Auricular Acupuncture
 |
Auricular (or Ear) Acupuncture is a specialized complimentary therapy where acupuncture points (on the outer ear) are treated to relieve many chronic and acute complaints. This form of therapy originated over 2000 years ago along side Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture. Its use diminished in the 1800’s but was populorized once again in the mid-19th century in France by a Dr. Paul Nogier. 
While examining his own patients, Dr. Nogier noticed several with strange scars on their outer ears. With further investigation he found that these patients had sought out treatment for their sciatic/back pain from a lay practitioner, Mrs Barrin. It turns out she was cauterizing their ears at a particular ear point which her father taught her. Her father had learned it from a Chinese mandrian. This specific point successfully relieved these patients of sciatic pain within hours, even minutes after the cauterization. Thus from this came the pioneering work on auricular therapy. You need not worry, I am not going to be cauterizing your ear…infact, if anything, you may only feel a slight prick.
There are as many as 200 acupuncturte points located on the outer ear, each point generally named after our anatomy, i.e. Lung, Heart, Knee, Elbow, Brain etc… Dr. Nogier develeoped a map of the acupuncture points of the ear which takes the form of a homunculus (or inverted fetus). Auricular acupuncture theorizes that the outer ear acts like a switch board communicating directly with the brain. When the points are stimulated, electrical impulses are triggered in the brain which correspond to the specific part of the body being treated. So if you had knee pain and the ‘knee’ acupuncture point on the ear was needled, it would help alleviate that pain. And it treats not only physical symptoms but also mind, body, and spirit.
Today several studies have focused on the auricular acupuncture treatment for the withdrawal from chemical substances. This has become quite popular for smoking cessation, detoxification and weight reduction.
For our purposes treatments will be focused on relaxation, stress reduction, and the alleviation of muscular tension.
You’ll feel rejuvenated!
Hope to see you soon!
