Acupuncture Books

Mikio's book was a godsend to me. He has a way of breaking down complicated theories -both, empirical and esoteric in nature- into bites that I can absorb. Both Dr. Sankey and wife, Kathy, are licensed acupuncturists well respected in the Los Angeles area. Kathy served on the review board for licensing in California.

If you really want some eye opening insight into new healing techniques, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to gain basic understanding of Eastern healing methods and their roots in the Oriental school of thought. His explanation of the mathematics involved, i.e. Sacred Geometry, melds Western thought into the spectrum of the healing arts. You don't have to be a doctor or acupuncturist. It's written to be understood by all. The only thing one must provide is .... the open mindedness to explore new possibilities.

It's a great book. It supplies one with new opportunities to view and structure life.

With a large amount of experience and exploration in many healing modalities I have come across very few healing methods that actually get to the real cause of dis-ease and manifestations of health problems.

Even touching on the energy body, the emotions, belief patterns, traumas, the etheric body, etc do not necessarily get to the cause. In my experience whatever is going on at these levels is still the symptom of something taking place beyond what most healing practices address and work with.

Esoteric Acupuncture, as I have come to understand it, is one therapy based method and approach that goes to the very root of a person's Being and starts addressing wholeness and well-being at that level. Harmony attained at these high levels of one's Being will impress themselves upon the physical, emotional, etheric, and mental bodies - resulting in the manifestation of health and wholeness at this human level.

I say "therapy based" method, because in my experience the deepest cause of dis-ease can be directly addressed with one's Mind of Spirit through what many call "spiritual healing". Yet, for many there is the experience of too many barriers to reaching that clear state of Being where health can be addressed at this pure level. Therefore a practical health modality such as Esoteric Acupuncture will serve as a significant bridge -- one that may open doorways within, shift perception, rectify disease, and help a person to awaken their soul into this life.

If the above makes sense to you and sparks interest then I can say that Mikio's fantastic books will be of real value to you. They will be of real value, in fact, to anyone interested in an expanded perspective of health and healing.
Mikio's wisdom is a joy to read. In my experience there is a great deal of love, clarity, wisdom, and integrity in Mikio's work - and it all comes from a place of service to those who want it. I highly recommend this book for these reasons.

I wish you great health,

Jonathan Evatt

If you believe nothing is mere coincidence, then you'll understand my goosebumps when I began reading this book.

I've been sick since December, went into the hospital as an emergency, and then operated on two week later, and will be recovering for another two months from major surgery. This has left me plenty of time to introspect..

When well enough to go on the computer, I started looking at the various Rawfood books, and uncook books and tried to decide which one I should invest in first. Then I stumbled on this book, but what leaped out at me was the description of this book (another website) and they were my thoughts EXACTLY, word for word!

I ordered it, and couldn't wait to begin. The Introduction alone gave me goosebumps as she touched on things I've been feeling and sensing over the last six months! I feel as if her words were my own.

I recommend this book to everyone. The reading is simple, and makes sense and she allows you to enter into this way of life gently, and with excitement.

This book is a must have for your library, and a must-give to all. In view of the staggering numbers of baby-boomers reaching retirement age; in view of our health care system, and simply, in view of people deserving to FEEL, look, and live better, you owe it to yourself to read this book, and to share with others.

Thank you Karen. I WILL meet you someday and thank you in person.

This is the best health book I have ever read. It not only makes sense but it is realistic, motivating, stimulating, and most of all, it is true! The Greatest Diet On Earth is a life changeing book that has allowed me to take control of my own life and on my own terms according to my bodys own needs. Thank you Karen for writing such a wonderful book. I recommend this book to everyone!

For anyone interested in myofascial dry needling and management of chronic pain, this book is a definite buy. Mr Gunn gets to the heart of the problems with easy to follow protocols.

I have used the treatment plans in my clinic and gained great results. May he long continue to educate us.

Dr. Gunn has written a practical manual describing his personal approach in the treatment of patients with chronic myofascial pain. His conception of Intramuscular Stimulation and mechanism of pain relief is based on neurophysiologic concepts with the technique and implements borrowed from traditional acupuncture. Dr. Gunn concludes that myofascial pain syndromes can occur in any part of the body. "But since pain and neuropathic manifestations in all of these conditions respond to the same type of treatment regardless of the location of the pain, the underlying mechanism is the same, wherever the syndrome may be present. Thus, there may be hundreds of conditions but only one cause - radiculopathy." The causes of neuropathy may be numerous. The goal of treatment is to release muscle shortening.

The text is very well organized. The introduction explains what intramuscular stimulation is and how it was developed. The pathophysiology explaining the radiculopathic etiology of chronic myofascial pain is clearly described, together with the intramuscular stimulation needle technique. The technique of dry needling is described which in many ways resembles the traditional trigger point injection approach. A chapter on guidlines for diagnoses and general examination of the patient together with individual chapters dealing with specific regional examination and treatment are written very clearly. Excellent diagrams enable the practitioner to identify bony landmarks and muscle attachments. The cervical spine, upper limbs, back and lower limbs are covered in the regional examination and treatment section. Dr. Gunn is extremely enthusiastic concerning the number of muscular skeletal conditions that he describes can occur when when muscles are shortened. He includes a list which would encompass most of the muscular skeletal pain that a physician would encounter in daily practice. Many previous papers written by Dr. Gunn are noted in the Appendix Abstracts. They include his approach in treating low back pain, shoulder pain, and tennis elbow. Dr. Gunn's emphasis on the neuropathic etiology of myofascial pain and tenderness at motor points is a very valuable contribution.

The etiology and mechanisms of chronic myofascial pain is a multifacitorial one.

Although Dr. Gunn's text does not deal with a multidisciplinary approach emphasising the importance of follow-up physical therapy, exercise programs and the importance of precipitating factors, it is a well focused text and succeeds in it's purpose.

Edward S. Rachin, MD, FACS Assistant Clincial Professor of Orthopedic Surgery UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine New Brunswick, NJ

Assistant Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology Pain Management Center UMDJ-New Jersey School of Medicine Newark, NJ

Visiting Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University New York, NY

This book does an excelent job of showing how to remove unwanted mineral excess from everyday foods. A great kitchen read for those who want instructions spelled out in as few a pages as possible.

When kidneys fail, minerals build up in the blood. Living with this constant fear can mean the end of eating pleasure. Using the step-by-step instructions for processing various food selections listed in this guide can reduce minerals in foods and help someone return to a more normal eating lifestyle.

Herbert Shelton is THE voice for natural hygiene (NH) in the 20th century. NH teaches that the body is fully self-sufficient and can properly regulate its functions and maintain health if we live in accordance with the laws of health. These are clean air, clean water, proper food, fasting, sunshine, rest, exercise, cleanliness, warmth, hope, community, composure, etc.

We have been taught since youth that disease--the outward manifestation of inward imbalance--is the enemy and is to be conquered through drugs and surgery. Failing body parts are removed, cells are destroyed, our system is poisoned by toxic chemicals called pharmaceuticals. We blindly go along taking our drugs, poisoning our system, and deteriorating further until more and more drugs are needed to suppress even more symptoms of imbalance and to counteract the effects of the other drugs. We enter our golden years crippled and tired. We are not taught to correct the habits that cause disease but that disease is an attack from outside. This is just the scientific equivalent to the earlier (and often current) belief that disease is caused by demons.

Now, we who are enlightened poison ourselves with herbs and external therapeutics in an effort to "assist" the hundred trillion cells of our body in their work. If the body creates a fever to speed metabolism to deal with an internal imbalance, is it prudent to ingest a toxin (non-food) to suppress that fever? If our body, in diverting energy in sickness toward cleansing and repairing, causes us to lose our hunger, is it wise to fill our bellies with food? Do we suffer from an acupuncture or aspirin deficiency? Is it wise to immerse the human body in very cold or very hot water causing a flurry of energy-dissipating activity to reach homeostasis? To what end? To feel invigorated? Yes, as invigorated as the tired horse to which you applied the spur! Is osteoporosis a disease crying for drugs or the end result of the body robbing the bones of alkaline minerals to buffer acids ingested from years of improper diet--all to maintain our blood at a pH of 7.4 in an attempt to keep us alive?

Is the origin of disease an enemy from outside or an internal act of physiology by the body attempting to LIVE? NH affirms that disease IS the cure. All our wisdom could never match the complexity and grandeur of the processes of life within us.

If I could only have one book on health and the human body, this would be the book. This is 518 pages that will turn your current ideas of health and disease upside down. Natural hygiene--the let-alone treatment--is nothing new. Pharmaceutics and surgery are the newcomers. We've just evolved from the ingestion of bat excrement and the scrapings of St. Peter's tomb to pus and patentable poisons. If pharmaceutics and surgery were the top performers in health attainment, our nation would not be the sickest nation on earth and our economy would not be strapped with the ever-rising costs of health care.

If you want to know about the true nature of disease and the attainment of health, this book is well worth your money and time.

Dr. Shelton was responsible for reviving some of the best natural health principles from some of the best American authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The term Hygiene was invoked under the name The Hygienic System by the 19th century American health reformers and later by Dr. Shelton under the name Natural Hygiene, hygiene being derived from the Greek goddess Hygeia, the goddess of health (the emphasis of healthful conditions produce health) versus Panacea the goddess of cure (the belief in remedies without removing cause).

The one thing they had in common was a new view of what disease is and that the idea of "curing" was a holdover, a throwback from ancient more superstitious times.

The great French scientist Bechamp showed that "microzyma" were the tiniest living forms, the precursor to microbes (yeast, fungus, virus, bacteria in all their forms etc.), and manifest only when the "terrain" (i.e. conditions of the individual and environment) required and "exalted" them, thus effectively disproving Pasteur's germ theory. Around the same time and earlier Americans conceived principles allowing for a correct understanding of the causes of illness and disease.

The essence of the reformist American theories is this (to paraphrase Dr. Shelton and the American health reformers): "Disease itself is the remedial process. It's not something that needs to be cured (i.e. attacked, killed, thwarted or subdued) but something that should be allowed to complete its purification and repair unhindered. The problem precedes the disease and that problem is unhealthful conditions including toxins, excesses, insufficiencies, exhaustion, etc. Disease constitutes body processes of recovery and repair, the most common actions being fever, mucus, eruptions, coughing, vomiting, inflammation among others. All are life saving and life preserving. The dangerous and deadly method of medicine over the centuries has been mostly to attack and suppress these processes (as if they were the cause) with every snake oil potion they could come up with and in so doing delay recovery, injure, and often kill the patient, then to blame it on anything but their treatment and collect hefty fees.

Thus the use of some of the simplest methods, the methods you could do yourself without help including cleanliness, rest, physiological rest (fasting i.e. no food), clean water/air, warmth, quiet, etc. have been used effectively because they are more in line with nature, what is actually needed, giving the body a chance to recover without all manner of well meaning assaults.

The whole story of epidemics has to be rewritten and shown to be the result of mass exhausting, toxic, stressful, and/or contaminated conditions, rarely the result of one cause, and usually the result of multiple causes including the variable of the health level of the individual or the group prior to the introduction of one or more causes. The story of Pasteur, the failed germ theory, and the disaster of mass vaccinations also has to be seen for what it is and re-explained. Realize that you are in a world where the snake oil salesman has evolved into the corporate pharmaceutical juggernaut as part of the medical cartel. The Wall Street mentality has further corrupted an already thoroughly corrupt excuse for health care.

My professional health care practice was dramatically changed after having read Inner Bridges. Doors opened to my understanding of energy and how it relates to body structure, including the bones and joints of the body. I am very grateful for the insights given by Dr. Fritz Smith in this book.

An excellent book. The author, a D.O. and M.D., became interested in Eastern approaches to healing when he witnessed an acupuncture session. Smith gives great explanations relating the flow of energy to body structure. I was particularly impressed by his account of how the energy of each chakra relates to the skeletal structure. The information in the book is densely packed, and -- at least in my own readings -- is best absorbed in small doses. A caveat: I don't have firsthand experience with the author's particular system, Zero Balancing. In any case, I believe the book contains valuable information for people who already have experience in some mode of energy healing.

I have always thought herbs more effective than acupuncture before my exposure to Ling Shu Acupuncture and Dr. Wang's seminars. Before applying this ancient wisdom, my clinical results for Acupuncture treatments were more or less unpredictable. I became doubtful of Acupunture and much less enthusiastic about it. And then I heard about Dr. Wang and came to see for myself how logical and sensible this medicine really is. After getting to know Ling Shu Acupuncture I am not only more confident and effective in my treatments but also a better healer. I am delighted that my needling techniques are now based on the primary source for Traditional Chinese Medicine; Ling Shu (Huangdi Neijing). It is nice to see that what is true is also time proven. This book, Ling Shu Acupuncture explains the importance of the original principles from the Yellow Emperor's Inner Cannon and how to apply them in practice.

Since graduating from Bastyr University, I would have to say I have been most confused as to which style of Acupuncture is most effective. In school every professor had different methods of diagnosis, point selection, and techniques. In clinic I have learned a variety of techniques ranging from auricular acupuncture, ion pumping cords, Richard Tan's balance method, extraordinary points, etc. The problem is that we learn so many techniques without any indication of which technique shall be applied resulting in the most effective treatments. In fact, many of my colleagues do not practice TCM acupuncture in their clinics but have resorted to the techniques of Master Tong or Richard Tan especially in the treatment of pain syndromes. Even Dr. Tan instructs us to stop practicing every other form of Acupuncture, the balance method is all you need. To complicate things even more, there is Korean Acupuncture, Japanese Acupuncture, 5 Element Acupuncture and even within Richard Tan's Balance Method there are the 5 systems of balance, global balance, seasonal balance. More systems are being created because something is not working. If this is the case, then it means that there is something wrong with the theory of Acupuncture. If people do not practice TCM acupuncture in a clinical setting but have resorted to other methods then what does that say about the theory of acupuncture we have painstakingly learned during school. If Acupuncture is a real medicine based on a real theory then what are the principles that can guide us into giving effective treatments?

In Ling Shu Acupuncture Dr. Zhao Wang and Dr. Jun Wang answers this question and many more. They have translated related chapters from both Suwen and Ling Shu in order to have a solid understanding of particular topics in Acupuncture Theory. For example, how many acupuncturists know what it means to balance yin and yang in acupuncture? How many understand how to diagnose the patient based upon pulse alone? How many know the ideal frequency of treatments to obtain maximum medical benefit, duration of needle retention, and needle depth? How many understand the difference in pain due to meridian and zang-fu dysfunctions vs. muscle meridian dysfunction? These issues have not been made clear to me until I read Ling Shu Acupuncture. Ling Shu Acupuncture provides a solid foundation for both students and experienced practitioners.

This book provides both the classical Chinese from the original Nei Jing with the translation and commentary in English, so those who read Chinese can see how the author has translated the original text. After reading the first section, I could not believe what I was reading. Ling Shu Acupuncture had made acupuncture sound so simple I was skeptical. I was curious if this is what the original Nei Jing was really trying to communicate or if it was an interpretation error. As a result, I have bought other versions of the Nei Jing and have found that the referenced chapters were communicating the same thing! I then realized that I could not ignore what the Ling Shu was communicating and I don't know how anyone else could if we truly believe Ling Shu forms the basis of Acupuncture practice. If you want to really understand Acupuncture and bring your practice to the highest level this book is for you. I believe it marks the beginning of restoring Acupuncture to its former glory!

Very well written and researched and most useful to anyone wanting to know all about what various cults believe.

I have read all of Val Waldeck's book and have to say that I find them so Inspirational & Spiritual. She is an amazing teacher and has special insight into everything that she writes.
I look forward to more of her wonderful books being published.

Val Mitchell
Durban, South Africa

Co-written by documentary film makers Ronald Blumer and Muffie Meyer to accompany their popular Public Television series 'The New Medicine' (hosted by Dana Reeve, the widow of Christopher Reave prior to her own death), This 120-page paperback features in-depth interviews with physicians and academicians drawn from leading medical schools and medical clinics from across the country. Here is a methodical and informative presentation of what medical science has discovered with respect to the influence our mental and emotional state has upon our physical health. "The New Medicine" presents a compelling case for physicians treating the whole person with an illness, and not just the illness alone, if true healing is to occur with maximum efficiency and efficacy. "The New Medicine" is very highly recommended reading for all members of the medical community and is especially accessible for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in their own health and well-being.

I usually avoid health and fitness books like the plague [no pun intended], but this book is really and remarkably different from the run-of-the-mill health-and-fitness or alternative-medicine book. Based on a major PBS documentary, THE NEW MEDICINE BOOK is a sane, sensible, and accessible guide to how many physicians are reaching beyond the bounds of standard Western medicine to blend the best of alternative-healing and alternative-medicine with the best of traditional clinical medicine. Such seemingly simple things as doctors listening to their patients, or patients taking the initiative in asking doctors to explain their treatment, actually make a profound difference in the treatment of major illnesses. These and many other insights are presented with unobtrusive skill and in graceful, straightforward prose. The book teaches effectively without preaching at all. Highly recommended.

When I started studying acpuncture I was looking for some type of note pad that had all the acu points and meridians in it. That I could write my own notes on during lectures and home study.
This hand book is that and so much more.
It simplifies taking notes during lectures because each point has it's own page which has a diagram, point location, insertion, what each points are used for and most importantly lots of space to write your own notes .
anyone studying or practicing acupuncture I can't recomend this handbook enough it's a Gem .

This is a must for all acupuncture students! I use this manual daily and always keep it handy. Its divided by meridian clearly and has great illustrations for each point. My favorite part about it is that pages each have much room for you to write further information on point location, energetics, and uses while youre sitting learning in class. Definately a great resource to have!