If you’ve had an acupuncture session with me--Serenity’s Acupuncturist Maureen McLaughlin, LAc--you may have gotten tiny pieces of flesh-colored tape with either seeds or tiny needles placed onto points on the outside of your ear. You would have been instructed to wear these pieces of tape for several days (up to a week) and to intermittently stimulate the points by pressing. This is called Auriculotherapy.
In Auriculotherapy the auricle, or outer ear, is viewed as a microsystem of the entire body. Stimulating these points relieves pathologies of many varieties. In addition to seeds and needles, beads and pellets are also used. In a 4th Century Canon of Chinese Medicine (Huang Di NeiJing), the ear is described as the meeting point of all the energetic channels of the body. The therapeutic exploration of the ear continued to be refined and advanced for many dynasties after.
In 1957 a French Physician, Dr. Paul Nogier, added to the ancient texts and created a system in which the auricle represents an inverted fetus, or “homunculus,” with his research. Nogier’s system provides a roadmap to locate points that correspond to all the human organs head-to-toe on the outer ear. This is the system that I use in my auriculotherapy (there are other systems). If, for example, the practitioner is helping your bad knees, she will locate and press tack the corresponding knee point on the ear.
Over my many years of experience with auriculotherapy, I have found that it is remarkably accurate: if a person has a knee issue he or she will say, “Right there!” when the knee point is pressed with the probe. While auriculotherapy is not painful in the conventional sense, we are looking for the reactive point when we probe to find its exact location. Treating that reactive point is what gives relief.
Because 2020 has been so...well, “2020,” Serenity Holistic Health is offering a way to “level-up” your auriculotherapy in 2021. Let’s “bling” in the New Year with Chakra (rainbow) colored Swarovski Crystals with 24k gold pellets on the other side, or classic stand-alone 24k gold pellets. You can pick the colors and with Maureen’s expertise they will be placed on up to 4 different points on the auricle. They are sparkly, upbeat, luxurious, and therapeutic! This can be done as an “add on” to your regular treatment or as a stand-alone 15 minute treatment for $27.50.
Please contact our office to arrange an appointment or to let them know you would like to add-on a crystal ear pellet session. You can also schedule online under ‘Auriculotherapy Upgrade’. As always, let us know if you have any questions about auriculotherapy or any of our other services. Wishing you and yours health & serenity,
Maureen McLaughlin, LAc