Acupuncture Core Therapy

The significance of calling this methodology "Acupuncture Core Therapy" is in the way that both the concept and the methodology of the system combine three fundamental elements of the body's vital energy system: the hara, which is the abdominal center of physiological vital force; the spinal energy system, which is the original source of our being and our link with other realms of consciousness; and qi gong, which is development of the body's ability to intentionally store, concentrate and distribute vital force. Dr. Shōji Kobayashi has distilled the essence from traditional teachings on the vital energy system and developed a method of acupuncture treatment that should redefine root treatment (honchihō in Japanese). This work is not a direct translation, but an adaptation of translations from the book by Dr. Kobayashi entitled Shakujyū Chiryō, some of his articles and notes from lectures and discussions.

Dr. Kobayashi reassembles the fragments of transmitted teachings and condenses them to their intrinsic core significance. His effort is an endeavor of crucial importance for understanding how to use acupuncture to influence subtle energy. Dr. Kobayashi is quick to note that many practitioners are very successful at evaluation and treatment of patients using a wide array of interpretations of yin-yang and the five phases and applying them to various treatment methodologies. With respect to systems of practice there are clearly a lot of ways to do it right. Those practitioners who do not choose to adopt Dr. Kobayashi's approach to treatment can still benefit in many ways by reading his work. As a result they will maximize the benefits to their patients as they continue to use their present methods of acupuncture and moxibustion.

The flexibility of the concepts of yin-yang and the five phases allows great latitude in how practitioners and scholars interpret the classical literature and apply it to living situations. Historically there have been numerous permutations of yin-yang theory, the five phases and the eight principles in the practice of acupuncture, moxibustion and botanical medicine . The diverse applications of these classical laws may be thought of as problem-solving "software," developed by practitioners to apply these universal principles to solve the unique sets of problems in the ever-changing conditions they encounter in practice. One might say that Dr. Kobayashi describes the "operating system" in which these "software" function, fundamental and binding for all. His focus never wavers from the roots of the energy system, the finiteness of inherited human physiological energy, and the interaction and interpenetration of the vital fields between the practitioner and recipient. The fundamental nature of his concepts is the reason why his teaching and protocol are increasingly being adopted into the curricula of acupuncture training schools in Japan.