Shen = Spirit-The subtle beauty of healing the spirit with acupuncture

I recently had a really wonderful discussion with one of my clients about his progress and transformation since he has started acupuncture. He shared with me how a huge piece of his progress has been a very positive and subtle change in his mental health. He describes it as a clarity and an ability to handle things that come his way with more ease. He noted that this was an unexpected result for him and that he really likes it. We talked about how it has built over the course of treatment, not an overnight result and if he hadn’t been paying attention he is not sure he would have noticed.

This discussion really illustrates two of the most difficult and beautiful things about acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. These two concepts are really difficult to articulate as a provider here in the west. He illustrates for us two important concepts;

1. The effects of acupuncture treatment are accumulative. They build on one another and they happen over time. Changes are often subtle and require our attention. Acupuncture is really wonderful at helping us reconnect to our bodies and learn to listen again.

2. When we say holistic we really do mean the whole person-body, mind, and spirit.

There are three components, body, mind, spirit and they are not separate. The three treasures in Chinese medicine, the Jing (essence), Qi (the more substantial or solid manifestation of energy), and then Shen (the spirit) are what make us alive and animate us. The more spiritual and ethereal energy (the spirit and the soul) and the qi, the more substantial energy, come together to create life. Spirit in this case is our “consciousness,” our mental health, our presence in the world, the twinkle of the eye, our wisdom. Just like our physical body our Shen can be harmed if we don’t take care of it through good habitats, mindfulness and restorative practices.

For my client this is what we have effected with out treatments. His spirit is balancing and as a result his over all health, outlook and life are improving. It is a beautiful and exciting thing when something like this happens. When a new awareness has developed for the person and a reconnection has taken place you know that some deep work has happened. When it does it is such a thrill and a really awesome thing. It is in those moments that as a practitioner I know I am exactly where I need to be.