Shōnishin: the many applications of non-invasive acupuncture – by Thomas Wernicke

Oppenheimer-Wer_Shonishin_978-1-84819-160-0_colourjpg-web

Shōnishin is a non-invasive form of acupuncture developed specifically to respond to the needs of children. Instead of needles gentle stimulation all over the body is performed with a tool, which is rather like a nail, by different stroking techniques. In addition to the stroking techniques, different tapping techniques are used in certain areas and vibration techniques on acupuncture points.

In the past few years a steadily increasing interest in Shōnishin has become noticeable outside its home country of Japan, especially in Europe, Britain, and the United States.

So what makes Shōnishin so popular with therapists, parents and children? There are many reasons:

  • Therapists see Shōnishin as a way of developing as a practitioner
  • The treatment is simple and effective, and the successes speak for themselves
  • Children love this treatment as it has a pleasant feel to them
  • Parents are very accepting of the treatment as it is gentle and non-invasive.

Another reason for the spreading of Shōnishin is that this treatment method can be used field-specifically. Depending on the therapist’s professional background, as a doctor, alternative practitioner, Shiatsu-practitioner, physiotherapist or midwife, the patient collective, and thereby the indications, are different.

By way of example, approximately 70-80% of all midwifes in Germany have an acupuncture education – and thereby are qualified to practice Shōnishin. For them, Shōnishin offers great opportunities to support newborn babies suffering from feeding difficulties, abdominal pain, developmental problems or even excessive crying. In the event of a needle phobia, Shōnishin is an alternative for pregnant women while preparing for birth or as a supporting treatment for women who have recently given birth and suffer from involutional problems or blocked milk ducts.

The area of application of Shōnishin for orthopedics is completely different from that of midwives. Their focus is mainly on children with problems related to posture and the musculoskeletal system. On the other hand pediatricians apply Shōnishin with infants suffering from problems of the digestive system, the respiratory system or developmental disorders, whereas allergies and neurodermatitis are in the foreground with older children.

General practitioners are finding the technique useful for children or adolescents with concentration problems in school, ADHD or enuresis.

Shiatsu practitioners often apply Shōnishin in combination with baby-shiatsu or children-shiatsu, in order to support them in their development. Physiotherapists can show better successes in the treatment of hemiparetic children, as the usually increased tonicity can be decreased by additional treatment with Shōnishin and thereby the children become more treatable.

shonishinFor acupuncturists, especially for those who focus on treating children, a new field of action comes in appearance with Shōnishin, respectively an existing one can be widened. Furthermore, Shōnishin is an interesting supplement – or even an alternative for any therapist with acupuncture knowledge using manual methods.

Shōnishin is being used as an alternative to acupuncture in women’s shelters, mother-child facilities and nurseries. In this case women and children who are in difficult social or monetary situations, abandoned, without any obvious way out, are supported. These include traumatised women and children (for instance victims of rape), who are only able to permit touching due to the “interposed” Shōnishin instrument which means no dermal contact with the skin takes place.

Another field of application for Shōnishin will be in the treatment of the elderly. Particular parameters like skin conditions and mental conditions seem to show retrogression into childhood. First experiences with Shōnishin in residential care homes show promising treatment approaches. Even here it becomes obvious, that treatment with a Shōnishin instrument is advantageous: seniors often suffer from a shortage of physical contact. With Shōnishin the contact doesn’t take place directly, but indirectly with an instrument. For that reason seniors have no fear of contact and are willing to allow the treatment.  Another advantage of treating elderly people with Shōnishin is that many of them have to take blood-thinning medicines. Due to the non-invasive and gentle treatment technique with Shōnishin, there is no contraindication.

Conclusion

Shōnishin is about to play an important role in the treatment of children. Shōnishin finds its application in doctor’s or acupuncturist’s surgeries, midwife work and increasingly in clinics. During the last years we can observe in the framework of congresses (TCM, acupuncture, pediatrics) an increasing demand for Shōnishin lectures and events. An increasing number of doctors and non-doctors (alternative practitioner, physiotherapists, midwives, Shiatsu-practitioners) are discovering this exceptionally gentle and effective type of treatment.

 

Thomas Wernicke is a licensed General Practitioner with qualifications in complementary medicine, Chinese and Japanese acupuncture. He has been the Training Manager for Daishi Hari Shōnishin in Europe since 2004. His new book: Shōnishin: The Art of Non-Invasive Paediatric Acupuncture is now available from Singing Dragon. This complete and user-friendly guide provides everything practitioners should know about Shōnishin and how this therapy can be used with different age ranges, especially young children.

 

Springtime Wood Element activities for children – by Karin Kalbantner-Wernicke and Bettye Jo Wray-Fears

This blog is an invitation to parents, teachers, therapists and mentors of children to join us in having fun with a seasonal series of stimulating Five Element activities that can support development in all ages!  These entries can be downloaded and printed off in pdf format by clicking this link so that you can enjoy making your own notebook of Five Element exercises for each month and season of the year.  We hope you have as much fun being creative with these ideas and projects as we have with many children and families.

May Wood imageSince we are beginning this series in springtime we will start with the Wood Element, the perfect place to start any activity with children. Wood Element marks the time of new beginnings and all the bursting energy of creativity and expanding growth like the first spring flowers breaking through the ground and fresh green buds on the trees and bushes. If you have lived in a place that has long, cold winters, you know the antsy feeling of wanting to move, jump, and stretch in every direction to greet the sun and warm air of the coming spring! This is exactly what children feel physically as they are developing gross and fine motor skills and testing them out for the first time, or emotionally and cognitively as they are learning new activities and seeing the possibilities of what they can do next from their new development!

The following exercises can be used with a family, classroom, or group of children to experience qualities of Wood:

 A Tree in the Forest

Have the group of participants get comfortable and read the visualization below.

Imagine you are a seedling of your favorite tree or plant in the earth. You can feel other seedlings around you nestled in the soil tucked up tight with the earth and each other to keep warm from the cold of winter.  But now the earth is getting warmer.  You feel something growing bigger inside you day by day.  You feel itchy and antsy to let it out, until finally the energy gets so strong that it bursts out in every direction!  Your roots shoot down into the soil, and your trunk, branches, and leaves up and out towards the sun.  You feel the roots of the other trees around you and playfully you all race each other toward the sun and sky!  Feel how strong, fresh and new you feel in the freedom to grow!

When finished have everyone draw a picture of what they saw themselves as in a forest with each other. Pick a wall or board to have everyone create the forest with their pictures hanging together.

A Family/Group Springtime Walk

Talk about springtime and get ideas from the group about what they notice with the plants, animals, and colours in nature.  What does their body and air feel like in the room when they talk about this? Wood Element brings the development of imagination, movement, planning and creativity. Allow all ideas, there are no right or wrong answers.  Let them express how they experience and relate this time of year to themselves.  After everyone has a chance to share, get ready for a walk outside and invite all to pick one item up from nature that reminds them of spring.  When you get back from the walk, place all the items found on a table or cloth for everyone to touch and admire. This can be left on a season table somewhere in the room or house, and the children can be invited to continue to add items and be creative with the table throughout the season. Remember, that it is not about looking perfect to the adult eyes!  Let the children find all the awkward and balanced expressions of Wood Element and have fun seeing what they create. Permission to play and express is the key to growth.

Splitting the Tree

Every Element has an emotion associated with its development. The creative energy of the Wood Element brings emotions of frustration and anger when this dynamic desire cannot Kalbantner-Wern_Children-at-The_978-1-84819-118-1_colourjpg-webmove. This last exercise we offer is to support the healthy movement of anger. Use pillows, plastic bat, cardboard tube, anything safe to allow a child to get as physically active as she/he needs to express their emotion.

Imagine a big trunk of a tree on the floor in front of you. With an axe, you want to use all your power to split the trunk. But it is so hard to do that you get really angry! Take all your energy and power and keep striking the trunk until you feel tired and can rest, feeling calm.

For more information about the Five Elements and the way they can support child development, read Children at Their Best: Understanding and Using the Five Elements to Develop Children’s Full Potential for Parents, Teachers, and Therapists released in April 2014 with Singing Dragon.

NEXT: June Wood Element activities – a colourful world and lightning power!

Singing Dragon complete 2014

This fully interactive brochure has all of the new Singing Dragon titles for the spring and summer of 2014 as well as our complete backlist. In here you will find books on Chinese medicine, complementary therapies, martial arts, nutrition, yoga, ayurveda, qigong, Daoism, aromatherapy, and many more alternative therapies and ancient wisdom traditions.

Click on the covers or titles to be taken to the book’s page on the Singing Dragon website. If you would like to request hard copies please email hello@intl.singingdragon.com with your details and the number of copies you would like.

VIDEO: Why Western medicine needs Chinese medicine

In this Q&A session Dr Daniel Keown, author of The Spark in the Machine, explains why Western medicine can no longer afford to ignore what Chinese medicine has to offer patients.

Dr Keown’s book presents a radical new integrative model for looking at the human body which shows how everything Chinese medicine says about anatomy, including meridians, acupoints, and Qi, is backed up by Western embryology. The Spark in the Machine is available from the Singing Dragon website.

How to maintain your root centre – by Rosemary Patten

Rosemary Patten, author of Japanese Holistic Face Massage and founder of Equinox Rose, a clinic specialising in energy healing, offers tips and meditation exercises to fix your prana from tip to toe by focusing on your root centre.

Patten - chakra image for blog pieceWhy is maintaining the root centre important?

The root centre brings the flow of energy from crown to root and back from root to crown again. Without this instinctual energy the human race would not be here and we would not be able to understand the link we have with spirit. The root centre has given us the opportunity to progress. The rhythm of life is an ebb and flow of ideas and the willingness to confidently embrace the new with the knowledge that we can achieve and we can let go.

 

How does a balanced root centre make us feel?

  • We make decisions that are intuitive
  • We enjoy other’s company without fear at expressing our true feelings
  • We respect ourselves
  • We feel no envy or no greed for possessions
  • We relish other’s success
  • We can face people without judgement
  • We can achieve
  • We can help and inspire others
  • We listen to our bodies
  • We are aware of our sexuality and are not ashamed of our bodies

 

What can an imbalance of the root centre lead to?

  • Feelings of inadequacy
  • Being weak physically or emotionally
  • Blocking out the past unable to accept and move on
  • Being afraid of our own judgement
  • Restlessness and over talking
  • Running away from any kind of confrontation
  • A lack of co-operation by not allowing anyone to have their say
  • In relationships, aspirations can be too high with a tendency to criticise
  • A tendency to be over competitive
  • Losing the ability to be happy for other’s success

 

How can we maintain a healthy root centre?

  • Get out into the air and with each step realise the earth beneath and feel it!
  • Find activities your body will thank you for; walking in the fresh air, physical exercise, competitive sports, even gardening will help you to connect to your body and the earth
  • Recognise the early signs that tell you when your body is not balanced
  • Eat foods that are natural not processed. Meat and proteins when your mind is racing will help to keep the energy within the lower energy centres. However, overeating meat can cause you to be sluggish, therefore consider also soy tofu, pulses, nuts and dairy

 

An exercise to keep you feeling connected

Remember this simple exercise when you are busy and life gets fraught and you feel overwhelmed:

Sit upright in your chair and imagine a cord that runs down your spine into mother earth. When it reaches the level of the trees it forms roots. These roots intermingle with the trees and keep you connected to the earth. Bring the energy up through your cord.

Meditation 1

(Follow the above connection exercise)… Imagine all your worries, all those little things that annoy or niggles you… And then send those worries, excessive thoughts, down the cord and dispersing into the roots or fibre… Imagine yourself as strong as an oak tree…. Noble… Powerful…

 

Meditation 2

Sit in a comfortable position and put your hand comfortably on your lap.

a) Connect to the breath, breathe evenly and do not force the breath…  Connect to the rhythm of the breath; remember to sit upright to allow the energy to pass up and down your spine. Release any tension you feel within your body.  Scan your body with your mind’s eye.  Are you holding any tension in your head?… Around the temples? Relax… Breathe into the tension and dissipate any tension. Scan your body, head, neck, shoulders, chest, upper back, lower back.  Release by breathing into the area… Feel relaxed but upright.

b) Breathe down and place your root into the soil of mother earth… Remember to breathe not hold the breath too long…

c) Imagine a beam of white light some distance above and to one side of you and draw this light down your spine…

Hold the light at your root centre and visualise it turning a bright red colour.  Feeling the red light within the perineum area…

Feel it grow… Feel strong… Powerful… Passionate and feel courage… Courage to achieve…

You have boundless energy…

You are connected with your root…

You understand the needs of your body and you give thanks

 

Meditation 3

(Follow the above connection exercise)

a) Feel your body expand and contract as you breath… Feel your legs, your feet… And the floor beneath you… Really be aware of the contact of your body to the chair… How solid, gravity keeps you there…

Bring your awareness to your feet and slightly increase the pressure to the floor without bringing tension into your legs… Grounding your body…Feel the current running down your legs… Continue to feel your body grounding…

b) Tune into your body… Feel the centre of gravity at the base of your spine… Focus on this point… As you focus on this point of gravity… Start to be aware of rest of your body… Think of the central channel your spine… Align the energy… Keep your back straight… Bring the energy over this central area…Your torso to your head, throat, chest, stomach, all over the central core of gravity… Keep breathing as you settle into the alignment…Imagine the cord running from the centre of your head down the central core… Deep into the earth… Try to imagine this core a deep red…

Take your time to feel all the energy centres aligning one over the other… Pulling you down into the earth… Anchoring your physical body with the subtle bodies…

c) Allow yourself to sway from the central core of gravity back and forth… Around from that central point… Feel the central point of gravity weighing you down… Holding you… As you move feel the tension lift… Draining away while your feet are pressing gently to the floor. Remember to breathe…

Now just relax into your chair for a few moments before you open your eyes.

 

Rosemary Patten is a master Reiki practitioner, aromatherapist, reflexologist, and author of Japanese Holistic Face Massage. She lives in Kent, UK.

VIDEO: What are acupuncture points?

Emergency doctor and acupuncturist, Dr Daniel Keown, explains his groundbreaking theory that integrates western embryology with ancient Chinese knowledge to explain how acupuncture works in a way that lines up with both eastern and western medical tradtions.


This is part of the theory behind Dr Keown’s revolutionary new book, The Spark in the Machine, which could change the way we think about alternative and mainstream medicine forever. The book is available to order now from the Singing Dragon website.

The six most important fingernail images for diagnosis – extract from Fundamentals of Chinese Fingernail Image Diagnosis (FID)

Li-Fu-Li_Fundamentals-of_978-1-84819-099-3_colourjpg-webIn this extract from Fundamentals of Chinese Fingernail Image Diagnosis (FID) the authors explain the six most common shapes and colours of fingernail images. Formed by blood and Qi between the nail bed and nail plate, the fingernail image can be used to observe pathological changes within the body. The extract explains how to identify the shapes, their significance in terms of Qi and Blood changes and the diseases or disorders these indicate.

Read the extract…

The book is a practical quick reference guide and introduction to FID will be useful for anyone interested in diagnostic techniques. It is available to buy from the Singing Dragon website.

Patting to treat shoulder pain and back ache – extract from Qigong and Chinese Self-Massage for Everyday Health Care by Zeng Qingnan

Qingnan_Qigong-and-Chin_978-1-84819-199-0_colourjpg-web According to traditional Chinese medicine, pains in the shoulder and lower back are usually caused by qi stagnation and blood stasis in the meridians and collaterals, which result in the invasion of wind-cold into the affected areas. The four patting steps described in this extract from Qigong and Chinese Self-Massage for Everyday Health Care are designed to promote blood flow and counteract the cold syndromes with heat.

Read the extract…

For more simple exercises to treat everyday health issues such as insomnia, stiff neck, headache, joint pain, and even grey hair, read Qigong and Chinese Self-Massage for Everyday Health Care.

Zeng Qingnan is a well-known health professional based in China who has many years’ experience of teaching Qigong and Chinese massage for maintaining good health. 

Singing Dragon New Titles – Autumn/Winter 2013-14

The Singing Dragon new titles catalogue is available to view online and download. It features our complete range of titles coming to you over the next few months. There is plenty to look out for including new books on acupuncture, Chinese medicine, Qigong, Daoism, yoga, and complementary therapies.

All the titles, author names, and covers are interactive; just click on them to be taken to the book or author page on the Singing Dragon website.

How to open your heart – by Rosemary Patten

Patten, RosemaryWe are full of complexities, a myriad of different functions that completes us make us part of the human race.  Our bodies crave order and the status quo, yet our heart wishes to be free, joyful and loved. We are looking for that special something that unites us with nature and the heavens. Yet we become distracted with challenges of life, we twist and turn looking for that spark of our existence.

The Universal life force energy that unites us is drawn into us by seven main energy centres or chakras.  Our heart is the link between earths’ energy and the heavens. When our heart is in balance we can love, be joyful, and can cry when life around us is tough.  We can live each moment with pleasure, accept ourselves in the now and forgive our weaknesses.

People who have in the past inflicted pain and have indeed broken our hearts should be forgiven.  We know in our heart that it is their failure to understand, they have taught us strong powerful lessons that we need to know.  When we understand the people who have hurt us, we free our hearts from the pain and our heart has been healed. When we stay in conflict, we only continue to be unhappy.  This negative energy emulates out to people, the world, the planet and the Universe.  Everyone around us receives our signals as hostility toward them, people move away from us and our isolation grows as we push the hurt deep down inside us.

How can we forgive such terrible hurt?  We are who we are and we cannot change, our scars are there, tight in our heart, locked deep. They are almost physical in the pain they inflict, too frightening to bring to the surface and assess.  But if we do not allow ourselves to cry, to feel that which we shut away, and then let go with understanding and compassion, we will not be that person we want to be. The pain will not go away unless we release it and forgive those who have rendered us immobile.

We must forgive ourselves for hanging onto a hurt that takes our breath away- the breath of life.  Start to see with different eyes, a world that is sacred and all things beautiful.  We must learn to emulate our love outwards and love will come to us. There is no effort involved as our thoughts are more and more positive.  We experience love in all its different forms; love of nature, art, music, mankind and the love of that special person.  Love our amazing planet and love the Universe that created us and loves us back.

How can we regain this balance between heaven and earth?  When you are aware of your thoughts, it releases negativity. Thinking on the following affirmations confirms your intention. We will attract positive thoughts towards us, a higher vibration that raises us up towards the heavens. The heart is the link between our higher self and earth, beginning our journey greater understanding.

How to open your heart

Affirmations – choose two of the following or use your own personal affirmations:

I release all feelings of guilt and start my journey to peace and love.

I accept myself and know that my heart is mending.

I can cry and can release those feelings of hurt.

I am surrounded by the beauty of nature and this makes my heart sing with joy.

I forgive those who have broken my heart they also are on a journey.

I embrace change and look forward to exciting new challenges.

I only surround myself with people who bring joy into my life.

Try to be aware of your thoughts, allow negative thoughts to come to the surface.  Never suppress them, as they are low vibration and will be heavy.  Picture in your mind’s eye a red balloon and place the negative thoughts into the balloon, allowing them to drift of up into the sky.

Whenever possible, change any thought to a more positive vibration by putting a spin on it. For example ‘I am dreading work today’ could change to ‘I am dreading work today so I will meet my friend at lunchtime, always enjoy her company. I am lucky to have such a good friend’.  Now there is a reason not to dislike work, as you are now more optimistic!

Once you start bringing your thoughts to a conscious level you will feel you have more energy. The journey of forgiveness towards those who have hurt you in the past has begun. By healing yourself you will truly open your heart and bring true love and joy into your life.  That joy and love can then spread through to all who come into contact with you.

 

Rosemary Patten is a master Reiki practitioner, aromatherapist, reflexologist, and author of Japanese Holistic Face Massage. She lives in Kent, UK.