Conscious Wellbeing

Taoism and Acupuncture Explained

August 11, 2015
Olivia Shurdova
Acupuncture for Your Physical Wellbeing | Conscious Wellbeing in Manly & Sydney

In need of some balance, peace and harmony?

Here is why I think acupuncture will benefit you and help you become more mindful and present.

Holistic Medicine

As you may know, acupuncture treats not only the physical but the emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of our wellbeing. In fact, even if I wanted to just treat the ‘physical’ it would be impossible. Acupuncture cannot separate the effects it has on the overall wellbeing of a person- its aim and intention cannot be compartmentalised.

Mindfulness vs an Empty Mind

Acupuncture is linked to the ancient Chinese philosophy called Taoism. What is fascinating to me is that the many spiritual aspects of Taoism can actually be addressed with acupuncture. Let me give you an example – you are most likely familiar with what Buddhism refers to as mindfulness.

It is a state of complete presence, able to observe one’s inner and outer life and without getting caught up in judgement. In Taoism, we talk of the same phenomenon- we call it “emptying the mind”. In essence we free ourselves of internal clutter so that we can be more present and in harmony with our environment. We experience the opposite when we get caught up in all the ideas, opinions and judgements we have of ourselves and and others, and relate them to all that is happening or not happening “to” us. Coming back to acupuncture, what I love most about it is that it induces a natural state of this ‘presence’. For example, just after half an hour on the massage table, what had made you angry, upset, joyless, fearful or tearful gets emptied and cleared out, or at least its volume will be much, much lower- hovering in the background like a little fly as opposed to what felt like an attack from an angry beast within. We actually regenerate a better relationship with ourselves. We make room (by creating space) to love ourselves and create spontaneous joy. A lot of our suffering is based on our attachment to it, like a dog with a bone. Acupuncture helps us free ourselves of attachment and clear out the unnecessary clutter within.

 

I recently facilitated an afternoon teaching the Coca Cola legal team mindfulness meditation. If you would like your team to learn meditation and enjoy a harmoniously “zen” work environment, please get in touch or read more about how meditation can help.