Rejuvenation Program Part Nine: Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine

The HPDI Rejuvenation Program provides practices, protocols, and recommendations proven over 26 years. It is a complete program to rejuvenate, regenerate, and boost vitality to body, mind, and spirit. It is especially helpful for those who want to restore health. This article discusses the role of acupuncture within the HPDI Master Rejuvenation Program.

The Rejuvenation program emphasizes establishing basic nutrition, foundational supplement formulas, and high-RNA Rejuvenate!™ superfoods and other sources of dietary nucleic acids. The program rests on six elements: 1) Attitude/Commitment, 2) Detoxification, 3) Preventing Toxicity, 4) Health Building Nutrition, 5) Building Powerful Immunity, and 6) Supporting Protocols.

The six foundational elements remain powerful individually, but act synergistically when combined to support optimal health. The results are greatly improved capabilities for your body to heal, regenerate, rejuvenate, and restore its vitality.

In Part Eight of the Rejuvenation Program series, we discussed the Massage Program (part three of four sub-articles on supporting protocols), which is an important supporting protocol in the Master Rejuvenation Program.

SUPPORTING PROTOCOLS FOR REJUVENATION


In this article, we present another supporting protocol in our Master Rejuvenation Program: the Acupuncture Program. We include acupuncture in our Rejuvenation Program because it offers proven modalities for healing based in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). These modalities include acupuncture, but  encompass an entire system of medicine designed to maintain balance for mind, body, emotions, and spirit through the use of specific recommendations for diet, exercise, herbs, meditation, and more.

TCM is a complete system that is designed to promote the flow of life energy (Qi) and to remove blockages that adversely affect its flow. It is the unrestricted, yet balanced flow of energy that promotes harmony in the body, and thereby helps create health. Like massage, acupuncture and other TCM modalities can improve the flow of energy, blood (circulation), and lymph, and therefore prevent or treat problems relating to blockage, statis, or lack of proper flow.

THE ACUPUNCTURE PROGRAM

Acupuncture involves tapping into energetic meridians or pathways in the body using needles. There are 12 primary meridians and 8 extra meridians that are categorized according to yin (cool, internal, passive, etc.) and yang (hot, external, active, etc.).

While imbalances in the yin organs potentially result in hot, irritable, dry symptoms, imbalances in yang organs potentially result in cold, weak, pale symptoms. (One common example of a yin deficiency of the kidneys is menopause, during which a woman can experience feelings of heat, dryness, difficulty sleeping, or irritability.)

Traditional Chinese Medicine has been practiced in China for around 5,000 years. It involves not just acupuncture, but also Qi Gong (moving meditation), Tui Na (massage), and herbal and dietary prescriptions for bodily constitution and seasons.

One basic premise is that it is the individual’s responsibility to keep themselves in balance through the use of food and plants as daily medicine, and the practice of Qi Gong or Tai Ji. The practitioner’s job is to educate the patient and assist when needed using acupuncture and other methods.

According to Chinese Medicine, aging happens as we lose Qi (or Energy) and Jing (or Essence) in the body. Western lifestyles can contribute to the loss of Qi and Jing. Methods to conserve essence and energy involve the “Four Pillars of Health”:

• Proper Eating: Moderate amounts of foods for a person’s constitution and the season.
• Proper Rest: Resting when tired and not pushing oneself when fatigued.
• Proper Thoughts and Emotions: Positive thoughts and meditation, and avoiding extremes of emotion.
• Proper Exercise: Daily moderate exercise including brisk walks and avoiding strenuous daily exercise.

Practicing Qi Gong is an important way to replenish Jing/Essence after it has been spent. This involves both movement and visualization. For example, imagining light coming in to fill the lower part of your abdomen as you ‘Gather the Qi’ with your arms. Acupuncturists can recommend certain movements to keep energy flowing along a meridian.

Foods and herbs are an important part of staying well and maintaining Qi and Essence. In China, eating a balance of the five flavors (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, acrid) is important at every meal. Depending on the season and your body constitution, you may need more of one flavor than another. For example, bitter foods are recommended in summer because they are cooling and cleansing. But if you are feeling deficient and weak, these may not be the proper foods for your constitution. In cooler winter weather, foods that are more warming/nourishing or acrid are generally more appropriate. This is one reason why consuming soups with root vegetables, hot peppers, and small amounts of red meat can be so satisfying during winter months.

How can acupuncture benefit you? If you experience symptoms indicating that your body is out of balance, then acupuncture can help to alleviate those symptoms without the need for pharmaceuticals. The number of sessions it takes to resolve an issue depends on the amount of time you have been out of balance. For example, if you have back pain that began yesterday, you may feel relief after one session. However, if your back pain has persisted for years, then it may take weeks or months to return to balance, and you may also require treatment with herbs.

Acupuncture is not just for musculoskeletal issues. It can be used to treat many health issues, either alone or in conjunction with western medical modalities. One of the advantages of acupuncture (and TCM generally) is that it works well with other elements (including Supporting Protocols) in our Rejuvenation Program. That is, the methods used are intended to help create health by nourishing the body, removing blockages (and/or toxins), promoting flow (i.e., energy, blood, lymph, etc.), and supporting health holistically (mind, body, and spirit).

Even if you are feeling pretty well balanced, acupuncture can help during the change of the seasons to keep you in balance, in much the same way that regular maintenance on your car helps prevent problems.

Remember, acupuncture is most effective when you feel a resonance with your practitioner. Your results will be best when you can be fully relaxed with someone who you trust and feel good about.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Insight-Healing

REJUVENATION PROGRAM SERIES

Rejuvenation Program Part Eight – Massage. Supporting Protocols Part Three – The Massage Program.

Rejuvenation Program Part Seven. Supporting Protocols Part Two – The Magnesium Chloride Program

Rejuvenation Program Part Six. Supporting Protocols Part One (garlic, hydrotherapy, and sauna therapy programs).

Rejuvenation Program Part Five. Beyond foundational supplements. Seven enhancement supplements that supercharge your health. CoenzymeQ10 and/or Ubiquinol, Myo-Mag, Hepa Plus, Nascent Iodine, Echinacea, Immune-Assist™.

Rejuvenation Program Part Four. The role of foundational supplements (multivitamin, Vitamin C / antioxidant formula, Rejuvenate!™ superfoods) for health.

Rejuvenation Program Part Three. Health building nutrition and the role of dietary nucleic acids (RNA, DNA, nucleosides, and nucleotides).

Rejuvenation Program Part Two. Foundational elements in the HPDI Rejuvenation Program: 1) Attitude/Commitment, 2) Detoxification, 3) Preventing Toxicity, 4) Health Building Nutrition, 5) Building Powerful Immunity, and 6) Supporting Protocols.

Rejuvenation Program Part One. Introducing the HPDI Master Rejuvenation Program and its foundational elements. The importance of Attitude/Commitment.