Moving Blockages with Heather Bruce

Heather Bruce is an incredible woman with a wealth of knowledge. It was such a privilege and honor to learn from an acupuncturist with nearly 40 years of clinical experience!! And best of all, someone who is willing to share EVERYTHING she knows without hesitation. Heather traveled all the way from Australia to teach our eLotus family her trade secrets. She's done the time of researching and trial and error for us. Now, all we have to do is listen and copy her methods.

So what's the number one thing that must be done for all patients? REMOVE THE COLD. According to Heather, the late Dr. John Shen said that cold is stored indefinitely in the stomach, intestines and the uterus (prostate for men). Removing cold from within the body (this restores yang) brings the person back to homeostasis. How did cold get in our bodies? From all the iced, cold, and chilled food and drinks we've consumed, the wet hair we did not dry after bathing, walking around barefoot on a cold day, past injuries, and the list goes on.

To remove cold from the body, you will have to first cup the navel with a warmed large cup, and then warm up the body with a moxa/ginger technique. There are other steps too such as applying magnesium, iodine, selenium, getting lots of Vitamin D, and treating scars but I'll only share my notes on how to cup the navel and the moxa/ginger technique. For the rest of the clinical pearls, I'd recommend that learning directly from the Master herself. Click here for a link to her bio and all her courses.

Hint: Start with 'Rescue the Root: Cupping the Navel', then do the 'Moving Blockages' series!

REMOVAL OF COLD, PART I – CUPPING THE NAVEL

Tools:
1 Large glass cup (used for cupping, not a drinking cup)
1 Large coin (ex. US half dollar coin)*
1 Facial tissue
Matches (NO lighter)
Massage oil

1. Ask patient to use the restroom first. Check the tongue. Cover patient with towels, leaving on the belly exposed.
2. Warm cup by placing it in hot water for a few minutes. Dry cup after it has been warmed.
3. Lightly oil the navel area to avoid friction and dragging.
4. Place coin in the middle of the facial tissue and twist lightly. Tear off any excessive tissue hanging over at the top. Ignite the tissue and wait a few seconds for a flame to build up, then quickly stuff the tissue (with flame) inside the cup, over the navel. Cover belly with a towel.
5. The cup is left on the navel until the drawing feeling eases or diminishes considerably OR the patient has an urgency to urinate. Check tongue again, you should notice a change.
6.Get ready for Part 2 of REMOVAL OF COLD while the navel is cupped.

*When cupping the navel, the cup might move so if it does, the coin must be large enough to still be covering the navel. The purpose of the coin is to stop leakage of essential energy. It protect the yuan qi. Also, if patient is hairy, use more oil before cupping.

REMOVAL OF COLD, PART II – MOXA/GINGER TECHNIQUE

Tools:
Fresh ginger
Low grade loose moxa
Matches
3 TBSP table salt
1 Facial tissue

1. Unfold a facial tissue and pour table salt in it. Fold tissue in half. Set aside.
2. Slice 3 thin pieces of ginger. Set aside.
3. Pile moxa on each piece of ginger. Do it as needed as the wet ginger can soak into the moxa (this undoes the usefulness of the heating). Squeeze the moxa to get as much air out so that it compresses well. It should look like a little mountain. Place the moxa/ginger on top of the tissue (with salt inside), then light the moxa OUTSIDE. Once it stops smoking, but still hot, bring it all in.
4. Remove the cup gently from the patient's navel. Ask the patient if they need to use the restroom first, before you place the moxa/ginger/salt tissue combo over their navel. Very often, they do need to use the restroom and it's a very long pee as the Yang is now transforming appropriately. Place the the moxa/ginger/salt tissue combo over the navel. Cover the area with a towel so no skin is showing. Repeat 3-5 times.

Encourage your patient to watch their tongue change before, during, and after treatment. You can give them a mirror or take pictures. Throughout the treatment, the patient may also feel thirsty so have some room-temperature water (with a straw) ready for them to sip on. TIP: You will also notice that the moisture in the tongue will become dry throughout this process as the body gets the system in tune again . .

If you are an Annual Gold Pass Member, find Heather's videos here to begin your complimentary viewing.

~Donna Chow, L.Ac.