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THIS ISSUE:
90th
Anniversary
Swedish Institute on-line newsletter for our students, faculty and community.
Francesca Paik
Acupuncture Program, Class of 2006
During the summer 2006 semester, current acupuncture student Francesca Paik went on a study tour to
China with faculty member Helen Zhang, M.D. (China), L.Ac. and several other students. The small group
spent two weeks in Beijing, observing acupuncturists, hearing lectures and taking in as much of the
sights as they could. Ms. Paik found that while returning to China, the historical birthplace of
acupuncture (and possibly some forms of massage as well) was of great interest, it shed light on the
notion of a tradition's source. She realized that in addition to its geographic and cultural source,
acupuncture's legacy and longevity was the result of its living source, the teachers and practitioners
who carry on its traditions from generation to generation.
Using Traditional Chinese Medicine
"We spent every morning at a hospital," Ms. Paik said, "either a community hospital or a high-end
Westernized hospital. The difference was that the community hospitals treated people without much money,
whereas the Westernized hospitals usually required people to pay extra, out-of-pocket expenses. In the
afternoons, we listened to lectures on different kinds of specialties, like scalp acupuncture,
dermatology, fertility and weight loss."
The group went to about four different hospitals, with the community hospitals offering the most forms of
Traditional Chinese Medicine, commonly referred to as TCM (1). "I saw a lot of needling,
cupping, electrical stimulation and bleeding," said Ms. Paik. "If there was one word I would use to
describe the style in China, it would be 'intense.'
"The doctors used a lot of needles, a lot of cupping, a lot of electric
stimulation. Whereas we might use 10 needles, they would use 20. We might use two to four cups; they
would use ten to fifteen. And electric stimulation would begin at the highest level tolerated."
Dr. Zhang, a native of China, toured with the group in their spare time. "We absorbed so much culture,"
said Ms. Paik, "the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the Beijing Opera. And the food was fantastic
everywhere. I was in Beijing ten years ago and the change is phenomenal. Instead of drab, peasant dress,
people now wear very individualized and colorful clothing. And buildings are going up everywhere. Beijing
is obviously preparing for the Olympics, which are being promoted everywhere."
Typical and Dramatic Treatments
Ms. Paik reported that unlike the American tradition, where patients typically receive acupuncture once
a week, in China, patients go to the clinic about five times a week, for a month or longer. "Because the
doctor knows the patient so well, the insertion of needles was quick, without much dialogue. The patient
would have the needles retained with electro acupuncture for about 20 minutes, then the assistant would
come in, remove the needles and put some cups on. The cups are considered a treatment that will move
blood, to bring blood up to the surface to alleviate 'wind' or pain. Additionally, because the vacuum in
the cup is created with a flame, it's also considered a warming technique." Many of the cases the group
saw were being treated for stroke, paralysis, pain and weight loss.
One of the most dramatic cases involved weight loss. "The patient's abdomen was measured," Ms. Paik
explained. "Then the doctor took ten needles that were each five inches long and threaded them through
the patient's abdomen. She then attached the needles to an electrical stimulator and wrapped the abdomen
with a belt. The treatment lasted for 30 minutes, after which they remeasured the woman's abdomen, and
found that she had lost four inches!"
Although there was a dramatic, immediate change in the woman's body, Ms. Paik questions the meaning and
long-term consequences of such a treatment.
A Classical Perspective
"Needling the Conception (Ren) Channel like that was shocking to me. I've learned from Jeffrey Yuen
(Dean for Academic Affairs) that the Extraordinary Vessels are sacred. The Ren channel, along with the
Governing (Du) Channel and Belt (Chong) Channel are associated with our ancestry.
"The healthy development of the Ren involves our experience of laying belly to belly with our mother. The
channel travels along the front of the body, around our lips and mouth, and provides the energetic
capacity to take in nourishment. It also is involved in our capacity to bond with those we love.
"If a patient had issues from childhood, or had difficulty bonding with people, then treating the Ren
Channel would be appropriate. But not to lose weight in 30 minutes; that seems irreverent to me."
Ms. Paik has a background in mathematics (B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and had
worked in corporate finance before she decided to follow her heart into the health care field.
"When I first wanted to study acupuncture," she said. "I didn't realize there was more than one kind of
acupuncture, but now I realize there are many ways to practice.
"My passion is for Classical Chinese Acupuncture, which can't readily be found in China today. I returned
to New York with an even greater appreciation for my studies at the Swedish Institute and with Mr. Yuen.
The classical approach uses the vast richness of Chinese medicine, particularly the secondary vessels,
to work with the body, mind and spirit. It's not just about physical ailments."
Ms. Paik feels an important part of her future acupuncture practice will be to, "talk to patients, listen
to them and create an empty space for them. I'd like to be their advocate in helping them get in touch
with their innate intelligence, so they can figure out what to do for themselves. I do believe that the
quality of their process will depend on the quality of my listening."
Gratitude for Our Ancestors
Mr. Yuen has taught students that just as they have ancestors in their family lives, they have
ancestors in their professional lives. Since Chinese Medicine considers blood the carrier of consciousness,
the transmission of knowledge from teacher to student becomes part of their energetic connection through
the generations. This is why, in the past, when people wanted to know a practitioner's style, they asked
about the teacher. In reality, that was the "source" of a tradition. Considering the source is especially
important in a discipline such as acupuncture, which is transmitted through the ages, and is just as
relevant today as it was in the past.
Reference
1. TCM and CCM
The discovery of the energetic nature of the human being, and the historical record of how this knowledge
can alleviate suffering, is Chinese medicine's great contribution to humanity. As part of that medical
tradition, acupuncture has been in continuous use for over 2,000 years.
What is known today as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), however, was created at the start of the 1950s
during the advent of Communism. At that time, China was faced with a population of a half a billion
people and less than 40,000 Western-trained physicians and around 500,000 crudely trained traditional
doctors to serve them. In an attempt to quickly fill the people's need for medical help, Chairman Mao
Ze-dong initiated the establishment of medical schools that generalized and categorized acupuncture
in ways that made it easier to train practitioners in treating common ailments.
When Westerners became interested in acupuncture, they went to China to study and thus learned TCM, which
became the first model for acupuncture in this country. TCM can be excellent in helping patients who fit
certain TCM patterns, but practitioners need deeper wisdom to address the chronic degenerative diseases
that are common in our culture today.
Our Acupuncture Program was established to teach acupuncture based on Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM),
knowledge of which became unavailable in China after the Cultural Revolution. While TCM commonly uses 12
meridians (referred to as the primary meridians), and sometimes adds 8 other pathways, Classical
acupuncture recognizes more than 70 energetic pathways. This approach opens students to the use of all of the
energetic pathways of the human being.
In addition to the 12 primary meridians, CCM also explores:
the luo vessels and their relevance to emotional, hematological and gastrointestinal issues
the eight extraordinary vessels and their relevance to constitutional and identity issues
the divergent meridians and their implications in the treatment of chronic diseases,
the sinew channels and the tendinomuscular terrain.
The complete energetic paradigm that CCM presents gives students an in-depth, multi-level perspective for analyzing patient needs and determining an effective treatment that can be taken from a fuller range of treatment strategies.
Photos
Top: The Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China.
Center: Francesca Paik in front of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.
Photos courtesy of Francesca Paik.
All photos in the newsletter not otherwise specified are by Barbara Goldschmidt and are the
property of the Swedish Institute ©2006.