Acupuncture Today
November, 2006, Vol. 07, Issue 11 |
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Toyohari: Effective,
Nonstimulatory Acupuncture to Regulate Qi
By Brenda Loew, MAc, LAc
Acupuncture appears to have arrived in Japan
from China and Korea via Buddhist monks in the
sixth century. In the mid 1600s, a blind Japanese
acupuncturist named Waichi Sugiyama developed the
shinkan (insertion tube). This radical
invention allowed for painless needle insertion,
and is now used by both blind and sighted
acupuncturists worldwide. Sugiyama, considered the
Father of Acupuncture in Japan, established the
first acupuncture schools for the blind, which
emphasized hands-on practice and a more pragmatic
approach to classical acupuncture theory.
Currently more than 30 percent of all licensed
acupuncturists in Japan are blind.1 The
Toyohari Meridian Therapy Association, a
specialized professional acupuncture association
founded by blind acupuncturist Kudo Fukushima,
currently has a Japanese membership of which
approximately half are blind. The Toyohari
Association of North America (TANA), the European
Branch of the Toyohari Association (EBTA) and the
Australasian Branch of the Toyohari Association
(ABTA) are working to continue this legacy by
making Toyohari available to acupuncturists
worldwide. In the future, sight-impaired people
will possibly live as independently as they do in
Japan. Toyohari can enhance acupuncturists’
ability to feel qi and improve their
clinical skills through gentle, nonstimulatory and
effective treatment methods to regulate and
harmonize qi.
Toyohari can enhance acupuncturists’
ability to feel qi
and improve their
clinical skills through gentle, nonstimulatory and
effective treatment methods to regulate and
harmonize qi
.
I first learned of Toyohari from my friend and
mentor, Stephen Birch, who expressed great
enthusiasm for this approach. Although I had
originally gone to acupuncture school to learn all
about qi, that intention had been
disappointed by the more scientized TCM training.
With a desire to enhance my palpatory skills, I
started Toyohari training, but being a product of
Western culture and TCM training, I had assumed
that de qi and nervous system stimulation
methods were the only legitimate way to affect
clinical outcomes. I found it difficult to believe
that non-insertion needling techniques could
assert any significant effect on a person. It was
not until encountering the senior Toyohari
instructors from Japan and experiencing the effect
of treatment that I began to realize the power of
nonstimulatory acupuncture. Rather than relaying
my personal experiences, I would like to share Dr.
Hiroshi Nakazawa’s experience regarding the
effectiveness of Toyohari. I hope to share other
case histories in the future.
Dr. Hiroshi Nakazawa is a 73-year-old general
surgeon who became a full-time medical
acupuncturist more than 10 years ago. He currently
is the vice president of the American Academy of
Medical Acupuncture. A 2004 graduate of the
Toyohari Association basic training program, he
had agreed to translate for our senior Japanese
teachers at the 2005 National Training, held
annually for members. He arrived at the training
with viral pneumonia. His symptoms included severe
chills, fatigue, cough and a high fever with
extreme sweating. His wife had not wanted him to
travel and he was afraid he would be incapable of
translating, given how sick he felt.
All three Toyohari senior teachers examined
him, performing the four diagnostic examinations,
which include careful pulse, abdominal and
palpatory exams, as well as observing, listening
and questioning. His pulse was very rapid, sinking
and deficient in the Liver, while excess in the
Lung. Treatment involved first tonifying the left
side Liv8 and Ki10, and then dispersing the right
side Lu6 with specialized techniques. Next
jyaki (“evil qi”) was lightly
dispersed on TB4, St40, Bl58, GB37, LI6, and SI7
and then sanshin (a type of contact
needling) was applied on his back. To end the
treatment, CV12, CV4 and the Naso region of the
neck were lightly tonified. By this point, Hiroshi
felt significantly relieved and was able to
breathe more deeply. His pulses felt balanced
after the treatment and he was able to translate
all day. He slept well that night, although there
was still some sweating.
The next day he received a follow-up treatment.
The consensus was that the pulse was no longer
sinking, although it was still fairly rapid and
deficient. Dr. Nakazawa reported feeling more
vigor than the previous day. He was treated with
tonification on left Liv8 and Ki10, and
tonification on right Lu9 and Sp3. The right side
St40, GB37, Bl58, TB5, LI6 and SI7 were all
lightly dispersed. Tight areas around GB12, GB20
and Bl10 were treated with Shinshasenpo
(dispersion at the deep level with tonification at
the surface) techniques, and the Naso2
area was lightly tonified. He felt his energy
increase further, his pulses strengthened overall,
and he continued to work as a translator all day.
On the third and final day, the teachers
confirmed that, based on examination of his pulse
and abdomen, his seiki (upright qi)
had strengthened considerably and Dr. Nakazawa
reported feeling fully recovered. Treatment was
similar to the second day, with more generalized
sanshin techniques. Dr. Nakazawa was very
impressed with the speed and effectiveness of the
Toyohari treatment.
This simple approach of Toyohari treatment is
based on several ancient medical classics, in
particular, the Nan Jing (circa 100 AD),
the most important early acupuncture text from
China. The Nan Jing describes a simple
model of qi circulation in the 12
channels based on Five Phase and yin-yang
theories. Professor Paul Unschuld describes the
Nan Jing as the landmark text upon which
the practice of acupuncture and later herbal
medicine was based.
Toyohari emphasizes practical clinical methods,
sophisticated technical skills and lifelong
training opportunities for practitioners. Toyohari
utilizes a feedback study method called Kozato
practice method (named after its inventor,
Katsuyuki Kozato), which has recently begun to be
adopted by other meridian acupuncture
associations.
Theoretical simplicity focused on regulating
the qi, coupled with rigorous hands-on
training, clinically validated experience through
research, informed intuition and a lifelong
dedication to training in order to keep deepening
ones skills are the hallmarks of Toyohari
training. Good clinical results show that the
Toyohari model is demonstrable and experiential,
and a rational and systematic approach to healing.
Graduation from the certificate program entitles
graduates to join the Toyohari Association through
one of the local branches and become a registered
Toyohari practitioner, as well as opportunities to
study with senior Japanese instructors in Japan,
North America, Europe and Australasia.
References
- Conversation with Shuho Taniuchi sensei,
Academic Dean of the Toyohari Association,
Tokyo, Japan on March 23, 2006.
- The term Naso derives from Japanese
Braille shorthand and refers to
cervicobrachialgic therapy, which focuses on the
neck, clavicle, upper shoulder and upper back
region.
Other Resources
- Paul Unschuld. Nan-Ching: The Classic of
Difficult Issues. University of California
Press, 1986.
- Stephen Birch & Robert Felt.
Understanding Acupuncture. Churchill
Livingstone, 1999.
- Kudo Fukushima. Meridian Therapy.
Toyohari Medical Association, 1991.
- Written and oral testimony from Dr. Hiroshi
Nakazawa, spring 2005.
