Roots
Dear Patient,
Recently a patient came in for her first acupuncture treatment in over a year. She had a big emotional release during the session, eyes leaking tears she couldn't stop. It seemed to come out of nowhere.
The next day her left blade shoulder locked up, pain coursing up into her neck anytime she tried to move it.
She relayed all of this to me a few days later, wondering if it was a coincidence, or maybe due to a bad sleep position. “No coincidence,” I told her.
Zig zagging across the shoulder blade is the Small Intestine meridian. The Small Intestine is paired with the Heart, which is the Monarch; the center of our emotions and the home of our spirit. The Small Intestine channel protects the Heart, the shoulder blades like shielding armor. That acupuncture treatment tapped into something deep, perhaps the stress of moving to a new city, or grief from a year of isolation, loneliness and loss. The Small Intestine sensed the Heart in distress, and tightened its protective grip. The result: a shoulder blade immobilized.
Our bodies do things for a reason. Muscles, tendons and bones protect what is most precious within us. When we only deal with the physical pain, like a sore shoulder, we miss the opportunity to uncover the more fundamental cause of our suffering. We call this root and branch theory in Traditional Chinese Medicine. A sore shoulder is simple to treat, but true healing requires that we find the root.
Love and gratitude,
Your Acupuncturist