enough? How can we be more accurate? Is the practitioner protected? In my practice I would treat many exhausted healers and therapists. I had many unanswered questions. What I had learned so far in other energetic modalities had its limitations. AcuEnergetics offered an accurate and straightforward system fitting in with all I knew about TCM, health and meditation. Its theory – drawing from Taoism, Kabbalah, Buddhist and Yogic understanding – details how the mind affects the body, how we get sick and imbalanced, and most important, what exactly we can do about it.
I subsequently became a student at the AcuEnergetics® school and the specific techniques, balances and treatments I learned made sense, were simple, often fun and felt right . Whilst studying Acuenergetics® I experienced dramatic personal healing and changes and noticed similar shifts and opening in other students.
I have had a number of opportunities to combine acupuncture with AcuEnergetics® techniques and so far I have seen results in a number of situations that would be different to the outcome that based on my experience with clients, would be reasonably expected from acupuncture alone.
There are so far five aspects that I have found interesting and useful in relation to acupuncture:
1. AcuEnergetics® has hand skills which can be used on areas and points where it would be unsuitable to use acupuncture. For example, I treated a 14 yr old boy for a rugby injury. His ankle was swollen and painful. He had experienced some relief from physiotherapy initially but this was no longer helpful . I used magnetism and resonance hand techniques plus opening meridians together with acupuncture points distant from injury site. He recovered quickly.
2. AcuEnergetics® is ideal for unusual or stubbon cases where acupuncture is not sufficient
3. People who don’t like or respond well to needles or are very tense, emotionally upset or very sensitive – AcuEnergetics® is a better alternative
4. Using Acupuncture together with AcuEnergetics® opening techniques can help clear emotional holding patterns. Acupuncturists may identify imbalances from ongoing stress or emotional traumas but explanations may be simplistic and the techniques to clear these blockages can be unclear or ineffective. Balancing meridians with Acupuncture usually has an immediate impact on well-being but may not adequately address how the imbalance or injury happened in the first place – some problems may recur, or shift elsewhere and may require acupuncturists to refer to other modalities such as herbs or counselling etc
AcuEnergetics® uses knowledge of the chakras and the Kabbalah sephiroth map and in great detail clarifies how stress, emotional imbalances in personality or traumatic incidents can affect our energy field and subsequently the meridian system, our internal organs and body areas. We literally close our heart off to particular parts of the body or thoughts ! In acupuncture we would diagnose this as a ‘shen’ disturbance and maybe use points to balance the fire energy as well as treat the injury .
AcuEnergetics® offers a simple way to explore this phenomena in depth using specific skills to gently unlock and clear such problems allowing quick relief from symptoms.
A female client (E) age 42 had a bad cough and cold since three weeks. She had tried various medical and holistic treatments but was still unwell. She was pale and exhausted. She was due to teach a 3 week course in a few days time. Usually I would treat this with herbs and acupuncture. This time I used acupuncture treating points on the lung meridian and the upper back near the lungs and heart ( UB 14 and UB43, as well as GV 14 ,shentao, Lung 7) This helped her relax but she was still very exhausted and felt congested.
Then I treated the lung meridian and heart chakra energetically. I asked her what had been happening when the cough and cold began. She is a hypnotherapist and familiar with this kind of questioning but at first could not recall anything – then after five minutes of energetic treatment she remembered a big disagreement with her best friend just before the cold started . They had gone separate ways – she had tried to reconcile but that had proved impossible. As she talked I felt her breathing expanding and deepening and the atmosphere in the room changed becoming silent and peaceful. By that evening she had stopped coughing and her energy levels were better. She told me the next day she had not felt so well in a long time and resumed teaching without a problem.
Very often we may not recall emotional upsets or consider them relevant to our physical health. E had felt she had come to terms with her grief about losing her friend and had not associated the onset of the cold with this. However when we experience different emotional states our breathing is affected. Usually our natural homeostatic mechanisms kick in to balance things out –we take a deep breath and move on. If we hold onto pain/grief as she did the Lung Qi (i.e. flow of energy in the Lungs) is affected. The AcuEnergetics® technique helped her awaken and integrate her emotions.
She said later, ‘I really liked that I was able to touch emotional issues, I hadn’t connected it with my cold, it helped bring things to my awareness ‘- ‘as soon as I understood this and most importantly for me voiced this during the healing treatment everything cleared’
Here is how a long time friend and client describes acupuncture and AcuEnergetics®. “I’ve had many years of acupuncture treatments with Rupa and more recently a combination with AcuEnergetics®…..my feeling is the combination takes it deeper…with acupuncture I’ve always felt very balanced energetically and physically – it has been a great way to relaxation. Adding AcuEnergetics® techniques and balances leads me to contentment…. its like working in the same tune at a higher octave… they enhance and enrich each other opening more possibilities. Specifically I feel AcuEnergetics® takes me deep into my being, to the source of the problem (and this for me included things I hadn’t considered and even past life memories ! …and then I know what I’m dealing with and can integrate things….expressing…. learning …this dissolves the issue. Both modalities are non invasive and super gentle’ …Karima , Sydney. Spiritual therapist and psychic counsellor.
5. Another unique aspect of AcuEnergetics® I have found is that it may be a more effective way to access meridians and points quickly. There may be an enhanced sensation of what acupuncture practitioners call ‘de Qi. As AcuEnergetics® practitioners we learn to feel and balance the energetic qualities of chakras, acupuncture meridians and points, and we can feel when any congestion has cleared. Not surprisingly the client often becomes aware of the changes as well .
‘When I had acupuncture with Rupa I could feel the Qi in the meridian being stimulated….then when she began using resonance, (an Acuenergetics® technique) to a point (on the meridian) then the whole pathway seemed to light up. Together this had a strong clearing and balancing effect’, Bianca, psychology student.
Liza, a homeopath & counsellor says “I have experienced both Acupuncture and AcuEngergetics® treatments with Rupa… for me the AcuEnergetics® taps directly into the energetic pathways and meridians. Although no needles were used and often even no touching the body, the Acuenergetics® actually feels more substantial……the more in tune you become you can become part of your own healing -you feel tangible movements of energy and its qualities..”
Clients have even been able to accurately experience energy pathways without prior knowledge. A male client age 27 had numbness in lateral aspect of his arm and hand after a skiing accident and also ear problems. I treated his hand energetically, using the (Small Intestine) meridian which goes through the affected areas. He described feeling energy running up his arm to his ear. Then he asked me if it goes through the spine as well (this meridian actually opens another meridian that does exactly that!). After opening the meridians in this way I treated him with acupuncture at the relevant points. He has since begun to regain sensation in the affected areas and feels aware of changes in the energetic pathways.
AcuEnergetics® is based on the understanding, that true healing happens when the heart and its infinite wisdom is allowed to connect with the hidden aspects of ourselves. Combining acupuncture with AcuEnergetics® allows me and my clients to enjoy this great potential.
Rupa H Selecki BHSc,TCM, MAcS., created GoldenFlowerHealing in the year 2000, combining healing and meditation together to promote health and well being … She now practices Acupuncture, TCM, AcuEnergetics® and QiGong in Amsterdam and sometimes in other cities in Europe. She also teaches AcuEnergetics® training, Level 1 and Level 2 , and Treating your child with AcuEnergetics, as well as various QiGong and Meditation trainings and workshops. Online consultations, classes and workshops are now available.
For further information and appointments please contact Rupa
This article was originally published in Energy magazine, summer edition 2008, AcuEnergetics®, Sydney , Australia
Reference : Hsu, E. (ed.) 2000, Innovation in Chinese Medicine, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K
AcuEnergetics® was founded by Kevin Farrow and the school is based in Australia.
For further information about Acuenergetics® visit www.acuenergetics.com