What is Five Element Acupuncture?

Why do the seasons change? How does day become night? How do we move through the cycles of birth, growth, maturation, and death gracefully?

Through careful observation, the early Taoists learned about the balance and patterns within nature and used this knowledge to create The Law of the Five Elements. From this early work, the British physical therapist and acupuncturist J.R. Worsley developed Five Element Acupuncture.

A crucial principal of Five Element Acupuncture is the idea that ultimately, health is not just the absence of symptoms or disease—it is the vitality, clarity and energy necessary to the pursuit of a rich and fulfilling life. Five Element Acupuncture considers the health of the body, the mind and the spirit to be equally important in overall health, and therefore equally important in treatment.

By contrast, symptom-based approaches use formulas that treat the surface causes of concern, but often miss the underlying reason why the individual is suffering in the first place.

In Five Element Acupuncture, this underlying reason is known as the Causative Factor. By treating the Causative Factor, healing is supported on the most comprehensive and profound level. With time, long-standing and chronic problems can fade to memory.

What is the Causative Factor?

The Causative Factor is a fundamental weakness within one of the Five Elements. This weakness can affect the integrity of the whole being, as other elements and try to compensate for deficiencies created by the Causative Factor.

Ultimately, the Causative Factor can result in a breakdown or impedance of the natural flow of energy through the body along particular pathways, or meridians. The acupuncturist seeks to understand and support each patient’s distinct energetic pattern with the intention of reducing and eliminating problems that stem from the Causative Factor.

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I first met David Frome in 2007......  A year later, when a herniated disc began causing severe complications at my surgical site I called David.  He recommended I try acupuncture. My new symptoms included hip pain, foot pain and a weakness in my left leg that caused a major imbalance to the point I walked with a cane.........  More