Five Element Acupuncture
Carol Hall, Lac, DiplAc(NCCAOM)

Acupuncture is a gentle yet powerful medicine that has proven effective over the course of more than 3,000 years of practice. It is one branch of the broad system of healing known as Chinese medicine.

Acupuncture involves the insertion of needles into points along the body’s meridians or energy pathways. Meridians correspond to specific organs and functions within us, and imbalances within these meridians lead to the development of symptoms and/or disease. By addressing these imbalances, acupuncture engages the body’s own mechanisms for healing.

There are many different styles of acupuncture. The Five Element Acupuncturist sees the human being as a microcosm of the Universe. The same laws that govern the seasonal cycles in nature are present in each of us. We all possess the qualities of the Five Elements: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood. There is one particular element, however, that resonates most strongly within each of us. That one element is considered to be our constitution and embodies our strengths and highest virtues when we are in good health. When we are out of balance, this element is often the most distressed. Treatments in the context of one’s constitution help bring all aspects of an individual into balance.

In the practice of Five Element Acupuncture the patient’s element is revealed through an in-depth assessment and treatment is based on nurturing and supporting the patient’s element. Through this process, the root of the patient’s distress is treated. A person is more than his or her symptoms, hence, treating the root cause is essential to restoring balance. Over the course of treatment, the patient finds that what may have caused struggle in the past is no longer an issue.

Each element corresponds to a season as defined in Chinese Medicine. Summer represents the Fire element; late summer corresponds to the Earth element; fall represents the Metal element; winter corresponds to the Water element; and spring represents the Wood element. The richness of the seasons is distinctly evident here in North Carolina. An individual may be drawn to a particular season. You may relish the expression of spring through the energy of each new emerging bud or enjoy the long days of summer with its warm expansive energy as flowers, fruit, vegetable gardens reach their peak. Perhaps you embrace late summer when the days begin to grow shorter and the time approaches for harvesting all that has grown to its peak. You may connect with fall and the willingness of the trees to release their leaves to the earth making way for new growth or with winter, where the still stark nakedness of trees seem to imply that nothing is happening. In reality, the trees are storing energy deep within, knowing that they may need all the reserves available to them to get through whatever winter brings.

The Five Elements in balance generate a natural creative cycle of energy that flows in a clockwise manner as each element creates the next. Fire creates Earth, Earth creates Metal, Metal creates Water, Water creates Wood. It’s an endless cycle of creation, as are the seasons.

As we approach the fall season, how does the metal element present itself within you? Metal’s corresponding officials are the Colon, “the Official of Drainage and Dregs,” and the Lungs, “the Official Who Receives Pure Qi Energy From the Heavens.” On a physical level one can easily appreciate the function of the Colon Official as ridding our body of waste and the Lung Official as taking a breath of air. Yet, there is a deeper meaning of these officials. For the Colon Official, consider what you may be holding onto which no longer serves you – a belief, an attitude, a resentment, a relationship. What may be polluting or constipating your mind and spirit? When you hold on to this “rubbish,” how can you take in anything of quality, and that which brings you inspiration? The Lung Official cannot take in if the Colon Official has not let go.

If the officials fail to carry out their functions in a harmonious way, the creative cycle described above is compromised and each of the subsequent elements is affected. When the creative cycle is blocked, symptoms appear. The Five Element practitioner, treating in the context of a patient’s element, chooses points along the element’s corresponding meridians to treat the patient’s weaknesses and to support his or her strengths. Acupuncture points along the colon and lung meridians often suggest the purpose of the point: “Welcome Fragrance,” “Valiant White,” “Heavenly Palace,” “Meridian Gutter.”

The goal of Five Element acupuncture is to bring a person back to his or her true self. Identifying and treating a person’s element can achieve this.

Modern acupuncture needles are sterile, disposable and very fine, about the width of a human hair. While you may not feel the needle as it penetrates the skin, there is usually a sensation when the needle connects with the energy of the point. Although each individual experiences this differently, many describe the sensation as a dull ache or tingling. Prior to needle stimulation, heat may be applied to an acupuncture point by a cone of dried herbs, artemesia vulgaris, known as moxa. This process warms, nourishes, and releases blocked energy. Acupuncture is one of the safest and most natural treatment modalities with few or no side effects. Treatments can safely be integrated with one’s current health care regime.

Carol Hall is a North Carolina State Licensed Acupuncturist. She holds a Masters of Acupuncture degree and certificate in Chinese Herbal Studies from the Academy of Five Element Acupuncture in Hallandale, Florida. She is certified by The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine as a Diplomate in Acupuncture. She practices Five Element acupuncture in Winston-Salem with Piedmont Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and Gate of Hope Traditional Acupuncture. Ms. Hall also holds a Masters in Social Work from the University of Maryland at Baltimore and is a licensed social worker in North Carolina. She can be reached at 336-777-0037.