I've wanted to study acupuncture for a long time but my desire to marry and begin a family was stronger than my desire to pursue a career. When I began studying massage in 1980, my colleagues felt that my massage sessions were somewhat Eastern in nature-- no doubt, since my initial training in 1980 was at a school of acupressure rather than western massage. I remember feeling awe and respect when I first observed an acupuncture and moxibustion session around then. In 1981, when I learned deep-tissue massage under the private tutelage of an octogenarian chiropractor, Dr. Jesse Cornwell, my study partner decided to enter chiropractic college. At that time, I simply wanted to study and practice massage, but I hoped for reasons then undefined that in the future I could study not chiropractic but Chinese Medicine. This hope, over the last twenty-two years, has not diminished, but has grown in clarity and definition as I've learned and experienced more about Chinese Medicine, its applications and benefits, and as I've matured to feel that I can handle the responsibilities that are part of this training and practice.
As a nationally certified massage therapist, I recognize the limits of my practice, abilities and knowledge. I cannot diagnose and I am not qualified to treat serious or chronic conditions. Yet since I began practicing massage in 1980, I've amassed a large body of knowledge about natural health. My experience is that acupuncture has a much more profound effect on the physical, mental and spiritual levels of the recipient than western therapeutic massage. From observation and my rudimentary understanding of pulse diagnosis, I recognize when a client would benefit more from acupuncture, dietary change, and herbs than from therapeutic massage. Clients are charmed by me when I suggest something that they've already heard from their chiropractor, acupuncture or western medical doctor,but understandably my voice alone is not valued. Studying Chinese Medicine and becoming a licensed acupuncturist means I will have taken the time to enhance my diagnostic and treatment skills to inspire confidence and better serve my clients, friends, family, and even the massage therapy community because as the American Massage Therapy Association attempts to move massage into mainstream preventative health care and away from the pampering salon experience of its past, they appreciate their degree-holding members.
I am drawn to Chinese Medicine because it encompasses modalities such as Tui-Na massage, acupuncture and moxibustion that strengthen the
recipient's energy and support the body's ability to heal. Its herbal formulas are from organic and inorganic materials that are natural to the earth unlike western pharmaceuticals synthesized by profit-driven manufacturers. Still, I would like to better understand western pharmacology as well as topics like immunology, vaccinations and pediatrics in order to justify my preference for the alternatives that Chinese Medicine offers. I respect the life-saving options that western medicine offers. I would like to be able to give sound advice on how and when Chinese Medicine can interface with western medicine.I would like to hone my skills in pulse and tongue diagnosis. I would like to better understand the pulses I feel in cancer patients that have come through my massage practice. I would like to be able to lessen pain. And whereas massage therapy is useful in preventing illnesses that are stress-induced, I would like to be able to use Chinese Medicine to reverse the symptoms once a disease has started. I would like to be able to recognize and treat the onset of certain pathologies before they have progressed.I would like to help people overcome addictions and live a balanced, healthier life.
In summary, for me to study Chinese medicine would be to manifest an aspiration that has crystallized slowly over the last twenty years. By becoming better credentialled, I could be more helpful in the massage therapy field as it seeks a more professional identity. To become a licensed acupuncturist, I could better serve my clients, family and friends, guiding them toward healthier living and alleviating pain when it occurs.To study a medicine that is over five thousand years old-- to understand its history and culture-- and to become part of its future would be an honor.
