A quick review: In Part 1 of this series I talked about Entry/Exit points, (the doorways that allow energy to move from one channel to the next. Click here if you missed it.)

Now let’s talk about measuring the channels.

When measuring the source points for an AcuGraph exam, many practitioners get stuck in the mode of measuring according to the “Textbook” location.

My advice? Stop that!

Now that you are done with exams, let’s move on and learn something better. Sometimes the energetic locations are slightly off what the textbook tells you.

Here’s How I Know

I used to get in trouble in college. Truth be told… I actually got in trouble in High School, Junior High and Elementary School as well. It had something to do with telling my teachers how they should run their classes…

In Points class I had to learn all the “rules” of measurement. It was hard for me to focus on the rules because I was already accustomed to letting my fingers tell me where the points were.

Background…

During my early years as a massage therapist, I realized my hands were really good at telling me what needed to be done. Often, my fingers were drawn to the areas of the body that needed help. I’d find bumps, valleys and divots where my fingers were naturally drawn.

As I learned to trust my fingers, I really progressed as a massage therapist. Patients wanted to know what I felt. I couldn’t explain it at the time. It was something my hands just KNEW. My typical answers was this, “I don’t know–but someday I’m going to figure it out!”

Then I met an acupuncturist who knew. How did I know? When she touched me, I felt in my own body, exactly what I felt when I was working on someone else. It’s hard to explain–but I just knew.

Finally, I’d met someone who could relate to what I felt, and I was determined to find answers. I had a million questions. She just smiled and said, “If you go to Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and get your degree in Acupuncture, you’ll find the answers you are looking for.”

So I trusted her and went to school to learn what my fingers were trying to tell me.

College

Points classes were my favorite. Learning about points made me giggle with excitement. My brain lit up.

They were my favorite UNTIL I got in trouble.

The problem was with the Point location…there were so many rules! You had to know them EXACTLY or you couldn’t pass the class.

Remember the rules? They were so complicated!

Sometimes I found a point in a different location than what the RULES told me. I KNEW where the point was because I could feel it, but it didn’t always match the textbook location.

Then I got in trouble. You can imagine how things went when I told the instructor how to find the point: “Just close your eyes and run your finger along the channel, then move over a bit when you reach the halfway point. Your finger will fall right into the hole!”

She nearly smacked my knuckles with a ruler! “No, no, NO Kimberly. In this class you will learn how to find points according to Peter Deadman.”

By the time I graduated college, this is what I learned.

#1: You have to pass the tests in order to graduate college. Passing tests involves memorizing the rules, even if you don’t agree with them.

#2: Those points I had been feeling under my fingers were real and powerful. I learned that by following the rules of channel theory, I could manipulate them to make positive changes throughout the body.

After College

Here is something that my friend and my college education did NOT teach me:

AcuGraph finds points in the same location I do!

It took my experience with AcuGraph to learn that what I was really feeling under my finger when palpating acupuncture points was electrical skin resistance — which can be measured and analyzed. Who knew?

I’m happy my textbook, and my instructors taught me what I needed to know to get through school and pass the exams.

AcuGraph, on the other hand, proves scientifically that what I first felt in my fingers was REAL!

*****

How to IMPROVE your Graphing Skills

I’ve got one thing to say.

“Feel it with your fingers first!”

Let’s take a look at these wrist points.

The black dot shows the text book location. Yellow shows the energetic location where AcuGraph typically finds the point.

When I sit down with new AcuGraph owners, I start out by reminding them to trust “what their fingers already know.”

First, I have them close their eyes and let their finger slide into a point. They are often surprised that their finger location is not the same as the textbook location. Next, I have them slide their AcuGraph probe around while listening for the high pitch sound which indicates correct point location. Typically, the probe lands in the same place their finger went.

Practitioners who understand that the textbook point location isn’t always the same as the energetic point location consistently get better results because their graphs are more accurate!

That wraps up Part 2. (They tell me to keep my posts about this size! I love talking about this and could go on and on! lol )

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Thanks for subscribing to our blog updates. I am grateful for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned and LOVE hearing from you. (Share your thoughts in the comments below!)

Watch for Part 3 of this series coming soon! If you missed Part 1, click here: I Felt it in my Fingers First: Part 1 (Entry Exit Points)

In the meantime…

Head on over and check out my NEW  “Expert Graph Analysis” CEU course.  I’ll teach you how to get more out of your AcuGraph and help you become an expert at graph analysis from a TCM perspective.

Talk to ya’ soon!

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Kimberly Thompson, L.Ac.

Acupuncture Research Analyst

Miridia Technology

kimberly@miridiatech.com

@acukimberly