What is Five Element Acupuncture?
Five Element Acupuncture is one of the oldest forms of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It originated over 4,000 years ago, when Chinese practitioners observed that everything in nature -including ourselves- is made up of the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. We are well in our body, mind and spirit, when these elements are in balance.
Unique in its approach to healing, Five Element Acupuncture treats the mind, body and spirit equally. When we experience emotional distress it can result in a physical symptom. The key to relief often lies in identifying the emotional cause, rather than just focusing on the physiological symptoms. The whole of a patient is treated.
Acupuncture has incredible power as a preventative medicine. Just as we know that eating a healthy diet and taking regular exercise can prevent us from becoming unwell, receiving regular acupuncture can keep us balanced and support a healthy lifestyle.
Our modern, fast paced society places many strains on us. Five Element Acupuncture focuses on the individual patient and treatment is tailored to suit their unique needs, allowing harmony to return. Our bodies naturally seek to heal themselves. By ensuring the energy is balanced and flowing, Five Element Acupuncture can help your body to heal and replenish. The aim is to ensure patients are in physical, mental and emotional balance.
The Five Elements can be seen in the seasons, regenerating in a cyclical pattern.
Water
We start here as all life begins with water, associated with the winter season. We slow down, animals go into hibernation and growth of plants pause for the cold winter months, in anticipation of the spring. This element gives us the power to access our deepest self, as we rest. The organs connected with the water element are the bladder and the kidneys.
Wood
Corresponding to spring, this element gives us the ascending energy of growth and birth. Hibernation is over and we are looking forward to new beginnings and making plans for the year ahead. The wood element gives us the ability to be flexible in what life throws at us. With determination and vision, we can accomplish our well laid plans. The gallbladder and the liver are the organs within the wood element.
Fire
This element is seen in summer. Flowers in full bloom, warmth in the air and an abundance of positive, yang energy. The fire element allows us to love and be loved. Be open and exuberant. See the joy and laughter in life. Party time. The fire element has two associated organs: the small intestine (it ensures only purity can access the heart) and the heart (known as the supreme controller over the entire 12 organs). There are also two functions; The Pericardium: ‘The Heart Protector’ or ‘Circulation/Sex’, allowing us to love and giving us the greatest protection in life. And The Three Heater: This function allow us to regulate temperature and love. The expression ‘blowing hot and cold’ is a sign the three heater may not be working well.
Earth
This element allows us to nurture ourselves and care for those around us. The season is late summer, when the harvest is ready and we're storing what we need, ahead of the winter months. The earth element gives us the ability to be sympathetic to our needs and ensure we are satisfied. It grounds us, giving a stable root to the earth, Mother Nature. The organs related to the earth element are the stomach and the spleen.
Metal
During autumn, we give in to the importance of letting go. The leaves on the trees are falling and returning their vital nutrients to the earth. We are shedding what we no longer need, in order to start anew. The lungs and the large intestine are connected with the metal element, allowing us to breathe in fresh inspiration and flush out what we no longer need.
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