Excerpt from The Yijing Medical Qigong System,
By Dr. Suzanne Friedman, LAc, DMQ (China)
Breath of the Dao

The shi zhen needle (called teishin in Japanese) is described in the Huang Di Nei Jing as having a round and blunt tip, “like a grain of millet.” It is an acupuncture needle that is not inserted through the skin; rather, it is traditionally pressed or rubbed on an acupuncture point to stimulate the qi. Modern Japanese acupuncturists often use shi zhen needles to tonify qi and blood in deficient patients for whom regular acupuncture is too draining, and for musculoskeletal pain conditions.

The shi zhen needle is anchored by one hand, which senses whether an acupuncture point is “active.” During a qigong treatment, that hand will then gather the qi or begin to activate the point, and the other hand is used to stabilize and stimulate the needle itself as it is held on the point. The Nan Jing (The Classic of Difficulties, 100-200 CE) discusses this approach, stating that “those who know how to apply the needle rely on their left hand; those who do not know how to apply the needle rely on their right hand.” A silver needle is used to sedate or purge from an organ, anatomical body area, or meridian. A gold needle is used to tonify an organ, body area, or meridian. One exception is the Japanese technique of using a gold needle to treat (sedate) musculoskeletal pain.

The Japanese have mastered the use of shi zhen non-insertion needles and have taken these ancient needles to new heights in modern acupuncture practice. Shi Zhen needles are rarely found in Chinese acupuncture clinics, which instead favor the common filiform needles that puncture the skin to stimulate acupuncture points. The Yijing Medical Qigong System seeks to reintroduce this ancient needle as an effective treatment tool in the practice of Chinese energetic medicine.

Shi zhen needles are particularly well-suited for inclusion in medical qigong treatments. One need not be a licensed practitioner to use them, and they require the same focus of intention, correct (hand) posture, and proper breathing techniques that comprise the three daoyin of qigong practice. The medical qigong practitioner will find an energetically “active” point, or stimulate an acupuncture point to activate and “open” it, and then guide qi through a gold needle to tonify, or a silver needle to purge excess qi accumulations. The breath must be deep and relaxed.

There are a number of popular shi zhen needling techniques, and the following are the most common protocols used in conjunction with medical qigong treatments. Traditional uses of shi zhen needles include stimulation of the five shu points (jing-well, ying-spring, shu-stream, jing-river and he-sea) of the twelve primary acupuncture channels, and the master/couple points of the eight extraordinary vessels, for example. In the medical qigong clinic, however, shi zhen are used to stimulate any appropriate acupuncture point during a medical qigong treatment.

May 2006