The British Conference
of
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

Yoga for Life Enhancement

A general yoga class targeted at issues that might be relevant to conference attendees.

The programme will include standing postures for alertness of mind, forward bends to calm the mind and twisting poses to ease back, shoulder and neck problems. The session will end with a deep relaxation which will refresh and revive the body's natural energy

Qi, Intention and Needle Technique

Many practitioners would agree that intention is important and that needling with intention can enhance the power of healing. Knowing that intention can influence treatment is one thing but how do we make it work for us?

This workshop is designed to enable practitioners to effortlessly experience how their mind influences their body and therefore directs their intention. Angela will use simple qi exercises adapted from aikido and qigong to give the practitioner practical tools for use when carrying out treatments.

During the exercises she hopes to demonstrate the effects on the energetic field through the use of a special 'energetic video' machine!

The Textures and Transformations of Five Element Acupuncture

In this workshop Paul will offer an approach to acupuncture practice that finds the pluralism and complexity of its history not only non-problematic, but the life-blood of its clinical relevance.

By exploring the five elements as rhythm, texture and transformation, he sees clinical practice as the finding of such rhythm for our patients and a restoration of their movement towards health.

Paul will show that the five elements are our interface with the natural world, how treatment can become a landscaping of the qi, and how using 'spirits' of the points can bring the elements of the patient into a greater balance in order to restore health.

All That Is

In the tradition of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture, diagnosis is made using the practitioner’s senses alone. Functioning as an instrument, receiving the sensory information of colour, sound, odour and emotion, the practitioner relies entirely on what presents in the moment. Colour, sound, odour and emotion give a unified message and do not contradict each other, as they are the distress call of the primary element. They engage our senses and still our minds, ensuring we are present with all that is.
Gerad will look at how this particular style of acupuncture can help both the practitioner and patient live in the present, where all healing occurs.

Cultivating Qi Perception

In this session participants will work primarily with the qi ball, learning eight basic consecutive stances and some movements. Daverick states that the qi ball is an excellent method of increasing our ability to feel the qi, strengthen our qi field and improve the function of all the organs.

Participants will work with moving forms which activate the qi circulation and open the channels, including the small and large circulations of qi (microcosmic and macrocosmic).

This workshop promises to be a refreshing and invigorating start to the day.

Allergic Diseases

Ken Lloyd graduated from the International College of Oriental Medicine, East Grinstead in 1983 and went on to study at the School of Chinese Herbal Medicine. In 1994 he became a council member of the RCHM, and for a time he was its President. Ken helped set up the Immune Development Trust and worked at the London Lighthouse, treating those affected by HIV/AIDS. He has a special interest in allergic diseases and will be presenting on this in his plenary lecture.

Confronting the Fire Within: the Ramifications of Personal 'Global Warming' for TCM Diagnosis and Treatment

Closing Lecture
A fundamental characteristic and strength of TCM is its ability to change with the times. Nearly 1800 years ago, the Han dynasty physician, Zhang Zhong Jing, devised his seminal six-stages scheme to treat diseases caused by cold with the Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage). From the Song Dynasty onwards, and particularly through the Ming to the Qing Dynasty, a new system for treating epidemic diseases was devised. It was called 'Warm Disease Theory' (Wen Bing Xue).

In this lecture Michael asks whether, in the twenty-first century, we need to further refine these classical strategems to take account of the latent heat ('the fire within') that underlies 'personal global warming' and a raft of common but complex complaints which our patients manifest.

How to Increase your Patient List with Creative Marketing

Business planning is becoming ever more important to those who work outside the umbrella of a large organisation. Acupuncture practitioners also need a strategy. With a long career in strategic management at an international level, Julian suggests that business planning is a tool that can allow for more creativity in your practice, offer clear direction and peace of mind, and free you to do what you do best.

In this workshop he will help you define your aspirations, clarify your strengths, and give you the ability to formulate your very own personal plan.

The Use of Auricular Acupuncture (Five-Point Protocol) in the Treatment of Addiction

The 'five-point protocol' is currently used in diverse settings around the world. It features predominantly as a part of drug/alcohol rehabilitation programmes in the treatment of addiction. More recently the same protocol has been used in areas such as cancer care, helping with trauma and smoking cessation, and the treatment of behavioural disorders among boys who 'fail' in mainstream schools. In this workshop Rachel will look at how this simple treatment can be used effectively.

There will be a practical demonstration.

Qi Dynamics: Experiencing, Diagnosing and Treating Different Types of Qi

When western medicine entered China in the nineteenth century, physicians were forced to redefine their understanding of the body. Unlike contemporary practitioners they could do so unencumbered by feelings of inferiority visa- vis the modern. In their re-evaluation of tradition they placed qi transformation (qi hua) and the qi dynamic (qi ji) at the heart of Chinese medical doctrine and practice. These physicians emphasised evidence and experience as opposed to mere book learning.

Volker and Cinzia will consider these physicians, for a view of qi physiology and pathology that is significantly different from the more biomedicalised presentations of modern TCM. The aim of the session is to extend participants' understanding of the pathophysiology of qi-type disorders and provide practical strategies to resolve these problems.

Treating Male and Female Infertility with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Professor Song Ke will discuss the causes of male and female infertility from a TCM perspective and explain various treatment approaches using acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and dietary advice.

For this lecture, he will be drawing on over 20 years of experience and expertise in this field.

An Introduction To Pandemic Disease Part 2

Pandemic diseases are often the topic of newspaper articles throughout the world. Professor Wu Boping will give us his own unique insight into how these diseases are treated in China and how this knowledge can be utilised in the West to help prevent infection and to treat illness.

These two separate lectures will include the aetiology, pathology and treatment of influenza, the hepatitis group of viruses and Lyme disease. Professor Wu Boping will also present his views on the new diseases that are emerging in Asia such as SARS and bird flu and discuss how TCM has proved effective in combating these diseases in China generally and within his own personal clinical experience.