Acupuncture and Cycles Of Awakening
by Frederick E Steinway, Lic. Ac.
Licensed Acupuncturist
In Asian Healing Arts these substances are called Tian Gui, 'heaven-water,' since their activity initiates from the centers in the head and throat, the 'heaven' region of the body, close to the senses and seat of intelligence.
The menstruation cycle is a complex rhythm involving movements of 'heaven-water' or Tian Gui within a person. Because it is so close to endocrine activity, this cycle responds easily to fluctuations in emotion and stress. It is also very close to consciousness practices such as meditation; it is widely believed the endocrine centers are contact points for the Shen or spirit in each body. This is described in Asian Healing Arts as the Bao Mai or uterus channel which connects the mind directly to the center in the lower abdomen.
For all these reasons rhythms and activity of the cycle are like a window into how comfortably a person's soul is feeling in the world. They reflect the timing of the Moon's change because the world "out there" is like a mirror for the activities within each person, in their psyche within.
Awareness of the cycle and how smoothly it is moving becomes an easy way to understand and treat a body through acupuncture. It makes attunement more direct.
Every person in the world is always moving toward awakening, where things become more fulfilling and satisfactory. Life is like a dream within which one can awaken yet still be dreaming. Once awake, the experience becomes more moving, more thoroughly enjoyable. This awakening occurs through the subtle action of the endocrine centers and the Tian Gui, heaven-water ... with which acupuncture works so easily and so well.
Frederick Steinway is from the coastal pond area of southeastern Massachusetts, where in late childhood a grandmother introduced him to the preparation of medicinal herbs from the wild. Frederick received the training in acupuncture all accredited 3-year american acupuncture colleges now provide, and began practice in Massachusetts as an independent provider. He is dedicated to the women's perspectives in care, and his strength in treatment of children is late childhood. Frederick is one of those who have received instruction from acupuncturists Nguyen Van Nghi, Kiiko Matsumoto, Tae Woo Yoo, Chen Xioaming, Lu Weidong, Zhang Zhenzhen, Jeffrey Yuen, Yao Zhang, and others. Visit his webdisplay at http://acuchild.byregion.net.