On being dotted...

As I promised myself, I am writing a new post after being in school for a month. As sure as I was about why I trotted off in this direction (not just grad school, but Oriental Medicine), I had to give myself a bit to walk the path and see how it felt.

Well, I'm glad to say, it's still awesome! I'm loving almost every second of it. The history of Oriental Medicine (approx. 5,000 years old), the philosophy, the language, the theory and the practice...is all just amazing. But, I digress...

The part I don't love so much, is being dotted. One of the classes is called Point Location. As you might have garnered from the class title and the degree name (see "Dem Bones..."), we learn where the actual acupuncture points are located. Included in that learning process is placing quarter inch paper sticky dots on each other where the points are supposed to be. And that means partial disrobing.

Though I certainly didn't mind dotting other people, BEING dotted is not top on my list of favorite things in the world. This past Tuesday I had to take my shirt off so I could be dotted on my arms along my Lung Channel. I just LOVE that my enormous arms are now indelibly imprinted on all the young minds of my fellow classmates. I hope they don't have nightmares. Can't wait to get to the trunk and thighs. I think this class is going to be the bane of my existence. Though, and this might BE a positive even though it doesn't FEEL like it, another student (who is farther along in the program) mentioned to me how popular she became in her class, as everyone quickly realized not all patients are 130 lb's (pronounced "el beez" in my world) and perfectly shaped.

Hence, this was further motivation to continue full force on my path to becoming healthy again. As if the stitch I got hiking up from Hamilton Pool yesterday wasn't confirmation enough.

I don't think I want to stay popular.

Off to the gym...

Oh, sidebar: When I went to take my shower that evening, I found two sticky dots hiding in my right pit. Now I really AM off to the gym!!!

Yin and Yang - mostly Yin!

In the lofty endeavor to study AND understand Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, one has to go back to the origins, the root, of the Chinese world view. The fundamental aspect of this view is best described as Yin and Yang. "Yin and Yang are emblems of the fundamental duality in the universe, a duality which is ultimately unified. The symbol of Taiji, or the Great Polarity (above) demonstrates the Yin/Yang concept in a graphic form. Herein, black signifies Yin and white signifies Yang. The two colors coil around, fade into, and penetrate each other. Both are necessary for the whole to exist..."*

Yin is dark/Yang, light: Rest/Activity, Contraction/Expansion, Cold/Hot, Slowness/Rapidity - respectively. Complementary opposites. One cannot exist without the other. Neither is all good, or all bad, just relative parts of one another.

So it is with the cycles of our lives. With the examination (the proverbial 20/20 hindsight) of my adult life so far, I believe I have been in the Yin cycle. The Yin properties have expanded as far as possible, and are now receding to give way to more Yang properties - thankfully! Having already stated that neither "side" is all good, or all bad, and accepting that truth (as we are a sum of our life experiences and cannot be "here" if we were not "there"), I welcome this new phase with wide open eyes and arms.

I only hope the Yang expansion lasts as long as the Yin did.

That's my current take. I could be wrong, and often have been. But it makes me feel better to look at it this way...for now. :-)


* From the text: Acupuncture - A comprehensive Text by the Shanghai College of Traditional Medicine. Translated and edited by John O'Connor and Dan Bensky. (Not one of our required textbook purchases).