Acupuncture – Does it need to be mystical?

July 1, 2011 · by Sean Heneghan · Uncategorized

With an evolution exceeding well over 2000 years, acupuncture is a practice whose roots lie in cultural ideologies that are almost inconceivable to us now. In the 21^st century we can best understand acupuncture (at least in terms of its physical delivery) as a technique of neuro humoral modulation, but this interpretation has only been possible through modern advances in understanding the body’s physiological mechanisms through science. For most of its history, acupuncture been couched in naturalistic, cryptic and seemingly mystical language; and while the rich metaphorical imagery of Chinese medicine is poetic, useful, and sufficient as a standalone way of delivering treatment, it does in a scientific epoch all too frequently garner misunderstanding, confusion and misinterpretation.

As such, some of the most interesting work developing in the field is the work done in reconceptualising acupuncture so that it can be understood in scientific terms. For me, this marriage of understanding both the benefits and the limitations of a traditional approach is an essential part in the ongoing evolution of acupuncture. Over the coming months I’ll be blogging and linking to some excellent resources that demonstrate the work going on in this area. Hopefully, this will illustrate how we now no longer need to refer to acupuncture solely in terms that are at odds with biomedicine, but rather in terms that are consistent with it.

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Sean Heneghan - Traditional Acupuncturist. Delivering acupuncture in berkhamsted, milton keynes, tring, hemel hempstead, st albans, amersham and chesham, and acupuncture in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Sean Heneghan is a Traditional Acupuncturist operating acupuncture clinics in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Sean’s clinical locations means he’s a local acupuncturist providing acupuncture in tring, acupuncture in Hemel hempstead, acupuncture in Amersham, acupuncture in Chesham, acupuncture in St Albans, and acupuncture in Aylesbury and surrounding areas. Sean began his studies in Chinese Medicine in 1998, and trained initially in Shiatsu and Tui-na (Chinese medical massage) before going on to complete a degree in acupuncture at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading. Sean is a fully registered member of The British Acupuncture Council, the main governing body for the UK’s 3000 traditional acupuncturists, and practices an integrated Five element and TCM style of acupuncture. These two styles of acupuncture are the main forms of the traditional approaches in use today. Committed to using the most useful aspects of traditional approaches alongside a modern understanding consistent with science, Sean’s interest is in using and understanding acupuncture as a technique of neuro-humoral modulation rather than understanding it solely on traditional terms. Only in this way can acupuncture necessarily evolve in the way it must do to exist comfortably within a modern framework of health and medicine. Sean also writes an acupuncture blog for acupuncturists, patients and anybody interested in the subject. Topics covered included research developments as they happen, different aspects of acupuncture theory and its application, and any associated thoughts and ideas about human health, psychology, medicine and philosophy. Committed to ongoing learning and development Sean is studying Clinical hypnosis which will become part of his clinical repertoire in 2012/2013.