World Peace from the Perspective of a Veteran Acupuncturist
By Nancy Cohn Morgan, BA, BS, MS, L.Ac.
I was called to the study of acupuncture in January 1984. It actually wasn’t even in my conscious mind to study acupuncture, but after retuning from the Peace Corps I wondered what to do next with a degree in psychology. I was conflicted between going on to get teaching credentials or to pursue a nursing program to which I had recently been accepted. A friend had suggested that I go see a Psychic. On a whim I went and while there she had told me there was a third choice that I had not even been aware of and that was acupuncture. As soon as she said that I knew that was my path. By June of that year I was enrolled at the California Acupuncture College in San Diego. Since then there hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I have not felt gratitude and been humbled to have had the opportunity to study and practice this form of healing.
When I was back in school first at the California Acupuncture College and then at the Pacific College of Health and Science I remember sitting in class and discussing with my classmates what it would be like after 20 years of practicing acupuncture? I also remember my teacher Alex Tiberi saying that each patient teaches you Traditional Chinese Medicine all over again.
So what have I learned after 20+ years of practice? I have come to know that one does not need to speak Chinese to be an effective practitioner. I think the single most important thing that I know is that it works. Still after 20+ years I can not explain to patients exactly how it works. Sure I can give them the Balancing energy in the Meridians theory or the Western theory of how it stimulates certain areas of the brain and that some studies have shown that the analgesic effect is from the release of endorphins in the brain.
One does not need to believe in acupuncture to experience that it truly does work. I have treated people from all walks of life - old, young, world class athletes, weekend warriors, the disabled, pregnant women, Vietnam Veterans, drug addicts, the dying, and the drying’s loved ones left behind to carry on, the Evangelical Right to the Liberal progressive. Some come wanting to believe that it is going to work; others come as skeptics.
And what exactly does it do that I can so unequivocally say it works? Does it cure that woman’s, worn out knee or repair that torn tendon? Does it cure cancer and give that dying person another chance? Does it make the disabled able again? Does it free the drug addict from his addiction? No, it does not do any of these things.
I think the one most powerful effect of acupuncture that I have witnessed it do in all patients is the calm and peacefulness that people experience from it and in this stressful, uncertain world, that is enough. I think that when people can relax and let go of what ever they are holding on to, be it stress, tension, pain, emotion, a problem, a diagnosis, then the healing begins. If our world leaders received acupuncture regularly maybe there would not be so much unrest in the world. And so my answer for World Peace is Acupuncture.
© Nancy Cohn Morgan, All rights reserved
By Nancy Cohn Morgan, BA, BS, MS, L.Ac.
I was called to the study of acupuncture in January 1984. It actually wasn’t even in my conscious mind to study acupuncture, but after retuning from the Peace Corps I wondered what to do next with a degree in psychology. I was conflicted between going on to get teaching credentials or to pursue a nursing program to which I had recently been accepted. A friend had suggested that I go see a Psychic. On a whim I went and while there she had told me there was a third choice that I had not even been aware of and that was acupuncture. As soon as she said that I knew that was my path. By June of that year I was enrolled at the California Acupuncture College in San Diego. Since then there hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I have not felt gratitude and been humbled to have had the opportunity to study and practice this form of healing.
When I was back in school first at the California Acupuncture College and then at the Pacific College of Health and Science I remember sitting in class and discussing with my classmates what it would be like after 20 years of practicing acupuncture? I also remember my teacher Alex Tiberi saying that each patient teaches you Traditional Chinese Medicine all over again.
So what have I learned after 20+ years of practice? I have come to know that one does not need to speak Chinese to be an effective practitioner. I think the single most important thing that I know is that it works. Still after 20+ years I can not explain to patients exactly how it works. Sure I can give them the Balancing energy in the Meridians theory or the Western theory of how it stimulates certain areas of the brain and that some studies have shown that the analgesic effect is from the release of endorphins in the brain.
One does not need to believe in acupuncture to experience that it truly does work. I have treated people from all walks of life - old, young, world class athletes, weekend warriors, the disabled, pregnant women, Vietnam Veterans, drug addicts, the dying, and the drying’s loved ones left behind to carry on, the Evangelical Right to the Liberal progressive. Some come wanting to believe that it is going to work; others come as skeptics.
And what exactly does it do that I can so unequivocally say it works? Does it cure that woman’s, worn out knee or repair that torn tendon? Does it cure cancer and give that dying person another chance? Does it make the disabled able again? Does it free the drug addict from his addiction? No, it does not do any of these things.
I think the one most powerful effect of acupuncture that I have witnessed it do in all patients is the calm and peacefulness that people experience from it and in this stressful, uncertain world, that is enough. I think that when people can relax and let go of what ever they are holding on to, be it stress, tension, pain, emotion, a problem, a diagnosis, then the healing begins. If our world leaders received acupuncture regularly maybe there would not be so much unrest in the world. And so my answer for World Peace is Acupuncture.
© Nancy Cohn Morgan, All rights reserved
Acupuncture and Athletic Performance
By Nancy Cohn Morgan, BA, BS, MS, L.Ac.
Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is one of the oldest forms of medicine on the planet dating back to 200 BCE. Chinese Warriors are thought to be one of the first practitioners of acupuncture. They used acupuncture to stay strong, balanced and to help heal their wounds from battle. For years in the United States acupuncture has been viewed as an alternative treatment for pain. November 1997 the National Institute for Health (NIH) recognized acupuncture as a viable therapy for some pain disorders such as: pain from surgery, nausea from pregnancy or chemotherapy, tennis elbow and carpal tunnel. In the area of sports performance the use of acupuncture for the prevention and care of athletic injuries, has been slow to be recognized as a viable and effective branch of sports medicine. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is one of the main regulating bodies for athletic trainers and sports performance in the United States. In their material and text books I have not yet come across the acknowledgment, recommendation or the reference of the effectiveness of acupuncture in sports. It is time that that changes and for acupuncture to take its place among the other sports medicine modalities.
In other countries Acupuncture has been accepted as an effective form of treatment for athletes. In the winter Olympics of 1998, the Austria downhill skier Hermann Maier was treated with acupuncture after a devastating fall only to come back and win two gold metals. In China at the summer Olympics of 2008 acupuncture was available and used by the athletes. I have been practicing acupuncture for over 25 years and have had the opportunity to treat all kinds of athletes. I have treated recreational, competitive and elite athletes. I have had the privilege to treat successfully a three time Olympic Biathlon Skier, a National College Rodeo finalist bronco rider, College NCAA Division 1 woman’s basketball player, world-class swimmers, skiers, runners, bicyclists and tennis players. Some of the injuries I see include trauma, and overuse, such as sprains, strains, tendonitis, bursitis, tennis elbow and carpal tunnel. Acupuncture is not only effective for pain it also helps with insomnia, anxiety, and digestive problems, which can sometimes affect an athlete’s performance ability. Athletes have told me that they feel an increased clarity, an inner calmness and more centered after an acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture is a drugless form of medicine and with elite athletes having to be drug tested for their sport; acupuncture can be an optimum treatment for them.
The Five Elements theory (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood) and Eight Principles (Yin /Yang, Internal / External, Cold / Hot and Deficiency / Excess) are the foundation for the practice of acupuncture. Yin and Yang are two opposing but complementary forces that work together to develop, and sustain balance. Agonist and antagonist muscles and muscle groups do just that with concentric and eccentric movements. Agonist is defined as a muscle group that is primarily responsible for specific joint movement when contracting. Antagonist is defined as a muscle or muscle group that counteracts or opposes the contraction of another muscle or muscle group.[1] When we study meridians and the flow of energy through the body we primarily look at balance through the parameters of excess and deficiency. In sports medicine from over use or trauma of these muscle groups acupuncture can be very effective way to clear the trauma and rebalance the energy. I think it is time that acupuncture claims its rightful place among the preferred modalities for the treatment and care of athletes in their performance, prevention and rehabilitation of sports injuries.
Nancy Cohn Morgan, L.Ac., has a Masters degree from the Pacific College of Health and Science in San Diego, a BA in Psychology from the University of Humanistic Studies San Diego and BS degree Magna Cum Laude in Exercise Science from Colorado Mesa University.
[1] R.T.Floyd, Manual of Structural Kinesiology, Eighteenth edition Mc Graw Hill, Pg 385
© Nancy Cohn Morgan, All rights reserved
By Nancy Cohn Morgan, BA, BS, MS, L.Ac.
Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is one of the oldest forms of medicine on the planet dating back to 200 BCE. Chinese Warriors are thought to be one of the first practitioners of acupuncture. They used acupuncture to stay strong, balanced and to help heal their wounds from battle. For years in the United States acupuncture has been viewed as an alternative treatment for pain. November 1997 the National Institute for Health (NIH) recognized acupuncture as a viable therapy for some pain disorders such as: pain from surgery, nausea from pregnancy or chemotherapy, tennis elbow and carpal tunnel. In the area of sports performance the use of acupuncture for the prevention and care of athletic injuries, has been slow to be recognized as a viable and effective branch of sports medicine. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is one of the main regulating bodies for athletic trainers and sports performance in the United States. In their material and text books I have not yet come across the acknowledgment, recommendation or the reference of the effectiveness of acupuncture in sports. It is time that that changes and for acupuncture to take its place among the other sports medicine modalities.
In other countries Acupuncture has been accepted as an effective form of treatment for athletes. In the winter Olympics of 1998, the Austria downhill skier Hermann Maier was treated with acupuncture after a devastating fall only to come back and win two gold metals. In China at the summer Olympics of 2008 acupuncture was available and used by the athletes. I have been practicing acupuncture for over 25 years and have had the opportunity to treat all kinds of athletes. I have treated recreational, competitive and elite athletes. I have had the privilege to treat successfully a three time Olympic Biathlon Skier, a National College Rodeo finalist bronco rider, College NCAA Division 1 woman’s basketball player, world-class swimmers, skiers, runners, bicyclists and tennis players. Some of the injuries I see include trauma, and overuse, such as sprains, strains, tendonitis, bursitis, tennis elbow and carpal tunnel. Acupuncture is not only effective for pain it also helps with insomnia, anxiety, and digestive problems, which can sometimes affect an athlete’s performance ability. Athletes have told me that they feel an increased clarity, an inner calmness and more centered after an acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture is a drugless form of medicine and with elite athletes having to be drug tested for their sport; acupuncture can be an optimum treatment for them.
The Five Elements theory (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood) and Eight Principles (Yin /Yang, Internal / External, Cold / Hot and Deficiency / Excess) are the foundation for the practice of acupuncture. Yin and Yang are two opposing but complementary forces that work together to develop, and sustain balance. Agonist and antagonist muscles and muscle groups do just that with concentric and eccentric movements. Agonist is defined as a muscle group that is primarily responsible for specific joint movement when contracting. Antagonist is defined as a muscle or muscle group that counteracts or opposes the contraction of another muscle or muscle group.[1] When we study meridians and the flow of energy through the body we primarily look at balance through the parameters of excess and deficiency. In sports medicine from over use or trauma of these muscle groups acupuncture can be very effective way to clear the trauma and rebalance the energy. I think it is time that acupuncture claims its rightful place among the preferred modalities for the treatment and care of athletes in their performance, prevention and rehabilitation of sports injuries.
Nancy Cohn Morgan, L.Ac., has a Masters degree from the Pacific College of Health and Science in San Diego, a BA in Psychology from the University of Humanistic Studies San Diego and BS degree Magna Cum Laude in Exercise Science from Colorado Mesa University.
[1] R.T.Floyd, Manual of Structural Kinesiology, Eighteenth edition Mc Graw Hill, Pg 385
© Nancy Cohn Morgan, All rights reserved
