Fifteen participants with various background and experience gathered for Takamasa Tsurusaki’s first zoom online lecture on November 22, 2023. Over the course of 2 hours, several essential topics were covered.
The seminar began with a discussion on the necessity of why it was important to begin a monthly meetings. Tak expressed his sincere desire to uncover the truth of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Chinese Medicine over several decades of practise. However, over the length of time, involving many seminars and courses and a considerable time and financial investment, he felt there was no end.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as we refer to now has a relatively short history, beginning in the 1960s. Acupuncture-moxibustion which was previously a practise on its own, was mixed with herbal concepts. There are key differences for instance, Acupuncture-moxibustion therapy which involves external stimuli with various tools, needles, and moxibustion (heat therapy) provides an immediate response in the body as compared to herbal therapy which involves ingestion, absorption, processing and digestion followed by a latter response. There was also westernization of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in order to fit a biomedical model, with syndromes and subsequent treatment protocols. In particular for internal medicine conditions, most practitioners of TCM reach for herbal decoctions first and only when its ineffective would Acupuncture-moxibustion therapy be utilized.
To truly understand how to apply Acupuncture-moxibustion and also be effective, we must understand ancient Chinese thought, philosophy, classics and history, along with various medical texts. With Tak’s decades of clinical experience and a practitioner of Seino System over the last decade, he will be disseminating Seino System to attendees. Seino System was developed by Dr. Seino, both a scholar in Chinese medical and philosophy and has been running a thriving Acupuncture practise over the last 40 years.
A brief history of how medicine, both east and west has evolved in Japan was discussed. Unfortunately, traditional medicines continues to be considered alternative worldwide and therefore outside of China lacks integration with the medical system. Tak expressed the importance of looking at the biomedical perspective of a condition along with eastern to get a detailed understand of pathophysiology and treatment.
Seino System “Seitaikan” Seitai philosophy suggests that true health is achieved when there is harmony among all interconnected bodily functions. There are several ways to bring an organism back into harmony:
- Acupuncture therapy – applying needle or teishin
- Moxibustion therapy – applying heat therapy
- Oketsu (bood stagnation) therapy
- Manual therapy – including massage and bone setting
- Yosei therapy – lifestyle changes involving diet, exercise, sleep, social interaction, etc.
Tak discussed Chapter 10 of Huang Di Nei Jing Ling Shu (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic Spiritual Pivot) which included the development of channels/meridians. There was a brief exploration of “Myaku脈” which can have various meanings including channels, blood circulation, meridians/channels. Before diving into the primary topic of the day, an overview of the term “qi and blood” ( 気 (ki/qi) – mental/functional/neurological and 血 (ketsu) – physical, including blood and body fluids) was provided to help students select which tool to use in practise.
There will be several detailed lectures on the Lung and the Lung channel in the coming months. This seminar explored basic embryology of the lung including neonatal development and the lung channel’s relevance to the nervous system and its relationship to the ectoderm. We explored how to better utilize our observations to consider lung conditions and the reason for its relationship with the kidneys. The seminar ended with a summary of how to achieve better respiratory health for both practitioner and patients.
Seminars will continue to be hosted online on a monthly basis for ease and convenience as Takamasa Tsurusaki is in Japan over the next few months. Our next meeting will be held before the holiday season. Please stay tuned for more details.